Howard University To Rename One of Their Colleges After Chadwick Boseman

Chadwick Boseman is being honored by Howard University in a big way.

The university will be memorializing the late actor, who passed away from colon cancer in 2020, by renaming one of their colleges after him.

Click inside to read more about what Howard University is doing…

Howard University made the announcement this week that their College of Fine Arts will be renamed after Chadwick, who actually attended the college. Phylicia Rashad was also just named the dean of the campus.

According to Deadline, when Chadwick was a student there in the late 1990s, he led protests against the HBCU’s plan to absorb the department into the College of Arts & Sciences.

The College of Fine Arts was finally restored in 2018, and Chadwick delivered the commencement address that same year.

“When Chadwick Boseman returned to campus in 2018 to serve as our commencement speaker, he called Howard a magical place. During his visit, I announced our plans to reestablish the College of Fine Arts and he was filled with ideas and plans to support the effort in a powerful way,” Howard president Wayne A. I. Frederick shared in a statement. “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..

Disney’s Bob Iger will also oversee fundraising efforts for an endowment named after the Black Panther star as well as construction of a new building that will be home to the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts among other departments.

His widow, Simone Ledward-Boseman shared her thanks to Howard University for the honor.

“I am extremely pleased that Howard University has chosen to honor my husband in this way and elated that Ms. Rashad has accepted the role as Dean,” she shared. “Chad was a very proud Bison — both Howard and Ms. Rashad played integral roles in his journey as an artist. 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.”