Dean's Corner

By Dana A. Williams and Clint Walker

Won't You Celebrate With Me

There are so many reasons I love my second alma mater. Take a look at this story about one of our most remarkable graduates from this year's class, and you'll see why watching this kind of magic (translation: hard work!) unfold in real time makes this job so rewarding.

On May 11, 2024, Clint Walker received his PhD in Psychology at age 76. His journey at Howard is a long one that began after a short detour.

In 1965, Howard offered him three different scholarships—what they called back them “grant aids”—for football, basketball, and track. On the advice of a school counselor, he went to a PWI in Iowa. The night his team played Missouri, he was knocked into the stands during the game. He was wrongfully called for a foul, but that was not the worst of it.  After gathering himself and managing his anger, he heard a kid sitting a couple of feet away from where he landed say, “Look Ma. They got red blood, just like we do.” The end of that semester found him in the Howard athletic department asking if the scholarship offers were still available.

Howard welcomed him, so he had the experience of being a Howard student athlete. He was one of the first graduates with a degree from the then newly established Afro-American Studies Department. After taking part in the 1968 student protests, his leadership there led to his being chosen as a member of the selection committee for a new president.  In 1971,  he was one of the first persons hired on the team to get an FCC license for WHUR-FM. When WHUR came on the air, he became a broadcast personality and the voice of the station. Later, he was part of the team that conceptualized, organized, and founded the School of Communications and WHUT-TV. He enjoyed time as a broadcast manager and taught broadcast production as well as Multimedia Computing in the College of Fine Arts.

Later, as the university’s Director of Academic Computing, he assisted in the design, building, and management of the iLab and placed labs in every dormitory on and off campus.

Finally, he served as operations manager of the black college satellite telecommunications network; managed a multimillion-dollar grant for several years, providing all Microsoft software products to every student, faculty, and staff member; and represented Howard at international telecommunications conferences abroad.

Clint’s love for Howard was passed to his daughter, who earned both undergraduate and Doctorate of Physical Therapy degrees at the University.

Howard has provided Clint with a lifetime of enriching experiences. He can’t wait to see what is next.

I have plenty of proud moments as Dean. Having the opportunity to hood Dr. Walker a few weeks ago is the latest in this growing list. I hope you'll join me in celebrating him and all of our graduates. They deserve it. 

Happy summer Graduate School, fam! 

Dana A. Williams, PhD | Graduate Dean