Opening Remarks
by
H. Patrick Swygert
President

Good Morning.

      To Trustee McDonald and the members of the Board of Trustees who are with us this morning, members of the cabinet, distinguished faculty and staff of the University; to our alumni, alumnae, retirees, friends and neighbors and honored guests; and most importantly to the students of Howard University, I bid you good morning and welcome you to Howard University’s 133rd Opening Convocation.
      Today, we pause to mark our 133rd year of pursuit of truth and service. We pause also to celebrate our great legacy, a legacy that is rooted in excellence, fortified by a strength of purpose and advanced by intellect.
      Today, we also celebrate the homecoming of a daughter of alma mater. Our speaker this morning is truly an embodiment of leadership for America and the global community. In only a few short days the Right Reverend Vashti Murphy McKenzie who on July the 11th was elected the first female bishop in the AME Church will depart from her beloved Payne Memorial AME Church in Baltimore for distant shores where she will undoubtedly energize, enlighten and reinvigorate her new communities and indeed nations around the world just as she has done here at home. Our daughter is not a prodigal child. She visits our Chapel often and in doing so makes real the values of wisdom and compassion. We are, however, so grateful that she could find time to schedule one more visit with us. We know that she’s not been simply elected as a Bishop, but indeed she’s been called to do what she’s done here elsewhere and to bless her new congregants with her presence.
      Bishop McKenzie let me take a few moments as well to introduce you to some news regarding this year’s first year class. I am extremely proud to report to you that this year’s first year class, the class of 2004 number 1,442 students. This is our largest first year class in quite some time and I want to publicly thank each and every member of our Enrollment Management Team, led by Dr. Carmen Cannon, the Office of the Provost, the faculty, the Office of the Executive Vice President, the Administration, alumni, family and friends who joined together to recruit such an outstanding group of young women and young men. Young women and young men of the kinds of young people we’ve recruited have indeed many, many, choices available to them for post secondary education. The fact that they chose Howard is a reaffirmation of our mission, our progress and our vision and we thank you for that.
      And let me acknowledge as well all of our alumni who both at home and abroad worked as well to make this possible. And many would say that you simply cannot recruit a class of this size without some diminution in so-called quality indicators. I say so-called because though there are some ostensible indicators of academic performance and potential, we know that that which is most important, the heart and the spirit are the most difficult to measure.
      But let me share some news with you regarding these indicators. The average SAT score of this year’s first year class is 1063, 1063. Again, I think some context is in order. In 1997, our average first year class SAT score was 1007, in ‘98 it was 1025, in ’99, last year it was 1050, this year it was 1063. That’s not an accident, that’s a trend and it’s a trend because you’ve made it so. Further context our average SAT score is five points, five points higher than the national SAT score for non-minority SAT takers. But Bishop, as you know, it’s not simply enough to gather in the flock, you must keep them. Retention is so important to each and every one of us. Our retention rate for last year’s first year’s class was 85 %, 85%; and its 85% mindful of the fact that in 1998 we made more stringent our academic continuation policies. This rate is ten points higher than the national average. But I don’t want to get bogged down simply in numbers when there are other indicators of the quality of Howard University and the imminence of its reputation.
      Now each year the U.S. News and World Report ranks America’s colleges and universities. Now we know that these rankings are largely subjective. We also know that as long as they’re keeping score we want to score high. At colleges and universities, nearly 4000 in number, are ranked within categories dependant upon complexity of program, the size of the institution and its avowed mission.
      Howard University is characterized and correctly so as a national university, one of only 228 such universities according to this indicator. We like to think of ourselves not simply as national but of course international as well and we’re proud of it. Now each national university in turn falls into four Tiers: Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3, Tier 4. Howard University last year was ranked in the third Tier of these 220 odd universities. This year we’re ranked in Tier 2; it’s not an accident, it’s a trend. In 1998 we’re ranked 154, in 1999 131, this year 111. I don’t like to play this numbers game because, as you know, it cuts all kinds of ways. But I do think it’s important that we share this great news with the members of our family. In 1998 our faculty resources were ranked 164th among peer institutions, this year we ranked 61st; and I’m sure my faculty colleagues will remind that 61 is a good place to start President Swygert; but not a place to end. In 1998 we ranked 52nd in our graduation rate, this year we ranked 8th; and this recitation could not be possible without students who recruit other students and most especially the faculty who give the students the sense of purpose, history, dedication and subject matter expertise that defines a Howard woman and a Howard man so I thank our faculty and our students for making this possible. I‘d like to say a word as well about investments we continue to make on our campus.
