INTRODUCTION
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In 1995 when I became president of Howard University, the Board of Trustees empowered the University community to begin a process of reflection that would reaffirm those core values that have always undergirded our efforts to provide Leadership for America and the Global Community, and a blueprint for our transition to the 21st century. The ambitious agenda that came out of that process became known as The Strategic Framework for Action (SFAI).

Today, as we look back upon the exceptional progress that followed SFAI, we are strengthened in our resolve to enhance and build on those achievements. SFAI has taught us that we can, as a community, accomplish significant tasks in a relatively short amount of time. Although we might well be emboldened by the successes of SFAI, we know it is prudent to temper our goal-setting with caution. We do so not because we are fearful, but because, having accomplished so much, we are intimately aware of what it actually takes to succeed. Let me take this opportunity to thank the Board of Trustees and all the members of the Howard community who worked so diligently on behalf of SFAI. I would also like to thank members of the University Advisory Committee (see Appendix VI) who helped shape The Strategic Framework for Action II (SFAII).

We began the SFAI initiative with the mission, core values and vision of the University clearly articulated and endorsed by the community.

MISSION
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The mission of Howard University as a comprehensive, research-oriented, predominantly African-American university is to provide an educational experience of exceptional quality at reasonable cost to students of high academic potential. Particular emphasis is placed upon providing educational opportunities for African-American men and women, and for other historically disenfranchised groups. Furthermore, Howard University is dedicated to attracting, sustaining and developing a cadre of faculty who, through their teaching and research, are committed to producing distinguished and compassionate graduates who seek solutions to human and social problems in the United States and throughout the world.

CORE VALUES
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First, this University must continue to be dedicated to an unequivocal search for truth; second, this University must continue to be a place where African Americans and others can come to study, free of oppression of any type, stripe or kind; third, this University must engender and nurture an environment that celebrates African-American culture in all its diversity; and fourth, this University must provide a caring, nurturing and respectful environment for all of the members of the Howard family: students, faculty, staff, trustees, alumni and administrators.

VISION
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For 134 years, Howard University has been educating students and preparing them for important leadership positions and social responsibility in an increasingly complex world.

Howard University is a comprehensive research university, unique and irreplaceable, defined by its core values and the excellence of all its activities - its instruction, research and service - and by its enduring commitment to educating African-American youth, and other people of color in particular, for leadership and service to our nation and to the global community. Our vision for SFAII is that the University continue to elevate its contribution to the nation and its standing among America's top research universities. We seek to become one of America's Tier I research universities. We are mindful that realization of this aspiration will require a sustainable University-wide focus, and disciplined allocation of resources.

PROCESS
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Last year, Howard University began to prepare a new strategic planning initiative, The Strategic Framework for Action II. After the Board of Trustees approved our goals, a 30-member University Advisory Committee consisting of twenty-five faculty members drawn from all the schools and colleges, two students and three administrative staff was appointed.

CHRONOLOGY
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March 2000 E-mail sent to all University faculty members outlining the SFAII development process. April 2000 University community encouraged to submit ideas and proposals for incorporation into SFAII. September 2000 The Board of Trustees reviewed and approved the goals of SFAII at the Fall Retreat. University-wide Advisory Committee appointed. November 2000 The Advisory Committee submitted its report to the President. January 2001 The President's preliminary draft SFAII distributed electronically to the University community. February 2001 Revised SFAII distributed electronically to the University community for comment. March 2001 Comments forwarded by members of the University community. April 2001 Town Hall meetings held for faculty, students, staff and alumni(ae). June 2001 Proposed SFAII presented to the Board of Trustees for action.

