Progressive President Of Howard University To Resign...

H. Patrick Swygert's Bio:
http://www.howard.edu/president/biography.asp

Letter of Resignation
MEMORANDUM





TO: Howard University Community



FROM : H. Patrick Swygert

President



DATE: April 27, 2007



SUBJECT: Announcement of Retirement



________________________________________________________________________



I write to inform you of my decision to retire as President of our beloved University on June 30, 2008.



I owe much to the University. My Howard undergraduate education, law degree and my faculty and staff mentors, coupled with the lifelong friendships of my classmates, prepared me to succeed in the world beyond The Capstone.



Let me thank as well all those who helped to make and continue to make my tenure as President such a joy. So many have contributed so much to the University’s successes and I thank each of you for making such success possible. Indeed, it is because of your efforts and involvement that we have been one of the nation’s leaders in the recruitment of National Achievement Scholars. We have also been blessed with numerous student exemplars who have achieved high academic status as Rhodes Scholars, Fulbright Scholars, Truman Scholars, Pickering Fellows, Luard Scholars, and this year, for the first time, a Marshall Scholar.



Validation of the scholarly quality, vitality and relevance of our academic programs has been our ability to recruit successfully new junior faculty who are graduates of many of the nation’s premiere doctoral institutions, as well as to attract outstanding senior faculty. During the six-year period from academic year 2001-2002 to the current year, we have hired 142 new tenure-track faculty and 17 others joined our ranks with tenure.



We have seen as well significant upgrading of the University’s capital and research infrastructure, the construction of two state-of-the-art libraries, The Louis Stokes Health Sciences Library and the Law Library. In addition, the University was recognized by the Intel Corporation as “one of the top 24 wireless universities in the country.” We can join as well in celebration of the LeDroit Park Initiative, now a nationally recognized model for university-community neighborhood revitalization efforts.



Our fiscal discipline has enabled the University to maintain a strong financial posture as evidenced by the University’s A+ credit rating from Standard & Poor’s, which coupled with our Moody’s Investor Services rating gives us as high a credit rating as any local college or university.



The success of The Campaign for Howard was recognition by alumni and supporters of the University’s vitality, energy, intellectual rigor of its programs and continued engagement with the critical issues affecting the African-American community and the greater African Diaspora. The Campaign met and exceeded its $250 million goal ten months ahead of our projected completion date and is the most successful capital campaign in history by any African-American institution.



During the upcoming academic year, I will pursue a very robust agenda: the Middle States Self-Study, the Strategic Framework for Action III and other important initiatives, including working with you and the Board of Trustees to assure a smooth transition for the new University leadership.



I make this announcement fully confident that our students will continue to make real “Leadership for America and the Global Community” during their time at Howard and beyond, and that our esteemed Board of Trustees will continue to do everything they can to enhance and support our great University.



Go Bison!