Howard University: Dean Emerita Phylicia Rashad And Others Headline Charter Day Dinner
By Cedric Mobley Photos: Howard University\Wikimedia Commons The 2026 Howard University’s Charter Day marks the 159th year since the institution’s founding. As the university celebrates its extraordinary history, it also recognizes the ongoing impact of the institution and its students, faculty, staff, and alumni around the world. As part of that recognition, the university will honor four transformative Howard alumni during the 102nd Charter Day Dinner on Saturday, March 7, 2026, for their extraordinary work to uplift communities across the globe. The 2026 honorees for the Alumni Award for Distinguished Postgraduate Achievement are Jelani Cobb (B.A. ’94), Herbert B. Dixon Jr. (BSEE ’70), Kamilah Forbes (BFA ’98), and James K. Fortson, MD (B.S. ’72). Another extraordinary alumnus, Don Christian (BBA ’90), CPA, CISA, will serve as the Charter Day Convocation orator on Friday, March 6. He has been a dedicated member of Howard University’s Board of Trustees since 2018, serving as a committee chair and member of the executive committee. Now retired from PwC, Trustee Christian enjoyed a 36-year career with the firm, including service as a board member of PwC International and PwC US, lead client partner, regional and market leader, and consulting partner supporting organizations in business transformation, technology adoption, and risk management. A proud Howard alumnus, he earned a BBA in accounting from Howard and has completed executive education at Harvard Business School, Carnegie Mellon, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Trustee Christian is also the founding chairman of JHUAN Inc., which provides scholarships, mentorship, and other forms of support to Jamaican students at Howard University. His professional leadership and steadfast service reflect the values we seek to instill in every Howard graduate. The Charter Day dinner will be hosted by Tony Award-winner Phylicia Rashad (BFA ’70), dean emerita of the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts (COFA), who added to her luster very recently by directing “Purpose,” the 2025 Tony Award winner for Outstanding Broadway Play and Best Featured Actress in a Play. She also directed “Dangerous Acts: Howard University,” which won two 2024 New York Emmy Awards and, more recently, served as creative consultant for a production of Chadwick Boseman’s “Deep Azure” performed at Howard Theater in 2025 to raise funds for COFA. Source The Dig
Black News 
By Cedric Mobley
Photos: Howard University\Wikimedia Commons
The 2026 Howard University’s Charter Day marks the 159th year since the institution’s founding. As the university celebrates its extraordinary history, it also recognizes the ongoing impact of the institution and its students, faculty, staff, and alumni around the world.
As part of that recognition, the university will honor four transformative Howard alumni during the 102nd Charter Day Dinner on Saturday, March 7, 2026, for their extraordinary work to uplift communities across the globe. The 2026 honorees for the Alumni Award for Distinguished Postgraduate Achievement are Jelani Cobb (B.A. ’94), Herbert B. Dixon Jr. (BSEE ’70), Kamilah Forbes (BFA ’98), and James K. Fortson, MD (B.S. ’72).
Another extraordinary alumnus, Don Christian (BBA ’90), CPA, CISA, will serve as the Charter Day Convocation orator on Friday, March 6. He has been a dedicated member of Howard University’s Board of Trustees since 2018, serving as a committee chair and member of the executive committee. Now retired from PwC, Trustee Christian enjoyed a 36-year career with the firm, including service as a board member of PwC International and PwC US, lead client partner, regional and market leader, and consulting partner supporting organizations in business transformation, technology adoption, and risk management. A proud Howard alumnus, he earned a BBA in accounting from Howard and has completed executive education at Harvard Business School, Carnegie Mellon, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Trustee Christian is also the founding chairman of JHUAN Inc., which provides scholarships, mentorship, and other forms of support to Jamaican students at Howard University. His professional leadership and steadfast service reflect the values we seek to instill in every Howard graduate.
The Charter Day dinner will be hosted by Tony Award-winner Phylicia Rashad (BFA ’70), dean emerita of the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts (COFA), who added to her luster very recently by directing “Purpose,” the 2025 Tony Award winner for Outstanding Broadway Play and Best Featured Actress in a Play. She also directed “Dangerous Acts: Howard University,” which won two 2024 New York Emmy Awards and, more recently, served as creative consultant for a production of Chadwick Boseman’s “Deep Azure” performed at Howard Theater in 2025 to raise funds for COFA.
Source The Dig
