HBCU Week 2024: Dr. Ben Vinson III | President, Howard University

we are just days away from the start of mpt's HBCU week pleased to be joined Now by Dr Ben Vincent the president of Howard University Dr Vincent thank you for joining us Jeff it's a pleasure to be with you this afternoon thank you so much I was going to say you're the new president there but you're you're actually going on a year however we've not had the chance to talk before so if you don't mind tell our viewers a little bit about your your background and your path to Howard well I uh thank you for that first of all and uh I will say that I've been in higher education for uh really all of my adult life uh whether that be through Graduate School uh but also my jobs uh and uh I also was uh a professor at John's Hopkins University in Maryland uh as well as a a dean of arts and sciences at George Washington University um my uh my parents live in at Fort Washington Maryland so very much feel like a part uh a part of this uh part of the country so thank you when you looked at the the opportunity at Howard What attracted you to that what what do you see in terms of the the opportunities for Howard going forward well Jee I've got to say I believe quite firmly that we are in a very special moment in time uh one of these uh rare moments historically where you've got really meaningful debate debates about uh about the shape of the future and um the the social fabric of the country uh we're still wrestling with some of our uh some of our specters of race and and and that element of conversation in our society we have a rapidly uh evolving technological landscape and when you put it all together institutions like Howard University HBCU have a special calling in this moment uh we were founded in many ways upon the promise of what America could be uh shortly after uh the Civil War Howard University was founded in 1867 and a lot of this was to um really ensure that uh ex-slaves uh had a place in uh in America and in many ways as America the American story is unfurled over uh over the centuries um this is yet another one of those moments where fundamental questions about uh Equity the future uh of of our society uh can be redefined and institutions like Howard help train the Next Generation to solutions for those for those really burning questions that are part of our part of our story I saw a a recent speech where you referred to Howard doing the work of uplift tell us about that term well again that really goes back to our history uh but it also is very much in our present where we uh educate in many ways uh that sector of societ Society uh that has often been overlooked uh that historically that's been part of our Legacy and bringing these people up towards uh uh towards really having a full voice in our world and Society has been a part of the mission of Howard University what that looks like today today we have about 41% of our population is pel eligible uh uh which basically means that uh they're coming from uh from backgrounds uh uh uh underserved backgrounds uh where uh receiving a Howard education gives um uh this element of the population quite frankly an extra step in in moving up in our society uh and so that's really uh part of what I what I meant by by that particular statement you're also um blessed there to have an incredible Alumni network um including the uh the current vice president of the of the United States how do you leverage that going forward and I'm not just talking about the U vice president Harris but the whole network it's an incredible incredible Network I've got to say personally uh almost everywhere I go uh in this country I am surprised uh that uh there is a Howard Alum uh that I get a chance to speak with and share stories with and when you think about this incredible Legacy uh not only is uh vice president kamla Harris a part of that but we've had people like uh Vernon Jordan Charles Hamilton Houston th good Marshall and right here in uh in Maryland the late uh uh uh Maryland Congressman Elijah Cummings uh who was was a political science major at the University and president of Howard's Student Association and all of these uh these experiences have led uh individuals like Elijah Cummings to to Greater Heights and in his in his case in particular those formative experiences at Howard uh we believe really helped uh line his vision and set him on that trajectory uh towards his uh towards his Destiny uh in the US Congress and we've got stories like that and and they resonate internationally when you think about uh Eric Williams from Trinidad one of the former presidents Prime Ministers of Trinidad you look at the African continent we have stories like this uh uh from generation through generation when you you take a new leadership position like yours you you look around you look at the uh the strengths of the uh institution the weaknesses the opportunities what did you see in in terms of um opportunities for growth and and challenges that you need to address from outside I was most recently provos at Case Western Reserve what I saw was a place that is steeped in its Mission 100% sure of uh of of its role in our society but also on a rocket trajectory um the research mission of this institution is absolutely on fire uh uh many of the accomplishments of our faculty in scholarship and helping solve some of the nagging uh issues of our world such as um uh social disparities Health disparities uh uh equity and Justice these are the types of things that have been calling cards of powered University and quite frankly are are being turbocharged by the recent Investments uh in the University uh both from uh from Grant agencies uh from philanthropic sources uh uh but also uh just quite frankly from the sweat and brow uh of of our faculty who are uh really uh Milling at the grindstone if you will uh in terms of their work and Engineering uh new insights uh that are really taking Howard to the next level and that's what you mean when you uh you spoke recently about Howard at maximum strength yes uh I believe that uh this nation needs an institution like ours it needs Howard University operating uh at its at its maximum level uh and in order to get there quite frankly we do need to do the type of work that sometimes it's not the um it's not the sexiest work uh Jeff I have to say but really working on the internal uh uh organs if you will of the institution making sure that uh some of the basics of uh procurement and uh just workflows these types of things are working in their soundest fashion so that some of that other work uh the the education of our students the elevation of our faculty and some of the things that we do in the community they can be stronger and so Howard at maximum strength is about improving the inside uh in in order to elevate the potential of the institution so that it delivers its maximil capability to our society Dr Vincent thank you so much we really appreciate the time thank you so much Jeff I really appreciate it for 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