This program is made by MPT to enrich the diverse communities throughout our state and is made possible by the generous support of our members.

Thank you.

>> Connecting Marylanders to their government.

This is "State Circle."

>> Hello, and welcome to a special edition of "State Circle."

This is MPT's sixth season of exploring the legacy and future of the region's historically black colleges and universities.

I'm Dr. Kaye Wise Whitehead, host of today with Dr. Kaye on weaa radio 88.9 FM.

Tonight on this hour-long program, our team of reporters will visit the six schools in our areas and introduce us to some new and innovative programs.

But first, I went to the two HBCUs in Washington D.C., charting on the campus of the University of District of Columbia to meet president Maurice Edington.

So I want to begin with going back some because I know that UDC as it is affectionately known, says you are the second oldest HBCU, 1851.

Can you take us back to a little bit of the history of UDC so we can understand your positionality around it?

>> I would love to, thank you.

So the current iteration of the institution is the University of District of Columbia.

But as you stated, our origins date back to 1851, when Miner Teachers College -- originally Miner Normal School was founded.

It was founded as an institution for African-American women.

And it evolved into Miners Teachers College with a focus preparing teachers.

And so that's where our origins began.

And over time, as D.C. grew, the city expanded and established two additional institutions.

Federal City College and Washington Technical Institute.

And by that time, Miner Teachers College had evolved into D.C. Teachers college.

You had three institutions in D.C. is the mid 60s.

And the residents-- as the city continued to grow-- put a focus having a comprehensive university.

And so those three institutions ultimately were merged into the University of District of Columbia in 1976.

So now moving forward, here we are as a comprehensive public HBCU land grant institution, about to celebrate our 175th year of existence.

>> Can you paint the picture for us of miner normal Teachers College?

Was it was like at that time because it wasn't situated at this plates where you are now.

>> Actually one of the historical buildings is actually part of Howard University now.

But you know, back then, there was a focus, right during the slavery era coming out of it, to provide educational opportunities for African-Americans.

And so across the south, particularly you had a lot of new institutions for African-Americans that focused on first just basic skills and then they evolved into teaching institutions, to prepare teachers.

And so one of the I think most impactful aspects of miners Teachers College and ultimately D.C. Teachers College is that D.C.'s public school system and the D.M.V.

's public school system were the beneficiaries of the talent that were produced so you had a cadre of talented, professional educators across the whole D.M.V.

region that came through our institution.

And many of them became educational leaders, right?

And so our founding back then, it was really about coming out of the civil rights era-- I mean the slavery era and educating a population D.C., and really upward mobility for citizens at that time.

>> I think people don't really think about the fact that when you were founded, you were still in American slavery.

You are talking about 1851.

It didn't end until 1865 with the 13th amendment you are talking about.

But you were here surviving as a place to educate, really a generation of black teachers who then were farmed out into the schools around D.C. >> Right.

>> Which is an important part.

>> It's very important.

And that's our origin, right, providing service to the community, right, so it started with education, right?

Educating the citizens and producing educators who could then go into those communities and provide educational opportunities.

So to this day, that's still part of our DNA.

>> When I look at udc and do extensive research, I see it as a stool, with thee parts.

The first part is the historical legacy.

Knowing that you have been here since 1851.

Knowing that you are, you position yourself as the second oldest HBCU and if you are an HBCU or you know, I'm saying you position yourself because there is always a little debate about who came first.

The important thing is that we are still here.

>> That's right.

That's right.

>> The second stool is to think about the ways in which the city interacted.

Because after Brown v. Board, it was the city pushing to come together.

It was the city pushing to have the schools come together for black women, a school for white women, which is Washington normal college.

But can you talk about the impact of the city changing and helping to evolve?

>> That's a significant point because it was the residents, right, who advocated for expanded educational opportunities for citizens.

And one of the key things was to-- there was a push for an expansion outside of the field of education.

Residents said we would like higher ed opportunities in other fields.

And so through that advocacy, those other predecessor institutions were founded, right.

So you had the focus on teaching and then you had federal City College and Washington Technical Institute.

And that was from the impetus of the residents, right?

Because they clamored for a broad array of opportunities.

And then that same focus ultimately lead to the establishment of the University of District of Columbia because the residents said we want a comprehensive higher ed institution in the city as a public institution.

And so I think when you think about where we are and why we are here, it goes back to that service mission and meeting the needs of the district residents.

And to your point, they advocated for this institution to be what it is.

So if you read our mission statement, it speaks to addressing the needs of the district communities and that's a perfect example of how the governing bodies, the local and Congress and president, they really pushed to and listened to the residents to establish this institution.

>> I know D.C.

I'm as native Washingtonian as you can be.

I have been here since I was three or four years old.

