Netflix Partners With Howard University for $5.4 Million Scholarship in Honor of Chadwick Boseman

hadwick Boseman arrives for the CinemaCon 2019 - STXfilms presentation "The State of the Industry: Past, Present and Future' on April 02, 2019 in Las Vegas, NV. (Credit: Shutterstock)

Howard University and Netflix have created a new $5.4 million scholarship fund in honor of the late Chadwick Boseman.

The Chadwick A Boseman Memorial Scholarship will provide incoming students in the College of Fine Arts with a four-year scholarship to cover the full cost of tuition, Howard said Monday.

“It is with immense pleasure and deep gratitude that we announce the creation of an endowed scholarship in honor of alumnus Chadwick Boseman, whose life and contributions to the arts continue to inspire,” Dr. Wayne A. I. Frederick, president of Howard University, said in a statement.  “I am thankful for the continuous support and partnership of Chadwick’s wife, Mrs. Simone Ledward-Boseman, and to Netflix for this important gift.”

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The announcement comes after the historically Black university in Washington, D.C., renamed its College of Fine Arts after Howard alum Boseman in May 2021.

The first four scholarships will be awarded this school year to one recipient in each class. After that, one incoming freshman will receive the scholarship each year, with students in the dramatic arts considered first.

Boseman graduated from Howard in 2000 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in directing. The new scholarship was established with support from his wife, Simone Ledward-Boseman.

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The Oscar-nominated actor died at age 43 in August 2020 after battling colon cancer. He was best known for his roles in Black Panther, Da 5 Bloods, Marshall, and 42. His last movie was the award-winning 2020 Netflix drama Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.

“While he was taken from us too soon, his spirit is with us always in his work and the good that he has inspired. He always spoke of his time at Howard and the positive way it shaped his life and career. Now, we will have the opportunity to give many future superheroes a chance to experience the same” said Ted Sarandos, Netflix co-CEO and chief content officer. “We are grateful to Simone and Chadwick’s whole family and our partners at Howard University for making this possible.”

Other Howard Fine Arts alumni include actress Taraji P. Henson, singers Roberta Flack and Jessye Norman, Debbie Allen, and Oscar-nominated cinematographer Bradford Young.