MILESTONES OF THE STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK FOR ACTION I
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Strengthening Academic Programs and Services # Recommendation Implementation Status  1. Development of a core curriculum. Curriculum approved by the Board in January 2000 for implementation in Fall 2001.  2. Merger of the College of Fine Arts with the College of Arts and Sciences. Completed.  3. Merger of the School of Architecture and Planning with the School of Engineering. Completed.  4. Merger of the Colleges of Pharmacy, Nursing, and Allied Health Sciences. Completed.  5. Restructuring the administration of graduate study. Revision of rules and regualtions governing all graduate programs were submitted to the Provost for approval in late spring 2001.  6. Establishment of the Fund for Academic Excellence. Seventh round of grants awarded in Fall 2000.  7. Review and assessment of existing academic programs. All Graduate School programs were reviewed by 1 July 2001.  Dean of the Graduate School will prepare state of graduate education report that will incluse recommendations for improving programs.  8. Establishment of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. Construction completed.   Operational in Fall 2000.  9. Design and construction of a new Health Sciences Library. Construction completed. Operational in Summer 2001. 10. Design and construction of a new School of Law Library. Construction completed. Operational in summer 2001. 11. Renovation of the Miner Building as the National Center for African American Heritage and Culture. External funding is being pursued. 12. Development of the Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Center. Planning funds appropriated by US Congress in FY 2001. Promoting Excellence in Teaching and Research 13. Development of a University-wide faculty workload policy. Policy has been approved for implementation. 14. Establishment of a formal performance evaluation process for staff. Completed. 15. Extension of the University's fiber optics network to the office of every full-time faculty member (FacNet). Completed. 16. Extension of the University's fiber optics network to student residential facilities (ResNet). Completed. 17. Construction of a 200-station "super lab" within the Technology Center for 24 hour-a-day student and faculty use. Construction completed 11 April 2000.  iLab operational 28 April 2000. 18. Development of the Howard University Television Network to connect Rankin Chapel, Burr Gymnasium, Cramton Auditorium, Greene Stadium, major academic buildings and other relevant campus sites to the University's television station to allow special events to be videotaped routinely for subsequent closed-circuit campus distribution and, where appropriate, broadcast. Ongoing. Increasing Private Support 19. Increase alumni support to 30% by 2001, according to the following schedule: 25% for 2000 30% for 2001 Alumni participation rate for 1999 was 12.2%. 20. Documentation of alumni contributions in an annual report to the Board of Trustees by the Treasurer. Reported to the Board of Trustees at the October 1999 meeting. Enhancing National and Community Service 21. Establishment of the National Leadership Institute. Operational. 22. Establishment of a community outreach center. Completed. 23. Establishment of a joint Metropolitan Police Department/Howard University Security Station. Completed. 24. Development of strategies that best enable Howard University Hospital to continue to serve as the situs for medical, dental and health-related education, research, training and service. Ongoing. 25. Support of school- and college-based initiatives designed to strengthen the public schools of the District of Columbia. Ongoing.

GOALS FOR THE STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK FOR ACTION II
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Today, we acknowledge four overarching goals for The Strategic Framework for Action II:

• Strengthening Academic Programs and Services
• Promoting Excellence in Teaching and Research
• Increasing Private Support
• Enhancing National and Community Service

STRENGTHENING ACADEMIC PROGRAMS AND SERVICES
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Objectives:

1. Build the Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Center.
2. Co-locate a federal research activity.
3. Establish additional public and private strategic partnerships.
4. Build a replacement facility for the School of Communications and provide an appropriate facility for the School of Education.
5. Join the Internet2 Consortium.
6. Provide access to appropriate computing resources for every Howard University student.
7. ResNet2: Complete wiring of all residence halls for voice, data and video.
8. Complete the Howard University Television campus network and convert WHUT-TV from analog to digital technology.
9. Enhance campus-wide wireless capacity.
10. Digitize essential information and build requisite infrastructure to facilitate asynchronous education.
11. Recalibrate administrative and student support operations to the Internet.
12. Build a comprehensive Health, Recreation and Student Life facility.
13. Build capacity for 1,000 additional parking spaces.
    

In the world of higher education today, every institution is challenged to provide high quality learning communities for their students that reflect the vast explosion of knowledge, the interconnectedness of the traditional academic disciplines, and the integration of teaching and research that are the hallmarks of the digital age. 