D.C. is positioned as the northern most southern city.

But there is a distinct difference between an HBCU that is kind of in the north and an HBCU from the south.

You are down from Tennessee.

Can you talk about something that makes udc so distinctive because it's positioned in D.C. in the nation's Capitol?

>> That's a good point because I attended Fisk University in Tennessee and was employed at another institution in Florida, another HBCU So there is a stark difference.

One of them, in terms of where UDC is positioned compared to schools in the deep south is when we are in an urban center or for America, so we are kind of on the dividing line between southern region and then the northern most populated region of the country.

And so you have a very strong urban focused environment here, flavor.

Whereas in the south, most of the institutions are rural, right?

So a lot of the students in some of the more southern HBCUs, they grew up in rural environments, right?

So in the local communities there, the HBCUs are centerpieces.

Here we are in an environment surrounded by several other higher ed institutions in an urban environment, right?

And so one of the biggest differences is when you think about a UDC and HBCU identity, we are very focused on meeting the local needs, workforce needs.

Very strong connection, probably more so than you would see at a more traditional HBCU in a rural setting.

So that's one of the things that is unique to our identity.

We have a very strong focus on the job market and making sure that we produce talent to meet local market needs, right.

And another unique aspect of UDC is we are a public university, but we are also part of the district government so we function in some ways as a city agency, government agency and at the same time a public university.

And so one of the things that that means is we are very in tuned to the needs of the district government.

So we work with our sister agencies to make sure we are meeting their talent needs and providing programs and services that support the district's work.

So we have a very unique perspective compared to some of our sister institutions.

>> I wanted to kind of as the third stool, the fact that you are now celebrating 175 years, which means you have survived through the Civil War, the nadir of the African-American history through the 1920s.

You survived through the civil rights movement, thinking about the impact of the assassination of Dr. King on the city itself and what was happening in and around the city.

You've come through all of that and you are still standing.

>> That's right.

>> So can you talk a little bit about how you draw on the past that's really rooting you in the present but also preparing you for the future?

>> Yeah, yeah one of the things I talk about a lot is UDC's history is D.C.'s history.

Our trajectory really closely mirrors that of the city, if you look at the history.

And so the time periods that you just described, right, and the fact that this institution has survived, I think, is rooted in something I referred to earlier is that mission around meeting the needs of this local community.

And so D.C. has grown significantly, right, over the last three years, in fact.

It's evolved significantly, obviously during our 175 years of existence.

But through all the high-level changes and evolutions, through changes in demographics in the city, change in policy, right, federal, local level, going through slavery, civil rights era.

One of the things that has been very consistent about UDC-- and it speaks to why we are still here is-- we really focus on addressing the educational needs of district residents.

>> Now I know people think HBCUs, one thing that comes to mind is that it is specifically suited to meet the needs of black students because that's what you get, even rooted in the title.

We know that the world is a lot more diverse than it has ever been, but with the changes in UDC and the changes in the demographics of D.C. is still predominantly black.

We understand that.

Who is the typical UDC student now?

>> Yeah, and the thing about HBCUs, is our mission is rooted in serving primarily African-Americans, our history and mission.

But when you think about how we approach our current mission and the work we do, we don't think of ourselves as existing to serve only one student population.

We approach our work as providing high quality educational experience, access and opportunity for anybody that wants it.

That still attracts primarily a certain demographic without our focus is addressing the needs of our students.

So thinking about a typical UDC student, so we are very unique in several ways, right?

We have our average age is higher be the typical population so our demographic shifts slightly higher because we have older students, we have first generation students coming out of the local public school system.

We also have people coming back to school after being in the workforce and there is a good mixture and also because we have community college as part of the institution, we have a two-year programs.

And that's where you will see that diversity in terms of age range because you have a lot of people out there working and want to come back and get a credential, short-term credential.

And one of the things community colleges do is they provide on and off ramps for people.

People start, work, go to school part time and they take a little bit longer, right?

And so we have that mix and we have a growing Hispanic population because it mirrors D.C.'s demographics, right, so as D.C.'s Hispanic population increases, we are seeing upticks in that, too.

But we are still primarily African-American in terms of percentages.

Around 60%.

>> Dr. Maurice Edington, president of the University of District of Columbia, the 10th president-- 175 years of turning potential into power.

>> That's right >> Thank you, it has been a joy.

>> UDC students interested in aviation and looking for a career among pilots and mechanics can choose aviation, maintenance technology program.

As MPT's Charles Robinson finds out, recent graduates are already working in major airports.

>> Reporter: Meet Esther Hart.

She is a freshman at and nola ginger is a senior at the University ever District of Columbia.

They're studying to be Airline mechanics.

Gina's interests came from his love of cars.

