Phylicia Rashad is stepping down from her role as Dean of Howard University’s Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts, the school announced this week.
Rashad handed in her resignation and will leave the university at the end of the upcoming school year, Howard’s outgoing president, Dr. Wayne A. I. Frederick, said in an email posted online by HBCU Gameday.
“Dear Howard University Community, I am writing to express my deep thanks and gratitude to Dean Phylicia Rashad,” Frederick wrote. “She has informed me that she will be stepping down as dean at the end of her term following the 2023-2024 academic year.”
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Rashad, 75, graduated from Howard with a bachelor of fine arts and has served as adjunct faculty and guest lecturer at several other institutions, including New York University, Carnegie Mellon University, and Fordham University.
During her two-year tenure as dean, contributions to Howard’s fine arts program increased significantly, according to Frederick.
Those contributions included a $5.4 million gift from Netflix to establish the Chadwick A. Boseman Memorial Scholarship. Other contributors included Capri Holdings Foundation for the Advancement of Diversity in Fashion, Microsoft, and the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation, founded by Howard alum Taraji P. Henson.
The Walt Disney Company is also providing $1.5 million over the next five years to support the Cathy Hughes School of Communications and the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts.
“We deeply appreciate Dean Rashad’s selfless contributions and commitment to our alma mater during her leadership of the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts and the many contributions she has made to Howard University’s students, graduates, and global community,” Frederick said.
The Cosby Show, David Makes Man and Creed III actress was named dean of the College of Fine Arts in May 2021.
That same year, Howard renamed the College of Fine Arts in honor of late Black Panther actor and Howard graduate, Chadwick Boseman, with the support of his wife and the Chadwick Boseman Foundation.
Frederick said Howard will begin its search for a new fine arts dean soon.