PROMOTING EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING AND RESEARCH
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14. Restructure the Office of Research Administration.
15. Develop a coherent incentive system for faculty research.
16. Strengthen the research professorship track.
17. Increase the number of endowed chairs.
18. Increase the number and amount of graduate student stipends.
19. Create new interdisciplinary research groups.
20. Encourage the faculty to pursue memberships in National Academies based on faculty honors and achievements in research, publications and pedagogy. Recognize such memberships publicly.
21. Upgrade FacNet equipment.
22. Develop collaborations and establish stronger academic linkages and professional peer interactions with other leading universities and colleges.
23. Establish a Teaching and Learning Center.
24. Develop a plan for the Howard University North Campus in Beltsville, Maryland.
    

INCREASING PRIVATE SUPPORT
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25. Initiate a major Capital Campaign during Fiscal Year 2002.

ENHANCING NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICE
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26. Continue to invest in Howard University Hospital's capacity to provide area residents with high quality healthcare, independent of their ability to pay.
27. Develop a new practice plan for clinical faculty in the College of Medicine.
28. Create the Howard University Center for Public Service.
29. Develop Phase 2 of the LeDroit Park Initiative.
30. Build a National Digital Network to support urban education.
31. Restructure Continuing Education to create the Howard University Metropolitan College.
    

STRENGTHENING ACADEMIC PROGRAMS AND SERVICES

Every institution of higher education today is obligated to provide its students with an excellent learning environment which embodies and reflects the vast explosion of knowledge, the interconnectedness of traditional academic disciplines, and the integration of teaching and research - the hallmarks of the digital age.

1. Build the Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Center to include the: National Human Genome Research Center; College of Engineering, Architecture, and Computer Sciences; Departments of Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics; several interdisciplinary academic programs and research centers in the areas of science, mathematics, engineering and technology; and a Middle School of Mathematics and Science.
2. Co-locate a federal research activity.
3. Establish additional public and private strategic partnerships.

The Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Center (ISE) will enrich Howard University's science facilities and provide a robust foundation for substantive research in emerging fields. The ISE will be the University's principal intellectual resource for interdisciplinary research activities.

Using strategic partnerships similar to the one that the University pioneered in SFAI with Fannie Mae, the ISE will be a substantive opportunity to co-locate part of a federal or private institution on the University campus. The three programmatic areas of activity are: biomedicine, computational sciences and engineering.

Two major efforts in biomedical research will be undertaken:

• Studies in cellular and molecular biology
• Studies in the genetics of complex diseases that disproportionately affect African Americans.
  

The current primary activity in cellular and molecular biology is the Human Genome Project. This research includes gene mapping, genomic analysis, and human DNA polymorphism; and raises ethical issues associated with genetic privacy, DNA data-banking, and cloning.

Investigating the genetics of complex diseases that disproportionately affect African Americans, such as Alzheimer's, asthma, cancer, diabetes and hypertensive cardiovascular disease, will facilitate identification of hereditary characteristics associated with specific diseases.

As research becomes more sophisticated and centered on molecular structures and interactions, the need for mathematical modeling and computational analyses becomes more apparent. Science can now combine the experimental components with theoretical and computational approaches to better understand processes and, ultimately, systems. Howard University stresses interaction among mathematicians, scientists, engineers, and computer-based scientists. Advances in mathematics and computational theory and the availability of powerful, high-performance computing systems provide University scientists with tools to manipulate large databases, as well as simulate complex systems.

Research in metals, ceramics, polymers, semiconductors and combinations of materials called composites unites both science and engineering. On the science side, biology, biochemistry, chemistry and physics are applied. On the engineering side, chemical, electrical and mechanical engineers focus on processing and assessing properties. The central objective is to generate and apply knowledge and insights to produce materials that solve important problems, and to improve our overall quality of life. One of the most important national goals is the search for an appropriate ecological balance with a robust economy. Environmental monitoring and issues such as biodegradation and the remediation of soil and water pollution are critical areas of inquiry.

The complexity of modern day scientific questions argues strongly for a multidisciplinary approach to research. As a comprehensive research university, Howard is committed to training its undergraduate, graduate and professional students to approach these issues and questions as members of a scientific team. The ISE, by virtue of its programmatic emphases and its physical layout, will strongly encourage this approach to scientific and technology research, and will provide an environment for faculty and students alike that fosters the 21st century approach to problem solving.