I know how to work with people but not how to manage people because some of the projects here make you a leader and you have to manage people, work with them in an instructive way.

So I learned how to do that and a lot more information about planes.

>> Repoter: Being a female in a male dominated industry is just one of the challenges.

>> When I came in, I had no experience, no knowledge.

But I came in very open minded.

And the journey so far has been very knowledgeable.

So I have learned a lot about planes, about engines, hydraulic systems.

And it's been a knowledgeable journey.

I have always been interested in flying.

And obviously that also implied that I also want to make sure that flying is safe.

So that's why.

>> Reporter: Their classroom is at anchor number two at national airport.

They're under the supervision of Alusiine Kanu.

>> Our students come from different backgrounds.

We have students who are currently working at this airport They have been out of school fora minute and are working at this airport.

some of them come for baggage, customer service.

The airlines here are DCA and Dulles Airport.

And we have students coming right out of high school.

So we teach them basically what they will be doing in the field if they are currently working in the field.

That's what this aircraft are representing.

>> Reporter: UDC is one of two HBCUs in our area that deal with aviation.

Not only do they deal with general aviation, but they also tackle commercial aviation.

We showed up on exam day.

Students must pass school work and take an F.A.A.

test.

>> The airlines is in short of mechanics.

In 2036, the Airline should have at least 10,000 mechanics to replace the retired mechanics because they're looking at the demographics in the field.

A lot of old people are getting out and in about 10 years from now, you are talking about five or 6,000 mechanics will be retired.

>> Reporter: A need fulfilled by an HBCU.

At national airport, I'm Charles Robinson.

>> As interests in HBCUs continue to rise, these institutions are reporting record breaking enrollment numbers.

A new film airing tomorrow night follows the changes, the misconceptions and the current State of HBCUs through the personal stories of students and insights from experts.

>> My name is Asada and I attend an HBCU.

>> My name Desha Hubbard.

>> My name is Peter Komalo.

>> My name is Sam Weiss and I attend an historically black college and university.

>> Reporter: How do you think going to an HBCU is different from going to a predominantly white school?

>> I don't know.

I really think it's all about what you make it.

>> I wasn't used to getting in an environment that was so black I guess you.

>> you Never know what a HBCU has until you look for it.

>>" "Opportunity, access and uplift the evolving legacy of HBCU" airs Saturday at 8 p.m. >> Now we are going to learn about the four HBCUs that are located here in Maryland.

First up MP's Nancy Yamada explains how Coppin state students are learning to procure, protect and analyze patient health records.

>> It's traditionally been known as managing patient records or patient data.

You may become-- you may understand medical records.

But over time, it's evolved.

>> Reporter: Coppin State University is the only school in Maryland to offer an accredited baccalaureate and masters degree in health Information Management.

Chairperson Dr. Mona Calhoun says it is a multi-faceted degree that gives lots of students lots of opportunity in the job market.

>> It has involved into more than just managing the information.

Our students learn skills in data analytics, research, reimbursement, billing, coding, privacy, security,.

>> Reporter: The interesting challenge for students is that the industry is constantly evolving and is influenced by federal and state regulations.

>> There is regulations around the standards of how data is used, how it's maintained.

That goes into the Informatic side of our profession.

Information is what the patient brings.

What they are when they come into the hospital is the information we collect on them.

But how it is used, how it is collected, how it is stored is the Informatic side so our students are getting the best of two worlds with this profession.

They can go into the management of the information or the Informatic side, which is more of the technology and electronics and systems analysis.

Data analysis.

How we make-- use the information make decisions in our healthcare industry.

>> Reporter: Currently there are 56 students in their program.

Jacqueline Kerina, a native of Kenya and mother of thre,e, is a senior.

>> I like it because it has wide variety of opportunity careers whereby I can be able to choose to work in any field.

>> Reporter: Beyond collecting data, students are also learning how to protect patients' private information.

It's one of the greatest challenges in the industry.

>> You should secure the information of the patient because you don't want it to be leaked out.

It should be well saved, more so nowadays computerized.

>> When we talk about cybersecurity, when we talk about hacking, we have to stay in front of that.

Even A.I., how A.I.

is evolving and used in healthcare to do surgeries, to help with diagnosis, so we have all of that incorporated within our program to help prepare our students for not only what currently is here, but what is to come.

>> Reporter: Coppin students are learning how to adapt as technology evolves, legislation passes and new diseases are discovered.

There is pride in knowing that the information they collect and protect is being utilized in a meaningful way.

>> Without accurate coding of the record, hospitals are not receiving the reimbursement that they should receive.

Without taking the data and analyzing it to determine how that information can be used to bring resources into a community, perhaps there are a lot of children who need immunizations.

That information is captured when they come into the hospital and we see that is a resource that's needed.

