CONNOR HOFFMAN
News Editor
Last Spring, it was announced that David Herman, the vice president of Student Affairs, would be retiring at the end of the semester. By the end of the semester, the university had decided to fill Herman’s vacancy with Dr. Cedric Howard.
Howard was born in Macon, Georgia, and he described it as “a very urban setting.”
“I grew up definitely in the city,” said Howard. “Many would consider it to be a project or government subsidized housing. I was a byproduct of especially the early years of subsidies and support.”
He also explained how he was very happy that he was one of the first in his family to “break the cycle” and pursue higher education. “I think, for me, being the standard bearer for not just my family but our community is something I take a lot of pride in,” said Howard.
Howard mentioned that he was able to go to college due to the financial and academic support that the Upward Bound Program provided to him.“They take talented kids who have demonstrated academic chops, but they have to be low income first generation,” said Howard.
He originally went to Florida A&M University to study pharmacy, but transferred to Georgia College and State University after his paternal grandmother passed away and his family wanted him to live closer to home. He graduated with a psychology degree in 1994.
During his time in college, he was involved in student government as a senator, vice president and president. He was also a resident assistant, an assistant hall director, the student coordinator for intramurals and outdoor adventures, vice president of the Black Student Union, president of Alpha Phi Alpha, chair of the Greek Presidents Council, and he also had a part time on campus in the Student Advocacy Office.
He graduated with a M.Ed in educational administration from the University of Tennessee in 1996, and he graduated from University of Memphis with a Ph.d in higher and adult education in 2007.
After he graduated from University of Tennessee, he was hired as the director of their diversity center and student programs of Weber State University in Ogden, Utah. In 1999, he won the College Union International New Professional of the Year Award, and because of this award, he was approached by the president of LeMoyne-Owen College.
He would go on to build a student affairs division at LeMoyne-Owen when he was chief student affairs officer and dean of student affairs from 1999-2002. He was able to increase enrollment by over 50 percent at LeMoyne during his time there.
Howard received a phone call in 2002, from the regional chancellor of the University of South Florida at St. Petersburg, offering him a job creating a student affairs department for their university. He accepted the job offer and became the director of student affairs at the university. He said that by the time he had left the enrollment had went from just around 1900 to just under 6000.
In 2006, he received another phone call from the Chancellor of University of Washington at Tacoma, and was asked to create yet another student affairs division at their university. He became the vice chancellor for student enrollment service at the University of Washington at Tacoma in 2007.
Howard explained that a huge factor that drew him to Fredonia was the fact that his daughter decided to attend school in nearby Buffalo, New York. He applied for the Vice President position last year and received it.
He joked that his first impression of Fredonia was “Where’s Fredonia?” but also that he was very surprised by the Fredonia pride.
“There’s a lot of pride in this place. There’s a lot of passion and compassion in this place,” said Howard.
Howard explained that his vision for Fredonia is to focus on better telling the Fredonia story.
“We have a wonderful story here, but we’ve told it internally … we haven’t broadcast it to the world,” said Howard.
Many on campus are excited to work with Howard this year.
“He had creative ideas about approaching the whole process of recruitment, and he’s a true professional,” said President Horvath, explaining what made Howard stand out to her. “So he’s very committed to professional standards in recruitment and enrollment, and he’s also a good team player.”
Director of First-Year and Transition Programs Erin Mroczka said that she really enjoys that Howard tries to get everyone’s input on how to lead the department.
“We’re really excited about the collaboration across all of our departments for that future vision,” said Mroczka.
Howard is married to his wife Thais, who is currently the head engineer for the Port of Tacoma. He also has a daughter named Cedrice and a son named Cedric. Some of his hobbies include playing golf, outdoor adventuring and going to Shakespearean festivals.
Howard also mentioned that he has gained a few nicknames over the years, and even joked “[which one to use] depends who you ask.” His fraternity brothers called him “Goldmine.” Some of his close friends refer to him as “The Boss” or “The Professor.”