Because research reveals that the disparity of African Americans and other minorities engaged in these fields begins at the middle school level, a public school of science and mathematics for children in grades 6 through 8 is included in the plan.

The middle school component of the ISE presents the University with a unique opportunity to abate what has become a national problem, especially with respect to the District of Columbia public school system, which ranks as one of the lowest in the Nation. By providing a curriculum that is indeed competitive, and by improving the quality of teaching through professional development programs, Howard University is fully prepared to do what it can to prepare youngsters for our rapidly changing economy and workforce that are so dependent on science, engineering and technology.

4. Build a replacement facility for the School of Communications and provide an appropriate facility for the School of Education.

The School of Communications is one of the largest schools within the University and is housed in the former Freedmen's Hospital now known as the C.B. Powell Building. The facility has been extensively renovated and upgraded; however, the success of the School warrants a new facility consistent with its outstanding reputation. Similarly, the School of Education warrants a better and more central campus location. To achieve this end, the former Human Ecology building will be renovated to serve as the new home of the School of Education.

5. Join the Internet2 Consortium

Internet2 is a non-profit university consortium working in partnership with industry and government to develop and deploy advanced network applications and technologies. The primary goals of Internet2 are to: create a leading edge network capability for the national research community; enable revolutionary Internet applications and ensure the rapid transfer of new network services and applications to the broader Internet community.

6. Provide access to appropriate computing resources for every Howard University student.
7. ResNet2: Complete wiring of all residence halls for voice, data and video.

Howard University students require access to a wide variety of information services. Such access must be more readily available. In addition to the iLab, existing computer labs in residence halls and enhanced access in smart classrooms and the two new digital libraries, residence halls must provide each student with high-quality access to voice, data and video communications. SFAII will provide each student with two high-bandwidth switched, wired access ports to the Howard University data network. These ports will supplement the lower bandwidth capacity that currently exists. This higher bandwidth is necessary to ensure that our students will have access to multimedia presentations that are planned for both classroom and distance education applications.

8. Complete the Howard University Television campus network and convert WHUT-TV from analog to digital technology.

The Howard University Television Station, WHUT-TV, is the only African American-owned public television station in the United States. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has mandated that all television stations convert from analog to digital transmission by May 2003. Television is increasingly important in the distribution of information to our students, faculty and staff. The Howard University Television Network currently supplies closed-circuit access to a number of campus buildings. Such access must also be universal. Currently installed dark fiber optic cable can be used to route the television signal to remaining buildings. Once this network is completed, it can be used to distribute information and educational material to faculty, staff and students.

9. Enhance campus-wide wireless capacity.

With successful implementation of wireless networking in the residence halls, and with significant numbers of our students possessing portable computers, the University now seeks to enlarge the wireless network function in its classrooms, libraries and public areas to create an ubiquitous network on campus.

10. Digitize essential information and build requisite infrastructure to facilitate asynchronous education (both on campus and at remote locations).

Howard University must provide access to its rich library of information and artifacts. The Digital Project is the optimal way to ensure easy access for presentation in the classroom and for asynchronous review by students, alumni and other University communities from a variety of on- and off-campus locations. A facility such as the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning is an ideal setting, and can be equipped to fulfill this need.

As a comprehensive research university, Howard must continually assess excellence in its academic programs and services. One of the most important functions of assessment is to highlight shortcomings and provide a context for addressing problems.

Measuring institutional effectiveness forces a university to examine rigorously its goals and operations. Such examination provides an important opportunity to look at internal patterns of behavior, to identify major gaps in communication between and among academic departments, research centers and administrative offices, and to bring together individuals from all parts of the campus community to reflect on the condition of the institution.

11. Recalibrate administrative and student support operations to the Internet.

In addition to using the Internet as a platform for asynchronous teaching and learning, the University will assess and restructure its marketing, procurement, financial, project management and human resource processes to optimize use of the Internet. Leveraging the power of the Internet and web-based technologies to reduce costs, improve efficiency, and extend its operational reach will allow the University to apply more of its resources directly to instruction, research and service.