>> Reporter: At Coppin State University, I'm Nancy Yamada.

>> A unique program at UMES and the university's department of fine arts is drawing students from around the state and beyond.

MPT Sue Kopen with that story.

>> Reporter: Welcome to today's sequential joint art class.

>> Open it up.

That's pretty cool.

>> Reporter: Instructor professor Elvin Hernandez.

>> I'm going to go over again the expectations we are holding on everybody.

Sequential arts 3, you should all know what you have to do by the end because you are already well into it.

You are working on your comics, you are working on your covers, you are working on your stuff.

Sequential arts 1 rand 2, we'll go over the requirements closer to the end.

>> Reporter: What is sequential arts?

>> Sequential arts is basically visual storytelling that involves panel-to-panel pictures and at times the combination of words and pictures.

>> Reporter: Chances are, you have probably seen sequential art but didn't know it.

>> We use sequential art in many ways to tell instructions or visual information in panel-to-panel story telling.

But of course the more popular version and the one that everyone wants to do more of is comics, manga, anything that has to do with storyboarding, whether it be for animation or for film.

And some elements of like children's illustration, images that kind of follow one another.

>> Reporter: The term sequential art has only been around for four decades.

Coined by a comic artist to describe the art form and its four elements.

Design, drawing, caricature and writing.

>> It involves a lot of the elements of preproduction for animation.

You have to create characters and create like environments.

It has elements of graphic design because the pages have to look good.

And at the same time they have to tell their story.

You have to be kind of a writer at the same time because you are not just drawing things, but you are also telling a story.

>> Reporter: And the sequential arts program here at UMES is attracting students not just from Maryland but around the country and the world.

>> It is still a program that if you look at the country, you are going to see programs that have sequential arts connected to it, but it's not the market of art programs.

And one of the big things about here is that we are the first HBCU to have it.

>> Reporter: Baltimore resident Harrel Tomlin is a recent graduate of the program.

>> My passion is graphic illustration, but can I go into design stuff for like industry or making my own animation or own cartoon if I wanted to or movies.

So I also like game design for constant arts.

There are a lot of things I can do.

I'm just seeing where my art can take me.

>> Prince Georges county resident Jordan Gary says the UMES program provides some important career opportunities.

>> The fact that we can go to the comic conventions and we are able to sell our work at the conventions and act as ACTIA, working artists in the industry was good.

>> Reporter: Professor Elvin Hernandez said this is a program with great growth potential.

>> I always want us to get huge.

That's always something I wanted.

Growing too fast is a positive problem to have.

We'll figure that out when we get there.

It is a program that keeps growing every year so that is always a positive.

We are working on getting a masters going here as well.

Because I think one of the things we definitely want to see is people wanting to pursue that further education in sequential.

>> Reporter: At UMES, I'm Sue Kopen.

>> Less time and lower cost.

That's the goal of a brand new one-year masters' program in morning Morgan State University.

The online course will help teachers meet the requirements for state certification.

And as Sue Kopen tells us, the offering will also provide an alternative career for displaced federal workers.

>> Reporter: Welcome to the first day of orientation for Morgan's new streamlined Master of Arts in teaching program.

>> You all are in an accelerated program that is going to be demanding because you are also going to be going to work every day, right?

And it is important to have community when you are doing something that is really demanding because you can share ideas with one another that we are going to be encouraging you to do.

So we need to build that community.

>> The idea for Morgan's accelerated program which usually runs for two years, started with Dean Glenda prime.

>> One evening when the idea came to me, I sent a quick text to my president and I said what if I started a program that would assist federal workers in finding new employment and at the same time addressing the problem of teacher shortages.

Do you think it's a good idea?

He sent back three words.

It's a terrific idea.

>> Reporter: The plan came together just as the state was preparing to launch a grant program to help displaced federal workers transition to new careers in education.

Morgan was awarded one of those grants.

>> We have not had as large a number of federal workers as we had hoped, but I think that this, if we consider this as a pilot year and the word gets out that we are doing something that will get them employed and making a really great contribution to the state, I think that number will increase.

>> Reporter: The dean says federal workers bring much to the education field.

>> They will have content knowledge because what we are doing is accepting into the program displaced federal workers who have degrees in areas of the curriculum that we are interested in.

So people who have STEM degrees, people who have mathematics degrees, people who have degrees in the social studies.

So those are areas that overlap with the school curriculum.

>> Reporter: For the veteran teachers now enrolled in this new program, which features both online and hybrid classes, the savings in both time and money were major factors in signing up.

>> Just having the ability to get a masters degree and do it, you know, considering the financial burden and the time, I think this just was an amazing opportunity, right, to be able to get all of that experience in a year and be able to do it around, you know, these great professors and around these great academics.

