John Silvanus Wilson on Universities, Democracy, & Lessons from HBCUs
As part of the Virtues & Vocations webinar series, Conversations on Character and the Common Good, we are pleased to welcome John Silvanus Wilson to discuss Universities, Democracy, & Lessons from HBCUs. From 2013 to 2017, Dr. Wilson was the president of Morehouse College, and he is currently the Executive Director of the Millennium Leadership Initiative for aspiring college presidents with the American Association of State Colleges and Universities.
Meet the Speaker: John Silvanus Wilson
John Silvanus Wilson serves as senior adviser and strategist to the president at Harvard University.
He earned masters’ degrees from Harvard Divinity School in 1981 and the Graduate School of Education (GSE) in 1982, and a doctorate from GSE in 1985. He is a member of the Board of Overseers, from which he will take a leave in order to serve in this new role. Wilson was president-in-residence at GSE, where he wrote a book on the future of higher education, with an emphasis on black colleges.
The former president of Morehouse College, former head of the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and former senior administrator at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Wilson is intimately familiar with the rhythms and values of higher education, and Faust said he is “distinctively able to ensure that Harvard’s efforts to create a truly inclusive environment for all of its members, guided by the task force report, bear full fruit.”
View the Live Event
Monday, November 13, 2023 12:00 pm
As part of the Virtues & Vocations webinar series, Conversations on Character and the Common Good, we are pleased to welcome John Silvanus Wilson to discuss Universities, Democracy, & Lessons from HBCUs. From 2013 to 2017, Dr. Wilson was the president of Morehouse College, and he is currently the Executive Director of the Millennium Leadership Initiative for aspiring college presidents with the American Association of State Colleges and Universities.
Book: Hope and Healing: Black Colleges and the Future of American Democracy
In Hope and Healing, former Morehouse College president John Silvanus Wilson, Jr. looks to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to examine what it takes not only to survive as a relevant institution of higher education, but to thrive. Wilson draws on pivotal moments in the timelines of HBCUs and the work of past visionaries such as W.E.B. DuBois and Booker T. Washington to yield important perspectives on the future of higher education and the role of HBCUs within it.
Video: BLM Has Made HBCUs More Popular Than Ever. But Will the Support Last?
Students and faculty of HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) have long praised the value of institutions where Black students can feel at home with others who share their history and experiences. But after years of struggle for the same money and resources as predominantly white institutions, the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement has ushered in a wave of visibility, cash and applications to HBCUs across the country. But will this trend mark a lasting change?
View the video here.
Podcast: A Conversation with John Wilson About Inclusive Excellence at and beyond Harvard
John Silvanus Wilson, Jr., Senior Advisor and Strategist to the President of Harvard University, will be talking with Prof. Sara Bleich on Tuesday, November 6, 2018. Watch the webcast to learn more about what steps Harvard University is taking to build a more inclusive environment, and what lessons can be learned from fellow universities like Morehouse College and other HBCUs.
Listen to the podcast here.