By Howard University Newsroom,
The Center for Women, Gender and Global Leadership at Howard University is pleased to announce a virtual event celebrating the inauguration of the center. The event will take place on October 20, during the week of Howard Homecoming, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. via livestream. The Howard University community is invited to participate in the inaugural event, which will feature a fireside chat with TIAA President and CEO Thasunda Brown Duckett.
“The inauguration of the Center for Women, Gender and Global Leadership marks another important milestone in Howard’s history,” said J. Jarpa Dawuni, Ph.D., director of the center. “We are grateful to our founding donors, for planting the seed for the great work to be accomplished. We look forward to strengthening the rich legacy and work that has already been done by the women of Howard and extending this rich legacy to impact our national and global communities.”
The Center for Women, Gender and Global Leadership will accelerate innovative research and programing to advance women and gender issues for students. In line with the center’s mission to build an interdisciplinary global center of excellence focused on Black women issues, feminist activism and transformational leadership, the center’s work will focus on five core areas:
- Law and social justice;
- Entrepreneurial leadership;
- Politics and public policy;
- Science and technology; and
- Health and wellness.
Housed on the second floor of Howard University’s Louis Stokes Health Sciences Library, the physical center will serve as a hub for curriculum development and the newly announced minor in women, gender and sexualities studies (WGSS), housed in the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies. Other programming will include the launch of an annual lecture series, graduate and undergraduate fellowships, development of a pipeline to leadership program for students, as well as grantmaking for interdisciplinary, action-oriented faculty research. The center’s governing structure features an advisory board, an executive council that includes faculty and staff, student ambassadors, and an innovative Global Council of Leaders.
During the inauguration, the Howard community will have a chance to learn more about the center’s priorities and hear remarks from the center’s founding donors, trustee Jim Murren and Heather Hay Murren, as well as a performance by Howard Players. Howard University Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer Tashni-Ann Dubroy, Ph.D. will sit down with Duckett for the fireside chat focused on accelerating progress in the number of women in leadership in the corporate world and beyond. Howard University President Dr. Wayne A. I. Frederick will also provide remarks.
“I am excited for the opportunity to celebrate the inauguration of the Center for Women, Gender and Global Leadership during this year’s week of Homecoming, which is a week of unity and fellowship for the Howard community,” said Dr. Frederick. “I want to reiterate my gratitude to the center’s donors for their support and the vital work it has already started to engage in. We look forward to welcoming Thasunda Brown Duckett to Howard and want to thank her for being willing to leverage her insights for the benefit of our community.”
Howard University announced the founding of the Center for Women, Gender and Global Leadership in November of last year after a $1 million gift from the Murrens. The center will also be part of a consortium sponsored by Pivotal Ventures, an investment and incubation company created by Melinda French Gates. The consortium will consist of four organizations dedicated to research on Black women’s issues in the U.S.