>> Reporter: For Shir Nagari Gary, an art teacher at public but not an education major as an undergrad, joining this first cohort was an important step forward in her teaching career.

>> I had my conditional certificate and Baltimore County public schools said if you want to keep teaching, you need to enroll in a program and finish it within a year.

So this timing of the program being shortened is benefiting me and giving me the ability to teach longer than the two years they originally hired me for.

>> Reporter: Dean prime said this accelerated program could well become a larger part of Morgan's future.

>> We are committed to ensuring there is no change in the quality of what we offer.

So we have to think innovatively and intentionally about how we structure these but that's a model.

So this program can be a model for what we will do across the university.

>> Reporter: At Morgan State University, I'm Sue Kopen.

>> At Bowie state, students are blending the technical precision of computer science with the creative expression of visual arts.

Here is Nancy Yamada on the virtual reality and gaming program.

>> Traditional games allow the gamer to interact with those with what goes on through the story from behind the character to the character, Our VR systems incorporate that into the game allowing the player to be the character.

>> A mirror, someone is there with me as well.

I have like a living room section with different people.. >> Reporter: This Bowie State University state graduate student isn't just playing in a virtual reality world.

She is creating it.

That's part of the curriculum in the virtual reality and gaming program.

Bowie State is the first HBCU to offer this Bachelor of Science degree.

>> We are looking at one of the platforms we developed to help students be more engaged.

>> Reporter: Graduate student Ruth Agada shows us how learning about coding, algorithms and 3D animation and visualization can be used for far more than entertainment.

Their computer science skills are being utilized in education and in the healthcare field.

>> It has definitely evolved into being more than just entertainment because as we have come to understand, if I can get fun out of it, cool, I can get fun out of a thing.

But what else can I do with this because I want to integrate it into every other aspect of my life.

>> Reporter: It has proven to be especially useful for patients with mobility issues.

>> It's used in rehabilitative care for people with Parkinson's.

Helping them perform specific set of short exercises, in short bursts to help them increase the range of motion.

>> Reporter: This industry is rapidly changing in large part because of A.I.

or artificial intelligence.

Students are being encouraged to embrace it because it's here to stay.

>> They continue to push the boundary between realism and created work.

It can be really, really fantastic for this field, for gamers when they try to access any game or play any kind of game, one of the biggest things for them is how realistic the characters work, how realistic the models work.

>> For example, when people use the images, we want to use A.I.

to capture the real life-like animations for the real human.

That applies to the 3D animated character.

>> Reporter: Professor Jie Yan expects the program will be even more popular given the global market size for extended reality is expected to grow 34% annually until 2033, according to dimension market research.

The estimated value of the industry is expected to reach $25.3 billion.

>> With integrating A.I.

into the space, we now take an already established field, an already burgeoning area and working towards adding a little bit of intelligence to it.

How do I off shoot in the tasks that would have been done by a person?

How do we intelligently come up with a solution?

>> Reporter: A.I.

can increase their efficiency, students point out it can't replace their problem solving skills, critical thinking and creativity.

At Bowie State University, I'm Nancy Yamada.

>> Higher education scholars and experts celebrate HBCU ability to develop leaders.

The leader of the central intercollegiate Athletic association, known as the CIAA, Jacqie McWilliams-parker, HBCU graduate and former student athlete has taken the conference and post-season basketball tournament to new heights.

Here is her story.

>> I am a rocky mountain girl.

I was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado Fort Carson.

My dad was in the military.

I'm 56.

So think about in 1972, when title IX became an important piece of written legislation to allow women to have access to education and then sports became part of that, right.

I was a little girl.

I remember my mother had me so active.

I don't know if she knew about Title IX.

I just know that played everything.

I bowled.

I was a gymnast.

I jump roped.

Skated.

I did all the activities We moved so much.

I remember when I lived in California, they didn't have organized sports.

They had track.

You could join the track club.

Women could run really fast and I thought I was fast until I got out there with them, but it was competitive.

I graduated from high school in Colorado Springs but because of the military we've lived in Germany, Southern California and back to Colorado.

My family is from Mississippi so that's the southern loots where I spent all my summers when I was not in the locations that we lived.

Very country girl in a sense, but I love the city.

So I had a chance to explore and travel a lot as a kid.

Folks say how did you come from Colorado all the way to Virginia?

We didn't have the internet in the same way so it was encyclopedias and looking on the maps and working with my vice principal who is from New York, and really encouraged me to think about going to an HBCU.

My family are southern so they're a swack family, Jackson state southern Alabama, jackson state.

I wanted to go somewhere different and I wanted to be by the water.

I'm a water girl.

Living in Southern California gave me the love for the ocean and so being at Hampton, the home by the sea, and then I heard they have this amazing basketball team and I had a chance to walk on their teams.

