We’ve always been seeking truth, and research is one dimension of that, in order to be in service of the world and our society."
-Howard University President Ben Vinson III, Ph.D.
In February 2025, Howard received a “Research One,” or “R1,” Carnegie Research Activity Classification from the American Council on Education (ACE) and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The classification refers to universities which engage in “very high research spending and doctorate production.” It is widely considered to be the highest research level among American institutions of higher learning, and Howard is the only historically Black college or university to ever earn the designation. In fact, of the roughly 4,000 degree-granting institutions in America, only 187 have the R1 distinction. This is the second time Howard has received the designation.
Howard’s newest research classification reflects its continuing commitment to promoting “truth and service” with intensity. Howard’s research covers a broad range of fields in science, medicine, industry, and the humanities and is structured to benefit humanity across the globe. In particular, the university has made great strides in advancing knowledge in quantum information science, artificial intelligence, data science, machine learning, atmospheric sciences and extreme weather, the humanities, cybersecurity, and health.
“Howard University’s achievement of R1 status demonstrates our research capacity and reaffirms our deep commitment to tackling society’s most pressing questions through cutting-edge scholarship and technological innovation,” said Howard University President Ben Vinson III, Ph.D. “As a leader in the evolution of next generation HBCUs, we are dedicated to ensuring that the benefits of discovery and progress reach all communities, including those historically overlooked and underrepresented. Through pioneering solutions and the strategic use of emerging technologies, we are shaping a future where knowledge drives inclusive prosperity and lasting impact.”
Among Howard’s major research activities, Howard leads the Research Institute for Tactical Autonomy (RITA). One of 15 U.S. Department of Defense-funded University Affiliated Research Centers (UARCs), RITA focuses on artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, and cyber defense. It is the first UARC ever funded by the U.S. Air Force. It is operated under a five-year contract with the Air Force with expenditures which may total up to $90 million. RITA is working to develop technology systems which function with minimal human supervision and which are deployable on land, in the air, on the sea, in space, and online. The goal is to foster efficiency and effectiveness in the defense sector. RITA also serves as a consortium for research efforts involving other colleges and universities, including Jackson State University, Hampton University, Tuskegee University, Bowie State University, Delaware State University, Florida Memorial University, Norfolk State University, and Tougaloo College.
Howard’s designation as an R1 institution was not an accident, but rather the result of concentrated effort to focus the university’s research enterprise. This effort included the establishment of an official Office of Research, helmed by Senior Vice President Bruce Jones, Ph.D.
In the lead up to the announcement, Howard was confident that it had not only met but exceeded the threshold criteria to be considered an R1. R1 institutions must “spend at least $50 million on research and development and produce at least 70 research doctorates,” according to ACE. In Fiscal Year 2023, the most recent evaluation year in the classification cycle, Howard recorded just under $85 million in research expenditures and awarded 96 doctorates in an array of fields. In fact, according to the most recent data available through the U.S. Department of Education, Howard produces more Black Ph.D.s than any other college or university in America.
“Howard’s track-record of research prowess and success are evident in the numbers,” said Jones.
Just as Howard is leading in technology research, it is also leading in health research. In collaboration with Georgetown University, Howard researchers are actively working to help find new treatments and cures for diseases ranging from Alzheimer’s to HIV to tuberculosis. In particular, the Georgetown-Howard University Center for Clinical and Translational Science is working to ensure that a broad swath of the population is represented in clinical trials. This helps to ensure that as treatments are created, the medical community understands the impact of the treatment on people from all backgrounds and ancestry.
President Vinson was part of an ACE panel which discussed the critical importance of research at schools like Howard. He was joined by Swarthmore College President Valerie Smith and ACE president Ted Mitchell. He noted that Howard has worked hard to remove opaqueness from its research operations, further develop meaningful metrics, and focus its research efforts.
“Our faculty have a tradition of going after high-risk, high-impact grants that are sometimes at the corners or the margins of certain traditional areas of research because of the questions the researchers are posing.” Vinson told the ACE audience. “Howard, from the beginning, has been this place that is dedicated to ‘truth and service.’ We’ve always been seeking truth, and research is one dimension of that, in order to be in service of the world and our society."
"I’m impressed by a common conversation at the university that I have not seen elsewhere. It doesn’t matter what field you are in, whether you are in medicine, or literature, or the arts, or social sciences,” he continued. “The questions around disparities, equity, and social justice which are fundamental to the institution and its quest for truth spill over into all domains. Our campus has this unique ability to be broad but focused. I think this new era of research, where we are turbocharging our researchers with tools, instruments and pathways for collaboration, deepens the work at a place like Howard.”
Vinson also spoke about the emergence of consequential research at HBCUs in general. He pointed out that while Howard is currently leading the pack, other HBCUs are also highly engaged in meaningful discovery. He highlighted Howard’s work to help other HBCUs, who are now at the R2 level and engaged in “high research activity,” reach R1 status. He called it a renaissance in research.
This a transformation in research that is leading to a next generation of HBCUs that are reimagining solutions, reimagining innovation, and reimagining how we do research and what questions we explore.
“HBCUs in this moment are experiencing a true renaissance,” he said. “Lots of researchers, students, and attention are starting to catalyze our institutions. I call this a transformation in research that is leading to a next generation of HBCUs that are reimagining solutions, reimagining innovation, and reimagining how we do research and what questions we explore. There is confluence right now of all of these factors, that are allowing HBCUs to provide additional out-of-the-box thinking in the higher education sector that is truly and deeply valuable to our society.”
On a truly global scale, Howard is modeling that next generation research, using its research to buttress communities against extreme weather. Working with partnering institutions, Howard researchers are modeling forecasting and preparation to help communities reduce the impact of potentially destructive weather, water, and climate events. They are engaged in discovery that advances analysis and prediction through novel environmental observations which close gaps in the metrics used for traditional forecasting.
The university has also been a leader in cybersecurity. Recent multi-year research projects have explored ways to protect information and reinforce data systems. For instance, researchers have examined the Internet of Things, through which everyday objects are connected to the internet and gather data about people. They have worked to determine opportunities for practical security and resilience in the cyber systems.
Not only does Howard serve as home to researchers and scholars who are innovators and change makers, it also serves as a hub for fellow researchers from across the world. Howard’s Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, for example, is the nation’s largest and most comprehensive repository of books, documents, visual images, and ephemera on the global Black experience. Among its over 700 collections and documents numbering in the hundreds of thousands, it contains official papers from luminaries including Kwame Nkrumah, Paul Robeson, Alain Locke, Mary Frances Berry, Dr. Benjamin Mays, Vernon Jordon, and Amiri Baraka. The center has also partnered with others to preserve a massive record of the Black experience. For example, it has partnered with the National Newspaper Publishers Association to support the preservation and digitization of the Black Press Archives. Black newspapers have been a critical source of information and truth in communities of color, particularly when their stories haven’t been told in mainstream media.
Though Howard has been respected for its groundbreaking research for decades, the R1 designation has the potential to give that research an even higher profile, attracting the world’s most ambitious scholars and problem solvers — along with the equally ambitious students who want to learn from them.
“While the outcomes of our groundbreaking research constitute the truest measure of our impact, our Carnegie Classification provides a highly visible, peer-endorsed affirmation of our scholarly prowess and productivity,” said President Vinson. “As we continue to grow our research enterprise, we look forward to enhanced partnerships, expanded collaborations, new investments, and designing scalable opportunities to make lasting global change while deepening our collective understanding of the human condition.”
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