Ben Vinson, Scholar Of The African Diaspora, To Be Howard University's New President

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MAY 2, 5:12 PM

Ben Vinson, Scholar Of The African Diaspora, To Be Howard University’s New President

Elliot C. Williams

Howard University has announced its next president, Ben Vinson III, a current provost, vice president, and history professor at Case Western Reserve University. Vinson, a historian of the African diaspora in Latin America, will take over for outgoing president Wayne A. I. Frederick on Sept. 1., the university announced Tuesday.

Vinson’s appointment comes after a year-long search that included a presidential search committee comprising students, faculty, staff, and alumni, as well as listening sessions throughout 2022 that were open to the entire Howard community, according to a press release.

Vinson, 52, takes over at a time of change for the 156-year-old historically Black institution in the nation’s capital. In just the past three years, the university has received major donations — the largest from MacKenzie Scott, who gave a record $40 million — and scored a $90 million, five-year contract with the Pentagon to lead a military systems research center. Howard has successfully recruited big-name faculty, including politician Stacey Abrams and reporters Nikole Hannah-Jones and Ta-Nehisi Coates, who helped the university found its Center for Journalism and Democracy. Under Frederick’s leadership, the storied university has improved its graduation rates, increased financial aid, and jumped more than 60 spots in the U.S. News & World Report top 100 rankings to reach number 89.

At the same time, outgoing president Frederick announced his retirement following a string of controversies on campus — including student protests over unsafe living conditions and accusations of low wages for faculty and unfair labor practices at the university’s hospital.

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