Howard University will have a new performing arts building named after Chadwick Boseman, and it’s being designed by the country’s largest Black architecture firm.
In honor of the late actor and alumnus of the Washington HBCU, a new academic building, the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts, will be named after the “Black Panther” star, The Washington Informer reports.
The actor died in August 2020 after succumbing to colon cancer.
Architectural firm Moody Nolan, in partnership with KGD Architecture, is tasked with designing the structure.
“We are honored to serve the community of Howard University with such a distinguished history and place in our academic culture,” co-president at KGD Manoj Dalaya said in a press statement. “The KGD and Moody Nolan teams are excited to work with a world-leading institution to tell its story, to shape its physical context, and connect with the young scholars and academic community with a next-generation Center for Fine Arts and Communications.”
About Moody Nolan
Based in Columbus, Ohio, Moody Nolan is largest African-American-owned and operated architecture firm in the United States. According to online recruitment service Zippia, it has annual revenue of $33 million, and its staff of 100 is 30.4 percent female and 28.5 percent ethnic minorities.
With 63 projects across 33 HBCUs, Moody Nolan has 40 years of experience in offering services in architecture, civil engineering, planning, and interior design.
Among its projects: Alabama A&M University’s new residence hall, Texas Southern University’s student library and learning center, Winston-Salem State University’s Donald Julian Reaves Student Activities Center, and Meharry Medical College’s Cal Turner Family Center for Student Education.
The Howard Project
The campus building will house the school’s television and radio stations, WHUR/WHUT — a popular secondary Public Broadcasting Service channel — as well as the aforementioned Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts, and the Cathy Hughes School of Communications.
“For the KGD/Moody Nolan team, this represents a transcendent design opportunity,” Moody Nolan partner and Howard alumnus Renauld Deandre Mitchell said in the press statement. “I am humbled by the opportunity to give back to a place that has given me so much. Here at Howard, I found myself, met my life partner and learned my craft, which I now have the privilege of applying ‘With Excellence in Truth and Service’ to my alma mater. I’ve come full circle and can now truly say, ‘I’m HOME.’”
Honoring Chadwick Boseman
In addition to the Chadwick Boseman building, the school has a $5.4 million scholarship dedicated to the Black Panther star.
Howard University’s College of Fine Arts plays a significant role in Boseman’s emerging career as a theatre student.
Boseman graduated from HU in 2000 from the College of Fine Arts. However, in 1997, Boseman and a handful of students in the College of Fine Arts fought to save the program. Then-President Patrick Swygert and the Board of Trustees decided to merge the College of Fine Arts and the College of Arts and Sciences. The College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Fine Arts became the Division of Fine Arts.
A young Boseman thought the College of Fine Arts should be independent of other disciplines.
If he were alive today, Boseman would have seen his wish realized three decades later.
The reestablishing of College of Fine Arts coincides with the Nov. 11 release of “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” Boseman passed away before he could participate in the sequel, but it is certain the film will pay homage to the Oscar- and Emmy-winning star.