1987, and I graduated in 1991.

I played two sports.

I played volleyball as well.

I was a walk-on for volleyball.

I didn't even have a scholarship.

I had scholarship offers.

I came out as one of the top players in Colorado but I didn't want to go to a majority white school.

I wanted to go to a black college so I asked my parents if they would give me the opportunity to go to Hampton.

I would work hard to get a scholarship.

And if I didn't, then I would figure it out.

And so they helped me my freshman year and then I earned a scholarship.

We won the national championship.

So as we celebrated this 50th anniversary of the CIAA, what a delight to be part of that experience.

There has only been three women's team to ever win a national championship.

There were three Jackies on the team.

I was little Jack.

I was a freshman.

I know how hard it is to win in this conference.

Now when I played at Hampton, we were 33-1.

We won a national championship.

We were kicking people's tails by 20 and 30 points.

One game we lost, we lost in the CIAA to Virginia state.

When we played them in the first round, we kicked their tails, like just like that.

You are battling, battling with yourself.

You are battling with your team.

And you are battling what is on the court.

I just wanted to play.

I don't think I ever thought about legacy or what that would look like.

I just wanted to play ball.

I wanted to go to college.

And so to go there and play, like for me, I would be the first-- my sister and I.

She is deceased.

But I would be the first of my parents to go to college.

I'm a first generation for my parents to actually go to college and get a masters degree.

So when you think about legacy, like I got to do something different from my family.

>> You can catch the entire story of the impact of women on the CIAA success in the encore presentation of" inside the CIAA her story."

Airing this Sunday at 6:30 p.m. now back to D.C. for a visit to Howard University and a conversation with Provost and Chief Academic Officer Dr. Anthony Wutah.

I'm excited about having this conversation and really trying to understand how Howard has become a name that is synonymous with HBCU.

Why don't we take it back to take it forward.

Can you talk about the historic founding of Howard University in 1867 only a few years after the ratification of the 13th amendment.

What was happening on the campus and how did it get situated?

>> sure.

Howard as you mentioned was founded in 1867,shortly after the end of the Civil War.

And we were founded, really the idea about founding a university to help educate newly freed slaves started during a prayer group meeting.

It developed into the idea to form a university not a school for preachers, not a school for teachers, but a full fledged university and we were chartered by Congress in 1867.

And the rest, as they say, has been history.

>> Which has been pretty interesting when I think about your work with Thurgood Marshall who has has come forward, Vice President Kamala Harris.

You have had quite a few notaries come through this university.

Can you paint a picture what it was like at Howard University when you first got started?

>> One of the things that I think is important about the founding of the university and, again, Howard was conceptualized as a university and with the intent to provide a full range of educational opportunities to newly freed slaves, but not only limited to newly freed slaves.

Many of Howard's first students were also the children of the founders and so we were one of the few institutions at that time that provided educational opportunities to young white women.

And so if you look at the founding of the university and our earliest programs, divinity, law, medicine dates back to 1868 as well as pharmacy, Howard was different in the way that it was conceptualized.

And I think that had a lot to do with not only the academic opportunities that we provided students.

By 1869, Howard was also admitting our first international students.

We had our first international graduates by 1872.

The first three, as a matter of fact, one came from Prussia, one from the Caribbean and the other from what is currently Ghana.

Howard has also been an international institution, really almost since the inception of the university.

>> Can you talk a little bit about how you were able to distinguish yourself?

You think of HBCUs from the upper north, all the way down to the deepest south.

How did Howard distinguish itself?

>> I think one of the things that is also unique about Howard is obviously we are in the nation's Capitol.

We are one of only two non-military academic institutions that receive congressional appropriation.

The other is Galluadet.

I think being housed in Washington D.C. and the seat of power, and with so much going on in terms of transit north to south and with the entryways to the west, there were a number of things that were centralized in this region where, within-- well now we are within 90-minute ride to Philadelphia.

We are within four hours of New York and then certainly not that far from Richmond.

So I think we also, because of Washington D.C., central location, we provided opportunities and access to students from throughout the region and ultimately throughout the country for a variety of reasons.

Certainly politics being in the seat of the political capitol of the nation, I think has also played a significant role.

>> I know that Howard is unique in that you have the degrees in all professions, arts, sciences, medicines, you have a law school which is really unique for HBCUs.

Can you talk about how are you balancing trying to meet the demands in each of these areas equally?

>> That's true.

Howard is the most comprehensive historically black college and university in the country.

We have 14 schools and colleges and we offer over 140 degree programs, undergraduate, graduate and professional.

As you mentioned, we offer law degrees, medical degrees, pharmacy.

We have the only dental school in Washington D.C. We also have social work program.

