Graduate Dean's Corner

As we mark the close of another academic year, we do so with both pride and reflection.

This year’s graduating class represented more than 40 states and U.S. territories and 15 nations—an extraordinary testament to the reach and resonance of our Graduate School. We awarded 6 graduate certificates, 53 master’s degrees, and 92 PhDs, each representing not only academic achievement, but perseverance, purpose, and promise.

Every graduating class at Howard is impressive. This one is no exception. Our graduates have done incredible work and have remarkable futures ahead of them. They leave us having asked bold questions and produced scholarship that matters far beyond the academy. From public health to national policy, from technology to culture, their dissertations address some of the most urgent challenges of our time.

Chantel Brooks examined nutrition literacy and maternal and infant health among WIC participants here in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, while Ayanna Nadira Woodberry investigated environmental determinants of colorectal cancer survival—research with immediate implications for health equity and public policy. In economics, Christen Black documented the long-term economic value of Historically Black Colleges and Universities, reinforcing with data what generations have known through lived experience. And in psychology, Jamar Nash confronted the psychological toll of police violence on Black students at HBCUs, ensuring that trauma, resilience, and institutional responsibility are no longer ignored in scholarly discourse.

At the same time, our graduates have pushed disciplinary boundaries and reimagined what innovation can look like when guided by ethics and community. Devon L. Brown advanced human-centered artificial intelligence for national security decision-making, while Utsab Khakurel focused on fairness and bias mitigation in AI systems—demonstrating that technological advancement and social responsibility must go hand in hand. Marline D. Edmond transformed health communication through cultural practice, documenting how Haitian birthworkers use digital spaces to preserve traditional knowledge and improve maternal outcomes. Together, these scholars exemplify the power of advanced research rooted in purpose—research that does not simply interpret the world but actively works to change it.

Howard is the kind of place where I can randomly chose such students as exemplary scholars who are identifying and collaboratively addressing unmet national and global needs. These are a few among many. 

That gives me the hope I need to press through the summer, where I will have more time to grapple with how we will meet the moment at a time of profound change in higher education and in our nation. Graduate education is being asked to do more—to prepare scholars who can navigate complexity, generate knowledge across boundaries, and engage a world marked by both possibility and polarization—with less. We always have, but our students deserve so much more. 

In this moment, our charge is clear. The Graduate School must remain a place where rigorous inquiry meets real-world impact—where our graduates contribute meaningfully across sectors: in the academy, in industry, in public service, and in communities that demand both insight and integrity. Our work is to credential expertise, yes, but also to cultivate leaders who can bridge divides, advance equity, and imagine new futures.

As we enter the summer months, I encourage each of you—faculty, students, alumni, and staff alike—to embrace both rest and renewal. Let this be a season for reflection, for deep thinking, and for sustained research. In the rhythm of pause and productivity, be sure to sprinkle in plenty joy that can gird us for the next academic year and for the enduring work of shaping knowledge in service to the public good.

Be peace,

Dana A. Williams, PhD

Graduate Dean