Howard University

Howard University Names Fine Arts College for Chadwick Boseman

Actor Phylicia Rashad of "The Cosby Show" will be dean of the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts at Howard University

Chadwick Boseman
Photo by Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic

Howard University’s newly re-established College of Fine Arts will be named after Chadwick Boseman, the school announced Wednesday.

Boseman graduated from Howard in 2000 with a degree in directing. He became a famous actor and playwright, starring in "Black Panther" and the "Avengers" films. He died of colon cancer in August 2020 at age 43.

“Unrelenting in his pursuit of excellence, Chadwick was possessed with a passion for inquiry and a determination to tell stories … that revealed the beauty and complexity of our human spirit,” Phylicia Rashad, who mentored Boseman, said in a statement.

Rashad, who starred in "The Cosby Show" and "Creed," was recently appointed dean of the college.

When Boseman was a student at Howard, he led a student protest against the dissolution of the College of Fine Arts, which would be absorbed into the College of Arts & Sciences.

Years later, during Boseman’s visit to give a commencement address to the graduating class of 2018, University President Wayne A. I. Frederick announced that the college would be re-established.

“Chadwick’s love for Howard University was sincere, and although he did not live to see those plans through to fruition, it is my honor to ensure his legacy lives on through the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts with the support of his wife and the Chadwick Boseman Foundation,” Frederick said in the school's statement.

Photos: Famous Howard University Alumni and Former Students

The Walt Disney Company’s executive chairman, Bob Iger, volunteered to lead the fundraising effort to build a state-of-the-art facility for the college.

“The re-establishment of the College of Fine Arts brings this part of his story full-circle and ensures that his legacy will continue to inspire young storytellers for years to come,” said Boseman’s widow, Simone Ledward-Boseman.

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