In Memoriam

Michaela Amoo

Professor Michaela Amoo (BS ’01; MS ’05; PhD ’16) served as an assistant professor in the College of Engineering and Architecture’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS).
  
A respected researcher, Amoo conducted research and published in various areas including: hardware engineering with emphasis on FPGA-based application-specific, floating-point hardware, register-transfer level design, microcontroller, microprocessor, and micro architectures (μarch), embedded control, and systems on chip (SoCs). Amoo also published and presented on innovations for multidisciplinary programs for the American Society for Engineering Education.
 
In June 2020, during the height of the pandemic, and in the wake of the activism following George Floyd’s murder, Amoo was a key partner in the IBM-HBCU Quantum Center’s expansion to include Howard University. This multi-institutional program is supported by a $7.5 million award from IBM to diversify the field of quantum computing.
 
A passionate teacher and advocate for students, Amoo also served as faculty advisor for Phi Sigma Ro National Sorority’s Howard chapter and for DMV NSBE (National Society of Black Engineers) Jr., as well as on several committees throughout the college and University. Her most prominent service role at the University was as co-chair for the University General Education Taskforce in the Office of the Provost. We will always remember her as a dedicated, supportive, and passionate colleague, professor and advisor. –Anthony K. Wutoh, PhD, RPh, Provost

Kenneth Richard Scott, PhD

Professor Scott (BS ’56) was a member of the Howard University College of Pharmacy faculty for nearly 50 years, retiring in 2009. He graduated from the same school with honors during his undergraduate years and received his PhD from the University of Maryland, College Park. Dr. Scott’s research focus was anti-seizure and anti-epileptic compounds/drugs. His extensive research was widely published in pharmaceutical journals. He once said that his interest in anticonvulsant drugs emerged from his own father’s history of seizures, caused by being struck by a baseball bat while playing baseball during his youth.

He was an admired teacher by many of his students. One student, Thomas Harrison, PharmD (BS ’70) committed $1 mil and established the Kenneth Scott Endowed Fund at the School of Pharmacy. During his time at Howard University, Dr. Scott received numerous recognitions and honors, including the Bowl of Hygeia Award which recognizes pharmacists who possess an outstanding record of civic leadership in their communities.

Robert C. Smith

Robert C. Smith (PhD ’76), professor emeriti of political science at San Francisco State University, was a leading scholar of Black politics who mentored a generation of Black scholars.

It was renowned African American leadership scholar Ronald Walters who recruited Smith to pursue his doctorate studies at Howard in political science. Often referred to as Walters’ favorite student, Smith collaborated with Walters on a number of projects, including co-authoring the book, “African American Leadership.”

Walters’ wife, Patricia, saw the special partnership between the two. “Robert and Ron were soul mates as intellectuals, writers, and revolutionaries in the now recognized field of Black politics. They bounced ideas off one another and intersected in so many ways.”

When the Howard University Board of Trustees voted to establish a Ronald Walters Center at Howard, Smith was part of a small group that helped to craft the mission statement and key programs for the Center. In 2013, he served as the keynote speaker for the Ronald Walters Legacy Conference at Howard University. In 2014, he returned again with his co-editors to talk about his famous book, “What Has This Got to Do with the Liberation of Black People?: The Impact of Ronald W. Walters on African American Thought and Leadership.”

He formerly served as an associate editor of the National Political Science Review and general editor of the State University of New York Press African American Studies series. He authored or co-authored scores of articles and essays as well as 10 books.

“I would reach out to Robert when I had a question about Ron’s writings or about activities we were considering for the Center,” says Dr. Elsie Scott, PhD, director of the Walters Center. “I was elated and honored when he asked me to write the foreword for ‘Ronald W. Walters and the Fight for Black Power, 1969-2010’.”

Smith’s partner in life was his wife, Scottie, who edited and critiqued his writings. He will be sorely missed. – from the Ronald W. Walters Leadership and Public Policy Center

Marva Hicks

Singer and actress Marva Hicks (BFA ’78) released her debut, self-titled album in 1991, and her hit single, “Never Been in Love Before” topped at number 7 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/ Hip-Hop Songs chart and spent 17 weeks on the chart. As an artist, she worked with Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder on several international tours and also served as background vocalist for Whitney Houston, Chaka Khan, James Ingram, and others. In theater, she was a three-time Helen Hayes Award winner with Broadway credits including “Motown,” “The Lion King,” “Lena Horne: The Lady at Her Music,” and “Caroline or Change.” Her TV and film credits include “Star Trek,” “Sister Sister,” and “Mad About You.”

