Moving to Tier One
An Open Letter to the Howard University Community
A. Toy Caldwell-Colbert, Provost and Chief Academic Officer
When I joined the Howard University family last July, I was eager to become a part of the outstanding
traditions that have made the University a touchstone of academic excellence. I wish to thank every one of
you for receiving me as warmly as you have and for responding so energetically to my various requests.
The past nine months have presented unexpected challenges as well as unexpected opportunities. In the
spirit of spring, the season of rebirth, I’d like to share with you my assessment of the opportunities that lie
ahead and to outline a strategy that will enable us to contribute to the future greatness of this great
University.
The implementation of The Strategic Framework for Action II (SFA II) identifies a clear set of goals to help
us chart our course for the next five years. SFAII commits the University “to elevate its contribution to the
nation and its standing among America’s top research universities” and identifies membership among the
Tier 1 research universities as a specific goal. Howard University presently enjoys the prestigious rating of
Doctoral/Research University-Extensive under the classification system of the Carnegie Foundation for the
Advancement of Teaching, one of 151 institutions (and the only the Historically Black University) with
that rating. Tier 1 status denotes the top 50 universities among the 249 that U.S. News and World Report
designates as National Universities-Doctoral (a combination of the Doctoral/Research-Extensive and the
Doctoral/Research-Intensive categories in the Carnegie classification scheme. By virtue of their
reputations for academic excellence and research productivity, Tier 1 universities rank among the world’s
premier institutions of higher learning. Achieving this superior ranking will require the concerted efforts of
students, faculty, staff, and administrators.
The following four targets of opportunity derived from SFAII will help us chart the appropriate course.
They offer a simple formula of choice, direction, motivation, and action.
Target 1: Increased Access to Technology for Students and Faculty (SFA II Goals 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 21,
& 30) -- Besides increasing faculty and student access to technology, we must learn how to use technology
in more meaningful ways – from robotics in research labs and medical intervention to distance lectures in
foreign languages. Information technology (IT) touches everything we do. As the national media report
daily, IT is changing the way we teach and learn as well as the way we conduct scholarship and produce
new knowledge. Our faculty and students must be at the cutting edge rather than the trailing edge of these
developments.
Target 2: Expanded Linkages and Partnerships (SFA II Goals 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 24, & 31) -- Our
outreach efforts must encompass local, national and international initiatives. As the prominent historian
John Hope Franklin has urged, “We must go beyond textbooks . . . out into the bypaths and untrodden
depths of the wilderness . . . and tell the world the glories of our journey.” We must provide international
study opportunities in every field such that study abroad becomes an integral part of every undergraduate
and graduate program. We must cross the boundaries separating academic disciplines as well as those
separating nations. Joining with other agencies, institutions, and organizations will allow us to expand our
horizons, share our wisdom with others, and gain experiences that would not be available without such
collaborations. Faculty as well as students across the spectrum of academic levels and disciplines will
benefit through exposure to new ideas and practices and access to new people and places.
Target 3: Acceleration of the Research Agenda (SFA II Goals 1, 2, 3, 15, & 16) -- Establishing ourselves
as a Tier 1 research university will require a significant increase in our research activity. We begin this
quest from a position of strength. Our status as a Doctoral/Research University-Extensive signals that we
have already established our research credentials. Yet we must do more. We must seek and obtain
additional research support from external funding agencies, and our faculty and doctoral students must
rededicate themselves to pursuing research at the cutting edges of the various fields of knowledge. Not only
must we remain open to interdisciplinary inquiry; we must pursue it actively. Finally, we must offer
research opportunities to undergraduate and pre-professional students. Such opportunities will delineate
Howard’s research culture and foster new partnerships between faculty and students, both encouraging
undergraduates to pursue advanced degrees and better preparing all students for the professional world that
awaits them after graduation.
Target 4: Establishment and Funding of Endowed Chairs (SFA II Goals 17, 20) -- We must establish
endowed chairs across the academic disciplines as a means of recognizing the accomplishments of
renowned scholars in our midst and attracting to the University scholars, researchers and leaders of national
and international stature. Such endowments create opportunities for leaders, thinkers, change agents,
scholars, and activists to enhance the development of both students and faculty. By teaming with other
faculty members, chaired professors can stimulate research and teaching collaborations and the overall
intellectual environment of the University. In the end the University derives a double benefit: as we provide
a forum for gifted researchers and teachers, we also model new approaches to scholarly research and the
scholarship of teaching.
The recent launch of the Campaign for Howard, announced on March 2, 2002, the 135 th birthday of the
University, provides a wonderful opportunity for addressing the goal of achieving these targets. Of the
$250 million projected as the goal for the campaign, $100 is earmarked to establish endowed chairs and
scholarships for students. Another $150 million will support construction of an Interdisciplinary Sciences
and Engineering Center, a new School of Communications, a new School of Education, a health and
recreational facility, a teaching and learning center, and a National Center for African American Heritage
and Culture. In addition to helping to advance the University’s strategic partnerships with external
foundations and corporations, the Campaign for Howard will provide resources for significantly
strengthening both our academic programs and our research infrastructure.
In conclusion, we are well-poised to embrace these opportunities and challenges. This commitment to excel
requires more than new programs; it requires reflective thinking and responsive action by the entire
University community. Institutional assessment is paramount to programmatic success. All administrative
and student service units are integral to a successful retention effort. Students must be viewed as customers
with an eye towards value-added service provision. The entire institution must function collaboratively as
an organization that values and nurtures its students. We must reengineer our processes so that they are
responsive to the needs of our students rather than the convenience of those who serve them.
While it will not be easy to achieve Tier 1 status and the outcomes that we seek, there is no nobler a task
than working to make a great university even greater. By approaching our challenges as stepping stones
rather than barriers, we will assure our personal and professional growth and the further improvement of
our University. No dream is too big and no task is too large – with the proper planning and preparation. As
Provost and Chief Academic Officer, I look forward to the challenges ahead and the opportunity to work
with you further to bring this vision for Howard University into reality.
A. Toy Caldwell-Colbert
April 2002