Howard University Renames College of Fine Arts After Chadwick Boseman

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Chadwick Boseman‘s legacy is being honored by his alma mater.

Howard University will rename the College of Fine Arts after the late actor; two weeks after the HBCU announced that Phylicia Rashad would serve as the dean for the newly re-established college.

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This announcement comes full circle for both Boseman and Rashad. In the late 1990s, the award-winning actress served as his teacher and mentor while he was a student at Howard.

“I remember his smile and gentle way,” Rashad recalled to ET in October. “I remember his unending curiosity and his love of study, studying many things all of the time.”

Prior to the Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom actor’s death after a four-year battle with colon cancer, he expressed his support for re-establishing the College of Fine Arts.

“Chadwick’s love for Howard University was sincere,” said Wayne A.I. Frederick, the president of Howard University, in a news release. “… 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.”

Boseman’s wife, Simone Ledward-Boseman, shared in a statement how “extremely pleased” she is that the school is honoring him in this way.

“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 this story full-circle and ensures that his legacy will continue to inspire young storytellers for years to come.”

Robert A. Iger, the Walt Disney Company’s executive chairman, will lead fund-raising efforts to build a state-of-the-art facility and endowment for the college.

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