12. Build a comprehensive Health, Recreation and Student Life facility designed to support intramural as well as intercollegiate athletic activities, and to improve and maintain the health and physical activity of the student body.

The University must also respond to the clear need for a replacement facility for Burr Gymnasium. For nearly forty years, Burr Gymnasium has served as the principal facility for the 400 students who participate annually in intercollegiate sports. It also serves the general student body, for whom intramural activities are more relevant. The useful life of the gymnasium for these purposes is clearly nearing its end. A new arena located near the main campus should include a 10,000-seat basketball arena and space for both varsity and intramural sports. Such a facility will be built through a public-private partnership.

13. Build capacity for 1,000 additional parking spaces.

The University will add to its parking capacity by constructing, in partnership with an appropriate parking facility operator, a new 1,000 car facility. This facility will enable the University to provide more access to its academic and community programs.

PROMOTING EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING AND RESEARCH

14. Restructure the Office of Research Administration.
15. Develop a coherent incentive system for faculty research.
16. Strengthen the research professorship track.
17. Increase the number of endowed chairs.
18. Increase the number and amount of graduate student stipends.
19. Create new interdisciplinary research groups.
20. Encourage the faculty to pursue memberships in National Academies based on faculty honors and achievements in research, publications and pedagogy. Recognize such memberships publicly.
21. Upgrade FacNet equipment.
22. Develop collaborations and establish stronger academic linkages and professional peer interactions with other leading universities and colleges.
    

As the only Historically Black College or University (HBCU) in the nation classified as a Doctoral/Research University-Extensive by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Howard University reaffirms its commitment to serve the nation and, indeed, the world through the scholarship of its faculty and its students. By promoting its research culture, Howard University will continue to advance the quality of life for humankind, particularly for the African-American community.

For more than a century, Howard University has fulfilled this noble mission in the sciences, law, health, education, the social sciences and the humanities. It has undertaken the search for truth in an environment that prizes academic freedom. The challenge the University faces today - and one that it will meet - is to advance these objectives in an environment of ever-increasing demands, with finite resources. It must meet these challenges within the context of a digital age that requires access to vast quantities of information and also requires collaboration among colleagues across disciplines and across continents. To maintain its status in this rapidly changing environment, it must improve the quality of its research facilities and support apparatus, and it must significantly strengthen its rewards system to value research.

SFAII urges the University to: promote new interdisciplinary programs; encourage all Howard students to conduct research; infuse technology thoroughly into its teaching and learning processes; and develop pedagogies that will take advantage of new and emerging technologies to enhance student learning and to meet its academic objectives.

SFAII also calls for the University to develop awards with honoraria for faculty who have distinguished themselves in teaching, research, scholarship and service. We will establish a plan for faculty development, mindful of the leadership roles we expect Howard faculty members to assume in their respective disciplines.

A principle characteristic of distinguished American institutions of higher learning is their free exchange of ideas and interaction among their faculties and other communities. Howard University will wed its emerging strength in information technology resources to this principle by serving as a national forum for vigorous academic discourse. Consonant with this endeavor, the University shall host more national conferences, promote professional seminars, and reinvigorate its University-wide, college- and department-sponsored speaker series.

Howard must significantly increase its faculty success in seeking and obtaining external support for research if it is to sustain its stature as one of the most elite American research universities. To accomplish this goal, the University must continually seek to enhance the quality and efficiency of its research administration infrastructure at the pre-award and post-award levels. It must also provide whatever resources and technical assistance the faculty requires to successfully compete for research awards.

In determining individual workloads, the recently approved Faculty Workload Policy seeks, in part, to recognize faculty research contributions. Similar consideration is given to research when determining merit pay increases. The University must also reward faculty members who provide research mentoring to undergraduate, graduate and professional students. In association with an incentive program for individual faculty research, the University must also devise ways to properly encourage and reward units for collective research activity. Recognition of research at the unit level will greatly facilitate the supportive institutional climate necessary for increased research activity.