      At the Charter Day Convocation I talked at some length about the investments we are making in information technology. We are very pleased that we were able to recruit to the University Dr. Burl Henderson as our Chief Information Officer who is now leading the iLab and who in just a few weeks, just two weeks in fact, will be announcing that wireless internet access will be available in each of our residence halls, each of our residence halls. And I won’t try to explain the technology. They write it out in very simple words for me, but I’m always fearful that a sentence will jump and my un-readiness will become even more apparent. But let me say that this investment coupled with the iLab and other investments we’ve made are not only needed and necessary but at Howard it’s what we must do to make real leadership for America and the global community. Now this new infrastructure is connected through a series of Hubs. When I was a student at Howard, the Hub was called the "Punch-out"; and high-speed data transmission was called the grapevine. But we’ve certainly moved and moved well. I want to also acknowledge that acknowledgement of Howard comes in so many ways.
      Just last Friday, Vice President Al Gore appeared on campus at the invitation of the Young Democrats Campus lead by one of our truly outstanding students Crystal Frieron. She and her classmates invited the Vice President to a spirited welcome and debate. I’m happy to report that the young Republicans on campus have extended a similar invitation to Governor Bush and welcome the Governor to come and visit Howard as well.
      Now, we do. We began, and we will. We began by acknowledging Prince Carmen Jones Jr. He was on the cusp of making real the history today, making more history here at Howard University because he understood that that’s what Howard is truly about, not simply a recitation of numbers and statistics and places on some index chosen for whatever reason. He understood and sought to live like Gabrielle Kirk McDonald who will be bringing greetings on behalf of the board, like Elaine Jones who serves today as Director Counsel of NAACP Legal Defense in Education Fund, like Vernon Jordan, like Doug Wilder, like so many more who’ve committed and remain committed to social justice in this nation and indeed around the world.
      And that inheritance of social activism continues in the persons of our student leadership, Sellano Simmons and Nikkole Salter, President and Vice President respectively of the Howard University Student Association and all of those who’ve worked with them. Stefanie Brown and Jaha Howard, President and Vice President respectively of the Bison Chapter of the NAACP who understand that in the information age activism takes on a whole new dimension but you still must be active.
      I want to acknowledge as well those members of the faculty who continue through their teaching, their research, their service, their outstanding commitment also give text and texture to what the Howard experience is all about. Whether it be Professor Andrew Gavil of the Howard University School of Law, or Dr. Georgia Dunston or so many others that one could name. Whether it be visitors like this week’s visitor, the distinguished visitor, the School of Law’s Visiting Trial Lawyer in Residence, Johnnie Cochran, who spent two days out at the Law School and so many others. These activists are not confined; they don’t entirely define the Howard experience; they’re part of the experience.
      And we have cultural activists and giants as well: Toni Morrison, Lois Mailou Jones, Alain Locke, Phylicia Rashad, and Debbie Allen Nixon, Richard Smallwood, Jessie Norman, Elizabeth Catlett and Ossie Davis and so many others. And there’s another spirit who’s lent so much to the culture of Howard; she’s not a member of the Howard family as an alumni, but she’s certainly a member of our family in her spirit.
      Just this weekend, this past weekend, we had the grand opening of the Hewitt Collection in our Art Gallery. I want to thank the Bank of America and its new President, William Cooper, long time supporters of the University made this exhibition possible. And most importantly I want to thank Mrs. Vivian Hewitt who was with us displaying her wit, her charm, her energy, her commitment to all things of cultural and high values within our community. When the collection was introduced to the Howard community last Sunday, President Cooper of Bank of America said there was no more appropriate venue in Washington, DC to show this collection than Howard University. Again we salute our colleagues at Bank of America and we salute as well Dr. Tritobia Hayes-Benjamin and the faculty of the Division Fine Arts for opening their doors to the world’s Vivian Hewitt’s artists and collectors alike so that the full world can see.
      Again, it is a great morning and it’s a great morning with many more great mornings to come and because of each and every one of you in your support, your commitment, your love, your affection for Howard University and we thank you from the depth of our beings and the bottom of our hearts for that support. Thank you very much.  

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