As well as a wide range of undergraduate programs.

I think that broad range of options that we provide to students really also makes Howard unique.

For an undergraduate student who may have the goal of becoming a physician, we have a hospital on campus and we have a medical school.

For a number of our young people who have interest in law and may major in political science, or history or strategic and legal, communications, but they also have access to the law school.

We have a divinity school which is also unique.

And when you look at the range of programs and the range of options, we also house WHUR and we have a television station on campus.

And so we provide a wide range of options for students and ways for them to consider how they, what is their place and how they fit, given their particularly areas of interest.

>> I think another thing that is very interesting about Howard as, you know, a class act as HBCU, you are able to pull in certain people to work with you.

I'm thinking recently you have Sherrilyn Ifill, Stacy Abrams here.

You brought in Phylicia Rashad.

You seem to be leveraging your popularity or your big pockets to be able to bring in people of that caliber.

Talk about the impact that has on the student body to have those folks on campus actually teaching classes.

>> We have been very fortunate in that we have had a number of alums who have gone on to be successful and do great things and have an interest in coming back and sharing their experiences with our students.

We have also done a good job of attracting scholars from a wide range of fields from politics, from medicine, fine arts and entertainment, business, and that really creates a unique mechanism for our students to learn, not only from our outstanding faculty, but also from scholars that we have been able to recruit, others who have sought Howard out because they see the uniqueness of the experience that we provide to students and also having that broad range of disciplines is attractive to a number of scholars who would like to be able to bounce ideas off of other individuals who are leaders in their own disciplines and fields.

>> I know one thing that people have always kind of complained about is getting alum to be able to give back to the university.

That doesn't seem to be an issue here at Howard.

You have the alumni who are actively involved financially and physically coming on campus and feeding into the lives of students.

How do you bridge the connection between those who are going here and those who have gone here?

>> We do have a very active alumni network.

Our Alumni Association is very active and we have active chapters not only throughout this country, but also in the Caribbean and Africa.

And I think our alums always want to be encouraging of our students; have things that they want to share in terms of their life experiences.

And certainly we have a number of alums who are adjunct professors or who may serve as preceptors in our health professional programs.

And that willingness to share their experiences and help to provide opportunities for our students is always invaluable.

>> One of the things I think, when I look at Howard, you had another milestone moment over last year.

I know the major one, of course, is Vice President Kamala Harris and her push toward the White House, even thinking of being on the campus of Howard University that night and the excitement and electricity around campus.

It was magical.

Just even in the moment, it was just so magical.

But there was another big milestone moment for you.

Becoming an r-1 university.

I want you to talk about that because that is absolutely huge in terms of being the first HBCU to reach that level.

>> It is very significant for us.

Howard was actually-- had an r-1 designation a few decades ago so this was critical for us to regain that designation as a leading research university.

We have outstanding faculty who are doing excellent work and research in medical, medicine and health sciences and the social sciences.

And the r-1 designation was really the sort of the icing on the cake and it helped to validate the work that we have been doing over a number of decades to provide not only enriching didactic and classroom experiences for our students, but really our faculty being engaged in research that is critical and important in areas that are of significant value and importance to our community.

And so, you know, regaining the r-1 status is important, not only for our faculty, it's important in terms of recruiting high caliber students but it's also important in terms of continuing to do the work that is of significant interest to our faculty and certainly also being able to obtain research funding that will help to underwrite that type of research that we want to continue to do.

>> But the work to build is never done.

>> Oh no.

>> It's always continuing.

Can you talk about some of the building projects that are happening on the campus here?

>> Yeah, we just recently completed a significant renovation of miner hall, which was formerly miners Teachers College.

It now houses our School of Education and the middle school for math and science, which is housed on campus.

We are still in the process of constructing a new tower for the hospital, which will hopefully will break ground in the next year.

We have a number of other projects in terms of a new building for the Kathy Hughes School of Communications.

And given our significant increase in enrollment and the demand for housing on campus, we are also looking to do new residential housing and wellness and fitness center for our faculty, students and staff.

>> Thank you so much.

Howard University founded 1867.

You are back to r-1 status.

I think people who know the university know what to say when I say hi.

So I appreciate your time sitting down with us.

>> Oh, thank you.

It has been my pleasure.

>> When colleges have spring break, students normally head home or they head to warmer climates.

At Howard University the break from class means an opportunity to give back.

MPT's Charles Robinson looks at Howard's alternative spring break.

>> Reporter: To get an auditorium of Howard University students to swag surf is nothing new.

But when it's time to head to the alternative spring break, let's just say the bison turn it up.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> Our students forego their normal spring break and we go foo the communities and offer our services in those communities every spring break.

So when we say alternative, we are not doing the normal spring break trips.