The reputation of any academic discipline within a research university is determined, at least in part, by the prominence of its faculty in the research arena. Competition for nationally and internationally renowned faculty is clearly a challenging enterprise; but it is one in which the University must participate. The University is fortunate to have some outstanding faculty members, and it is poised to make significant advances in national reputation with the addition of other prominent faculty members with stellar research credentials.

One way to attract distinguished faculty is to offer them endowed chairs. Currently, Howard University has significantly fewer endowed chairs than other research universities of comparable size. It must increase its number of endowed chairs, particularly in strategic areas where it stands at the threshold of achieving national prominence in its academic and research programs.

The environment for attracting and enrolling outstanding graduate students has become increasingly competitive. This is particularly true for the relatively small pool of African-American students seeking doctorates. To attract these students, the University must make competitive offers. The University has made significant advances in this regard in recent years by instituting a number of new programs, including the Frederick Douglass Scholars program. However, the University must do more in terms of the size and number of stipends it offers to graduate students to complement financial aid provided by the faculty through external research and training grants.

Interdisciplinary research has emerged as a major trend in higher education in recent years. The value of working in teams has been espoused by many groups, including the National Research Council and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. It has become clear that many research topics cannot be answered completely by any single discipline, but rather by teams of individuals working together, and from perspectives that capture several disciplines. Moreover, interdisciplinary research reduces redundancy and costs. The Board of Trustees has established guidelines to encourage establishment of interdisciplinary graduate programs. As the University moves forward in the new millennium, more interdisciplinary work at both the undergraduate and graduate levels is needed, along with increased funding from external sources.

23. Establish a Teaching and Learning Center.

The teaching and learning space devoted to the College of Arts and Sciences consists primarily of Douglass Hall (1936), Childers Hall (1960), and Locke Hall (1964). The Teaching and Learning Center will provide much-needed new and technology-filled space. This new facility will be built on the site of the now-closed Women's Gymnasium (1922). This new facility will be designed to strengthen the College's programs in the humanities, social sciences, fine arts and foreign languages.

24. Develop a plan for the Howard University North Campus in Beltsville, Maryland.

In this regard, the University will develop a plan to create a Research and Technology Park on the North Campus in Beltsville, Maryland. The plan would encourage the transfer of technology from the University to the marketplace and vice versa; foster close interaction between the University and the private sector; nurture start-up and emerging technologies; and promote economic development and revenue enhancement.

As the academic and research worlds have grown more complex, competitive and costly, it is virtually impossible for any single institution to work in isolation from industry, government, and the wider academic community. Many universities, including Howard, have established important partnerships to buttress their teaching, research and service missions. The University must expand these strategic partnerships.

Howard University must especially reemphasize the importance of connecting research with teaching and service. The new Louis Stokes Health Sciences Library and the new School of Law Library (capital projects set out in SFAI) will serve as models of how new campus construction can help to encourage interdisciplinary teaching, learning and research.

INCREASING PRIVATE SUPPORT

25. Initiate a major Capital Campaign during Fiscal Year 2002.

Howard University will soon embark upon its most ambitious fundraising effort to date - The Campaign for Howard - by reaching out in an unprecedented manner to alumni, friends and corporate and foundation partners. The Campaign will reconnect Howard alumni to Alma Mater in meaningful ways that will inspire them to invest in the University's academic and intellectual pursuits. It will afford the entire Howard community significant opportunities to collaborate and focus on ideas that will strengthen Howard. Above all, it will celebrate the rich Howard legacy, secure its future and further heighten its stature among the nation's premiere institutions of higher learning.

The major priorities of the Campaign are to provide resources needed to strengthen the Howard faculty and students for the global advances of the 21st century and beyond. It will do so by actively seeking funds to support endowed chairs, endowed scholarships and information technology throughout the University. These priorities will support the scholarly preeminence of Howard University, offer educational opportunities and attractive incentives to all students, and bring the latest technological tools to its classrooms, libraries, and dormitories. Clearly, the University must and will generate significant private support to make real the goals of SFAII. This Campaign will have as its target an amount greater than the combined totals of all Howard University campaigns to date. The entire University community must work together if the University is to succeed. The Interdisciplinary Science Center, the new School of Communications, the facility for the School of Education, the rehabilitation of Drew Residence Hall and the replacement facility for Burr Gymnasium are all major capital projects, each requiring substantial private support. The Capital Campaign must succeed.

