Howard University has renamed its College of Fine Arts after the late actor Chadwick Boseman, an alumnus of the school.
Boseman was a graduate of Howard in 2000 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in directing. He died from Colon Cancer in August 2020. Boseman led a student protest against the absorption of the College of Fine Arts into the larger College of Arts & Sciences. Chadwick Boseman rose to prominence in 2018, starring as TChalla in the block-buster Marvel movie Black Panther.
“Chadwicks love for Howard University was sincere, and although he did not live to see those plans through to fruition, it is my honor to ensure his legacy lives on through the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts with the support of his wife and the Chadwick Boseman Foundation,” Mr. Frederick said.
Mr. Frederick added that Robert A. Iger, Walt Disney Companys executive Chairman would lead fund-raising efforts for a new facility to build a state-of-the-art facility and endowment for the college. The facility will be named in his honor which will provide opportunities for future generations of artists to follow in his footsteps and pursue their dreams.
The facility will also house the Cathy Hughes School of Communications and the universitys television and radio stations, WHU-TV and WHUR 96.3 FM. Actress and alumnus, Phylicia Rashad (The Cosby Show) was named Dean of the Fine Arts College weeks after the announcements. The University said Boseman was trained and mentored by Rashad when he was a student there.
Rashad said in a statement that , Unrelenting in his pursuit of excellence, Chadwick was possessed with a passion for inquiry and a determination to tell storiesthrough acting, writing, and directingthat revealed a beauty and complexity of our human spirit.
The actors family stated that his time at Howard University helped shape both the man and the artist that he became, committed to truth, integrity, and a determination to transform the world through the power of storytelling.