 

’30’s

Thelma Hyman (BS ’38), November 24, 2019, Washington, D.C.
 

’40’s 

Lila C. Coleburn (BA ’44, MA ’46), August 24, 2022 

Ruth Ealy Johnson (BS ’44), January 28, 2022 

Juliette McCauley Massey (BS ’45, MS ’48), December 28, 2020 

Dorothea R. Simmons BS ’45, MD ’49) July 1, 2022 

lone Raney (BS ’47) September 17, 2022 

Cecile Trescott Bromery (BA ’48) January 21, 2021 

Frankie Jacobs Gillette (MSW ’48) February 26, 2022 

John Rudolph Hatcher, PhD (BS ’48, MS ’49) November 26, 2022 

Thelma Hall Williams (N ’48) May 6, 2022 

Mary Gaskins (BS ’49) July 9, 2022 

Livingstone Johnson (BA ’49), February 24, 2023, McCandless, Pa. 

’50’s 

Dorothy Miller (BA ’50) December 7, 2022 

Claude R. Williams, Sr. (BS ’50, DDS ’54) 

Jack L. Underwood (MD ’58), April 6, 2023 

Yolande Williamson Ford (BA ’51, MA ’52, MDIV ’90) August 11, 2022. 

Virginia Ada Hawkins Keane (MSW ’51), December 2, 2021 

Annie Brown Kennedy (JD ’51), January 17, 2023 

Edward C. James (BS ’52), February 14, 2022 

Arthur McKinley Reynolds, Sr. (BA ’52), October 24, 2021 

Marjoria Brooks Eubanks (N ’53), September 25, 2022 

Jean Grant (BS ’53), February 13, 2021 

Willis Hall Hines (BS ’53), January 4, 2020 

Roberta A. Hubbard (BA ’53), November 28, 2020 

Elmira Tilley (BA ’53), December 7, 2019 

Patricia Ann Louise Brown Vailes (BS ’54, MSW ’64) 

Ridgley Bennett, MPH (MD ’55), January 7, 2023, Washington, D.C.

Della Mae McGraw (N ’55), August 22, 2022 

Bernard Ashe (BA ’56, JD ’61), March 8, 2023, Delmar, N.Y.

Raymond Spencer Bennett, Jr. (BS ’56, MD ’60), March 18, 2022 

Elizabeth Willette Miller Scott (BS ’56), January 23, 2023 

Clyde Thomas Parker (BS ’57, MS ’63) 

James Elmer Pittman (BS ’57), January 12, 2021. 

Lee Blount, Jr. (MD ’58), January 12, 2021 

Faye Beverly Bryant (BA ’58), February 20, 2020 

Richard Jerry McFerrin (BS ’59), July 19, 2022 

Edna Brannon Saunders (BA ’59), February 13, 2021 

Eunice Montgomery Wilder (BA ’59), January 23, 2022 

’60s 

Joseph Daniel Alexander (BA ’60) 

Norge Winifred Jerome, PhD (BS ’60), December 21, 2021 

Raymond Lawrence Finch (BA ’62, JD ’65), February 23, 2023, Tulsa, Okla.

William Hampton Hopkins (BA ’62), August 20, 2022 

Parlett Longsworth Moore, Jr. (BS ’62) 

Joseph Louis Newell (BA ’62) 

Linda Ann Randolph (BS ’62, MD ’67) 

Ruby Amelia Shello (BS ’62) 

Benjamin Orestes Watkins, Jr. (DDS ’62), March 10, 2022 

Marion Rudolph Davis (DDS ’63) February 1, 2023 

Robert Lee Glass (BS ’63, PhD ’73), July 15, 2022 

Tamara (Ewell) Jackson (BS ’63, DDS ’69), February 18, 2022, St. Petersburg, Fla.

Sondra Ann Gittens Legall (BS ’63, MA ’77)  March 17, 2023, Washington, D.C. 

Lloyd McNeill (MFA ’63), October 5, 2021 

Frances Louise Smith Prince (BFA ’63),  March 31, 2023, Suitland, Md.