We are actually going out into the community to serve across the nation.

>> Reporter: But buses lined up at Howard University are headed to various communities across the country.

It's part of the school's alternative spring break.

In 19914, the school decided to tackle disaster relief in lumberton, North Carolina.

Things really came into focus during 2008.

Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans.

FEMA suggested the students delay coming to the disaster area.

Students and their advisers went anyway to help.

You have been in a unique position that you have both been a student at the program as well as administrator.

Tell me what you see and what you think the motivation is for students.

>> HBCU epitomizes what Howard University's mantra is, truth in service.

So students understand they're inspired that they know when they go into these communities, they're going to be giving of themselves.

What is unique about our alternative spring break is student led.

So what does that mean?

Our students, we have year round, so the students beginning-- they're beginning next year right now actually.

They begin planning-- they go through multiple trainings throughout the year as well as intensive leadership development.

So some of the challenges actually is each year you meet a new student group and you start from scratch.

Last year, we took over 1300 students to 22 communities across the country.

>> Reporter: Site coordinators do research on the communities they will travel to, creating site initiatives to which they will lay the foundation of the experience.

It can include youth empower plant and environmental justice.

They identify problems and look for solutions.

The program is open to all students.

It's put Howard in that rarefied air.

Students log 150,000 hours of community service assisting some 22 communities across the country, making the mecca the largest single school to do so.

I'm Charles Robinson.

>> Thank you so much for joining us for our special look at the HBCUs located in our nation's Capitol.

In case you missed it, here is another chance to watch "becoming Thurgood, "tomorrow night at 9:30 p.m.

This MPT original production explores the life and journey of Thurgood Marshall.

The first black Supreme Court Justice from his native Baltimore through two HBCUs Lincoln university, my alma mater and Howard University.

In route to becoming the nation's foremost civil rights attorney.

This film was produced by a collaboration of HBCU graduates, Alexis Agary producer and director and Norfolk University alum and graduate from southern university, co-executive producer Travis Mitchell of Morgan state university alum and Stanley Nelson, the Oscar nominated filmmaker of "tell them we are rising."

He is also a co-executive producer of this important film.

As we leave you with a look at "becoming Thurgood " remember, you can visit MPT.org/HBCU to watch any of our HBCU week now programs.

I'm Dr. Kaye wise Whitehead.

Thank you very much for joining us.

>> This is Harlem.

Harlem has always had the reputation of being a place of music, gaiety and excitement.

But to us, it has another meaning: Here, only negroes live.

How did this come about?

The negro was brought from Africa to be sold into slavery.

A century ago slavery was abolished.

But a pattern of segregation took its place.

>> This is a dark hour indeed, yet a blacker night would come and the sun would not come out for a very long time.

>> Our first guest tonight is a man who argued and won a case against the Supreme Court of the United States, which affected millions of Americans who formerly had second class citizenship.

The chief counsel of the national association for the advancement of colored people.

Thurgood marshall.

>> Thurgood Marshall.

He is the only Supreme Court Justice in the history of the court who was more famous for what he did before rising to justice.

He spent six decades of his life committed to, frankly, making the 14th amendments guarantee that equality is real.

>> Legally speaking he is one of the founding fathers.

>> We all know that after the Civil War, Congress ratified three amendments that we think of the reconstruction amendments, or the civil war amendments 13, 14 and 15th amendment.

The 13ths abolished slavery.

The 15s said you cannot deny the right to vote based on race.

The 14th amendment is the centerpiece of it.

>> The 14th amendment was designed to wrap black people in citizenship and having the same rights that white people do.

>> This was created for the purpose of overturning the Dred Scott case which made black people stateless people because the Supreme Court in Dred Scott said black people could not be citizens.

But we also know that there was the backlash and that reconstruction unraveled within 20 years culminating in the 1896 Plessy vs. Ferguson decision in which the Supreme Court said separate but equal is constitutional.

Which basically pardoned the concept of Jim Crow that we lived with for 70 years thereafter.

>> Nor were the advocates of white supremacy content to have all the wealth and all the votes and all the law on their side.

Klan was revived, lynches increased to extraordinary numbers and race riots erupted all over the country.

>> Race meant like Thurgood Marshall felt compelled to fight this caste system and devote their lives to it.

>> The first part of the civil rights movement.

Before somebody like Martin Luther King, Jr. came along, you had to sue for the right to do what Martin Luther King, Jr. was doing.

>> There is no one in this country who hasn't been touched by Thurgood Marshall's genius.

>> What is striking to me is the importance of law in determining the condition of the negro.

Just realize, he was effectively enslaved by a law which declared him a chattel of his master.

He was emancipated by law and then disenfranchised and segregated by law and finally is beginning to win equality by law.