2023 Wilder Symposium
HBCUs and the Absence of Support to address the support gap for Historically Black Colleges and Universities
When: 5-6:30 p.m. panel discussion Thursday, Sept. 28Where: W.E. Singleton Center for the Performing Arts, 922 Park Ave., Richmond, VA 23284
Join 66th Governor of Virginia L. Douglas Wilder for a panel discussion with Wayne A.I. Frederick, M.D., president of Howard University, Nakeina Douglas-Glenn, Ph.D., director of the VCU Wilder School Research Institute for Social Equity, the Hon Judge Roger L. Gregory, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit and the Hon. Jason Miyares, J.D., attorney general of the commonwealth.
The event will be moderated by Bob Holsworth Ph.D., political analyst and managing partner of the consulting firm DecideSmart. The event will also be livestreamed and recorded. RSVP for in-person attendance is strongly recommended.
Questions? Contact Katherine Huynh, events and messaging strategist, at huynhkp@vcu.edu.
About the Panelists and Moderator
L. DOUGLAS WILDER is the 66th governor of Virginia and a distinguished professor at the school that bears his name. A native of Richmond’s historic Church Hill district, Wilder is the nation’s first elected African American governor and served as the commonwealth’s chief executive officer from 1990 to 1994.
Gov. Wilder graduated from Virginia Union University and served in the
U.S. Army during the Korean War, where he earned a Bronze Star. He then attended Howard University School of Law and afterward established a legal practice in Richmond. He won election to the Virginia Senate in 1969 and served five terms before taking office as the lieutenant governor of Virginia, becoming the first African American to hold statewide office in the commonwealth.
He returned to elected office in 2005, becoming the first directly elected mayor of Richmond. Since 2009 he has worked as a distinguished professor at the Wilder School where he lectures and hosts symposia, including the most recent, “Racism, Health & Accountability.” He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the NAACP’s prestigious Spingarn Medal and the author of “Son of Virginia: A Life in America’s Political Arena.”
WAYNE A.I. FREDERICK, M.D., is the 17th president of Howard University and the distinguished Charles R. Drew Professor of Surgery at the Howard University College of Medicine. He is also a practicing cancer surgeon at Howard University Hospital, where he continues to see patients and perform surgeries.
Born in Trinidad and Tobago, Frederick came to the U.S. in 1988, when he matriculated at Howard at the age of 16 to pursue a dual B.S./M.D. program. By 22, he had received his bachelor of science degree and graduated from medical school. He also returned to Howard as a student to earn his M.B.A. in 2011.
As president of Howard, Frederick has overseen a period of immense growth and transformation at Howard, including record-breaking enrollment numbers and philanthropic donations.
NAKEINA E. DOUGLAS-GLENN, PH.D., director and associate professor, provides leadership for the Research Institute for Social Equity and its programs. She is a higher education academic and practitioner with more than 15 years of experience in organizational development, leadership development, public policy analysis and racial equity.
Douglas-Glenn earned her Ph.D. in public administration and public affairs with a certificate in race and social policy from the Center for Public Administration and Policy at Virginia Tech. She has a master of social work from Radford University and received her bachelor of arts degree in political science and Bachelor of Science in Sociology from Virginia Tech.
She is an elected member of the American Council on Education's Virginia Network executive board and serves as the institutional representative for the Women's Network at VCU. She is also a member of the board of directors for the Health Brigade (formerly the Fan Free Clinic).
JUDGE ROGER L. GREGORY is the first African-American to sit on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, which encompasses Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. Gregory served on the Brown v. Board of Education 50th Anniversary Commission established by the president and congress to commemorate that landmark decision.
Judge Gregory’s past leadership positions include chairman of the Industrial Development Authority of Richmond, president of the Friends Association for Children, president of the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia, rector of Virginia Commonwealth University, and president of the Old Dominion Bar Association. Gregory presently serves as trustee emeritus for the University of Richmond.
Judge Gregory is an inductee in the Virginia Interscholastic Heritage Association’s Hall of Fame, a fellow of the Virginia State Bar Foundation and a member of the American Law Institute.
JASON MIYARES, J.D., (pronounced “me-YAR-ez”) is the 48th attorney general of Virginia, the first Hispanic American elected to statewide office in Virginia and the first child of an immigrant to serve as attorney general.
Before becoming attorney general, Miyares served in the Virginia House of Delegates for three terms, and he worked in his hometown of Virginia Beach as assistant commonwealth’s attorney. As attorney general, Miyares is focused on improving public safety, combatting the deadly impact of opioids and fentanyl, fighting corporate misconduct and protecting the civil rights of every Virginian.
He recently issued a legal opinion providing guidance about state government funding options for Virginia’s HBCUs, declaring that the state has nearly unfettered authority to provide financial assistance to the two public HBCUs (Norfolk State University and Virginia State University) through the legislature’s appropriations process, as with any other public college or university in Virginia.
Miyares is a proud graduate of James Madison University and the William and Mary School of Law, and he lives in Virginia Beach with his wife, their three daughters and a golden retriever.
BOB HOLSWORTH, Ph.D., is one of the leading political analysts in Virginia. He is the regular political analyst for WTVR CBS-6 in Richmond, and his commentary on Virginia and national politics have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post and newspapers throughout the nation. He has appeared on most major American TV networks as well as the BBC and Fuji Television. He was named one of the 100 Influentials in Virginia Politics by Campaigns and Elections magazine.
Holsworth is the founding director of the Center for Public Policy and founding dean of the Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs. He received VCU’s Outstanding Teacher Award and the State Council of Higher Education of Virginia’s Outstanding Faculty Award. He is a managing principal in DecideSmart, a firm that provides analysis and planning assistance to agencies, local governments, nonprofits and private sector companies with governmental interests.