ENHANCING NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICE

26. Continue to invest in Howard University Hospital's capacity to provide area residents with high quality healthcare, independent of their ability to pay.

Howard University Hospital (HUH) is a tertiary care and academic health center. As one of the University's principal community services, the Hospital also serves as a major acute and ambulatory care center for Washington, DC. It is a 482-bed inpatient hospital with emergency facilities and fifty-four speciality clinics. HUH is also a major teaching facility that trains physicians in twenty-five specialty areas. In addition, it serves as a laboratory for numerous nursing and other paramedical trainees from Howard University and other institutions.

Historically, Howard University Hospital has been the area's flagship private safety net institution, training healthcare professionals and providing millions of dollars in uncompensated health care to uninsured and underinsured residents. SFAII assumes that HUH will revisit its existing strategic plan to ensure that this mission continues to be fulfilled, mindful of the changing dynamic of health delivery in the District of Columbia.

27. Develop a new practice plan for clinical faculty in the College of Medicine.

The current practice plan should be replaced with a new faculty practice plan that better supports the mission of education, research and clinical service.

28. Create the Howard University Center for Public Service.

The Howard University Center for Public Service would provide a setting for analyzing policy, and for policymakers to assess the impact of their decisions. It would be one of the principal engines for important interdisciplinary research and action, especially related to urban areas. It is anticipated that the School of Social Work, the School of Law, the College of Medicine and Howard University Hospital will contribute to this center through active support and encouragement of faculty and student interdisciplinary research.

Howard University has an opportunity to build an intellectual powerhouse with a capacity to address the major challenges facing African-American people in the United States and throughout the African Diaspora. America needs a well-grounded center to systematically conduct research that will address major health, mental health, family, child, adolescent development, community, neighborhood and policy issues.

The goal is to educate future social scientists who can change the world, who are skilled and gifted, and who can address the important issues of our time, empowered with the very best education.

29. Develop Phase 2 of the LeDroit Park Initiative.

The LeDroit Park Initiative is a strategic partnership between Howard University and Fannie Mae. It grew out of the Howard University Community Association, which was an objective in SFAI. The initiative is an urban redevelopment project incorporating a 151-block area near the Howard main campus.

The initiative began with the University relocating several important functions from the interior campus to the Georgia Avenue corridor. The second phase was the rehabilitation or construction of all of the University's boarded and vacant properties within a half-mile radius of the campus.

The LeDroit Park Initiative has clearly changed Howard University's relationships with its neighbors. The initiative has been called the most significant redevelopment plan in the City since the Pennsylvania Avenue Development Project. It has received numerous awards, and is being replicated by Fannie Mae in more than fifteen states. There are three remaining phases:

• Reopening McMillan Park for citizen access
• Creating a cultural district near the Metro stop at 7th & S Streets, NW
• Developing the Georgia Avenue corridor from Florida Avenue and U Street to Columbia Road to enhance employment opportunities and the quality of life for local residents and businesspersons

30. Build a National Digital Network to support urban education.

Starting in LeDroit Park and expanding citywide, the National Digital Network could connect students, parents and teachers with area schools, libraries and after-school programs. Using a web platform, chat rooms, white boards and instant messaging, the digital network would also link University volunteers to DC public school children in need of tutorial assistance.

31. Restructure Continuing Education to create the Howard University Metropolitan College.

The proposed Metropolitan College would provide robust continuing education opportunities in the evenings, on weekends and on-line. It would service high technology firms in the metropolitan area and the regional public sector, including school educators and municipal and federal employees. The University will build upon the successes of the Division of Continuing Education, the Leadership Academy and the growing information technology capacity and partnerships of the University.