Dr. Sidney A Ribeau on Friday will be officially inducted as the 16th president of Howard University, marking a new chapter in the university’s 142-year history.
Ribeau says he is committed to renewing the historic legacy of Howard University by expanding the university’s proven influence in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
In a wide-ranging interview with Diverse, he rejects persistent criticism questioning the relevancy of historically Black colleges in a socially progressive era marked by the election of a Black commander in chief to the White House.
“We just celebrated our 142-year anniversary, and it is critically important for Howard to remember the things that allowed us to add value to the quality of life in America,” says Ribeau, referencing, for example, the continued impact of Howard University’s hospital and college of medicine.
“Freedmen’s Hospital [currently Howard University Hospital] has a 140-year-old history of serving the underserved in this community,” he says. “Georgetown University sold its hospital. George Washington University sold its hospital. Howard still has ours, and that hospital is providing care to people who can’t afford it.”
Link the hospital to the medical school, which produced the most Black doctors in 2007, and the university’s 21st-century relevance is clear, Ribeau says.
“Howard ranks No. 1 by the National Science Foundation in [producing] the highest number of African-American bachelor’s degree recipients who continued on with their studies and earned science and engineering doctoral degrees nationally,” says Ribeau. “I had this debate this past week. People were saying, ‘Why do you still need HBCUs?’ Well, the majority of African-Americans in STEM are coming from Howard or other HBCUs. This is in 2009.”
