In 1970, the School of Communications at Howard University was the mere musing of then-newest university president James Cheek, Ph.D. Since its founding in 1971, the Cathy Hughes School of Communications (CHSOC) has produced countless giants in media, speech pathology, communications and law.
On Oct. 16, 55 honored alumni are invited back to The Mecca to celebrate their contributions to the industry at the school that helped shape them into the professionals they are today.
CHSOC’s commitment to further a Black presence in the communications industry was clear from the start. A 1973 edition of “The Bison” yearbook described the newly established school.
“The need for communications is great; the need for Blacks in communications is even greater. …The school itself is serious; its curriculum, diverse; its purpose, real,” it read.
That year, Sheilah Vance started the school and was part of the first class of freshmen within the CHSOC, nicknamed the “Dirty Thirty.” Vance described her educational experience within CHSOC as intentional, as curated by the first dean of the school, media mogul Tony Brown.
“He didn’t want us out there with the general population,” Vance joked, recounting a specialized education where even her prerequisites were tailored for communications studies.
At the time of his appointment as dean, Brown produced and hosted various programming for public broadcasting on Black American life and issues, including “Tony Brown’s Journal,” which ran for 30 years on the Public Broadcasting System.
Brown worked to recruit leading Black industry professionals to teach at CHSOC and tailor the mission of the school, according to articles in The Hilltop archives.
“His motto for us, which we got from day one, and I live by today, was ‘communicate to educate, to liberate,’” said Vance, who is honored as one of the “55 for 55” for her work as an attorney. “We were confident in our abilities. You could stack us up against anybody else, and we could excel.”
Vance was the first African American legal writing instructor at Villanova University and now owns her own firm, Law Offices of Sheilah Vance, which specializes in education law.
In 2003, the school was renamed to honor John H. Johnson, a media titan who founded the publishing company that created the influential “Ebony” and “Jet” Magazines. In 2016, the school was renamed to honor Cathy Hughes for its 45th anniversary.
Before becoming one of the richest Black women, according to the CHSOC website, and creating “The Quiet Storm” radio format to revolutionize urban radio stations across the nation, Hughes served as an assistant to the dean at a young CHSOC.
The CHSOC’s expansion of legacy is highlighted by many alumni, including Ronald Jackson, class of 1996.
“I love that I was able to go to professional conferences and see the faculty that taught me at Howard,” said Jackson, who is a professor and chair in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Miami. Jackson shares great pride in the accomplishments of past graduates from the CHSOC.
“We are the vanguard for the field of communication,” Jackson said.
His enthusiasm for CHSOC’s legacy is shared by other alumni in the communications field, including the founder of LA Communications Group, LaWanda Toney.
Toney graduated from CHSOC with a bachelor’s degree in communications in 1999. She said she is often reminded of her Howard experience in the communications industry.
“There is a Bison in every room, and even if not, there is some love for Bison,” Toney said, while acknowledging the importance of CHSOC faculty connections for leading to her current success as CEO of her own company.
As current students at CHSOC embark on their journey through Howard, some students including Bryce Sutton, a freshman communications major from Somerset, New Jersey, feel encouraged by alumni.
“Every great mind from [CHSOC] seeks out more from the world,” Sutton said, who added that he admires the networks that CHSOC cultivates and the specialized preparation it provides for its students, as exemplified by alumni.
The year-long commemoration also includes CHSOC’s “Giving Campaign,” a fundraising event selling anniversary pins designed by alumna Kamirria Wallace, class of 2009. On Oct. 14 at the Howard Theatre, the school will also host a live studio podcast session with Club 520 and Project 68, as part of the show’s Homecoming edition.
As the CHSOC celebrates another year of continued development, Jackson looks forward to what he’d like to see in its future.
“I’d like to see us not just graduate people who look like us, but to really take this thing by the helm,” Jackson said.
Copy edited by Sydney Middleton