Vera R. Jackson (MSW ’80, DSW ’91), December 21, 2021 

Cornelius Warren Merrick, MD (MD ’64), March 14, 2022 

Ozie Ree Mitchell Quarterman (BARCH ’64) 

Beverly McLaine Nickens (BA ’64), November 8, 2021 

Joseph Bertha Williams IV (BS ’65), November 2, 2019 

William R. Lawson (BARCH ’66), October 14, 2021 

Joan E. Cobb (BA ’66) 

Jesse Reed Penn (BS ’66), January 27, 2022 

Levy M. Armwood, Jr., MDIV (BS ’67, MS ’73), February 18, 2020 

Lemuel Wallace Dowdy, Sr. (BA ’67, JD ’70) 

Delores Ann Pruden (BA ’67) 

John Willis Taylor, Jr. (BA ’67), January 23, 2022 

Edward Bernard Thoms (BA ’67) 

James Milton Upshaw, Jr. (BS ’67) 

Reginald McCoy Felton (BA ’68), June 11, 2022 

Clyde Alfonso Mason, Jr. (BS ’68) 

Donald L. Roe (BA ’68, MA ’74, PhD ’94) 

John Wesley Aldrich, Jr. (BS ’69), February 14, 2019 

Patricia A. Clouden (BA ’69), January 23, 2022 

Herman L. Cook (BS ’69, MEd ’73) 

Ruby Morton Gourdine (BA ’69, DSW ’84), February 1, 2022 

Harold T. Shelby, M.D. (MD ’69), February 6, 2022 

’70s 

Ronnie Lee Bennett (BS ’70), September 21, 2021 

Alton H. Maddox, Jr. (BA ’70), April 23, 2023

Joan Helene Bishop (BA ’72), May 20, 2022 

Lowell Elwanger Blagmon (BS ’70, MCS ’74), September 5, 2022 

Keith McLauren Seaforth (BS ’70, DDS ’80), June 21, 2022 

Harvey Lee Taylor (BA ’70) 

Lawrence Edward Jones (BS ’72), November 18, 2022 

Kituria Littlejohn McConnell (BA ’72), January 16, 2022 

Jacqueline A. Rouse (BA ’72), May 12, 2020 

June M. Bundrent (BS ’73), February 27, 2021 

Carol Patricia Robinson (BBA '73) 

Cecille A. Stone (BS ’73), January 7, 2021 

Leroy Barton, Jr. (BFA ’74), August 8, 2022

Gilbert C. Booker, Jr. (BBA ’74), May 4, 2020 

Franklin Conrad Smith (BBA ’74), August 22, 2021 

Luciano Enrico Sotero (BSP ’74), December 10, 2021 

Teresa Diane Wilbon (MSW ‘74) 

Larry Eugene Cody (BA ’75), January 27, 2023

Clement Vincent Adams (DDS ’75, PGCER ’78), September 9, 2021 

Dr. Veryl J. Wells-Scott (JD ’76), June 2, 2022 

Kenyon R. Parker, Jr. (BARCH ’77), March 25, 2020 

Althea Lorraine Turk (MD ’77), January 22, 2022

Mark Stuart Clanton (BS ’78), September 8, 2022 

’80s 

Neville Moore (BS ’80), August 27, 2022 

Melvinia Annette Wingate (CERT ’80), May 23, 2021 

Wallace Hiram Mason (BBA ’81), January 14, 2021 

Myrna Suejette Rosser Riley (MEd ’81), December 25, 2021 

Marvin Turner (BBA ’81), February 5, 2023 

Bruce T. Tyson, Sr. (MEd ’81), July 1, 2021 

Beverly Ferguson Epps (MAT ’82), July 6, 2022 

Rosetta Daugherty Gaynor (BSW ’82), March 4, 2023

Roxanne Camille Dryden-Edwards (BS ’84, MD ’89), July 13, 2022

Toni Bean (JD ’85), March 19, 2022, Amityville, N.Y.

Eric Mark Mitchell (BA ’87), January 6, 2021 

Floyd Lester Bass, Jr. (MDiv ’89), August 3, 2020 

Kofi Ayensu Bissah (BS ’89), August 11, 2022 

Lawrence Bernard Garrison (BA ’98), January 8, 2021 

’90s 

James Leonard Powell, Jr. (BA ’99), August 1, 2022 

Sarah Ann Heilbron (MA ’99), September 16, 2022  

’00s 

Melanie LaShawn Cobb Gilliam (MSW ’01), May 30, 2021 

Kristi White (BS ’01), August 22, 2022 

Charles E. Gunter (BS ’02), August 10, 2022 

Melanie Shari Walker (BBA ’07), November 4, 2021 

’10s 

Ashley LaVerne Tannehill (BA ’10), August 11, 2020