Dear Howard University Students,
Welcome to the 2026–2027 academic year.
To our newest Bison, welcome to The Mecca. You arrive at Howard at an extraordinary moment, as we approach the 160th anniversary of our charter. You are joining a living legacy shaped by generations of students who came to this University with ambition and purpose and left prepared to change their communities, our nation and the world.
To our returning students, welcome back. I hope you return renewed and prepared to continue the important work you began here.
Whether this is your first year or your final year, I encourage you to remember that a Howard education is about far more than earning a degree. It is about discovering
your purpose, challenging yourself intellectually, developing your character and preparing to use your talents in service to others.
You begin this year during a period of profound change in higher education. Shifts in federal policy and funding, financial aid, research, technology and the cost of higher education are creating new realities for students, families and universities. These changes require Howard to adapt and innovate while remaining steadfast in our commitment to academic excellence, access, opportunity and student success.
They also require something of you.
Be informed. Ask questions. Take responsibility for your academic and financial obligations. Seek assistance early when you need it. Attend class, engage your professors and advisors, and take advantage of the extraordinary resources available to you. Your success will require talent, certainly, but also discipline, preparation, integrity and perseverance.
And make Howard your own.
Spend time on The Yard. Join an organization. Attend a lecture, performance or athletic event. Meet people whose experiences and perspectives differ from yours. Serve our surrounding communities. Build relationships that will remain with you long after your time on The Hilltop has ended.
Most importantly, remember that you now share responsibility for Howard’s legacy.
The way you treat one another, care for our campus, pursue excellence and represent this University matters. Nearly 160 years of Bison came before you, and generations will follow. What Howard becomes next will be shaped, in part, by what you contribute today.
The world around Howard will continue to change. But the principles that have sustained this University must remain constant: the pursuit of truth, a commitment to service, excellence in all that we undertake and an unwavering belief in the transformative power of education.
Howard has never merely prepared its students to adapt to the world as it is. We prepare you to help create the world as it should be.
I challenge each of you to make this year consequential. Stretch beyond what is comfortable. Care for one another. Pursue excellence. And leave Howard stronger because you were here.
Welcome home, Bison. I look forward to seeing you on The Yard.