Today I wanted to take a moment to congratulate the Howard University community, the Board of Trustees, and all involved in the hard work of securing the bonds that have made possible the construction of two new residence halls and an interdisciplinary research building.

This was no small feat, as Howard has been working to get new residence halls built for over 10 years.

Friends and family of Howard invested over $2.8 million dollars in the bonds that have made these new facilities possible. Many of Howard’s own Alumni are among those who purchased from this special purpose bond issue. It is great to see the Howard family coming together to give back and help accomplish the common goal of continuing to make this great University better.

A special note of thanks goes out to Robert Tarola for his efforts within the areas of contracting, financing, and schedule adherence. Mr. Tarola and the entire Finance and Construction teams worked diligently along with Student Affairs and the campus community on this project. It took the work of all of these people to implement my Board-approved initiatives to build the first new residence halls since the Howard Plaza Towers were completed in 1989.

The new interdisciplinary research building is also the realization of a recommendation by the President’s Commission on Academic Renewal (PCAR) to strengthen Howard in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) areas and in its research capacity.

We seek to make Howard a better place for everyone, but especially so for the students. The current and future students are the true benefactors of this monumental achievement. They are the ones who will be able to make use of these new buildings, which will help to improve their overall educational experience.

You will soon notice the construction equipment at the new building sites of these residence halls on Bryant Street NW and College Street NW as we break ground for these new additions. This marks an exciting step forward in our continuing journey to make the Mecca even greater. Thank you again to all who were compelled to not only invest, but also believe in Howard University.

If you have not already, take a look at a few images of what our new facilities will look like on campus.