In alignment with Section VII(C) of the School of Communications APT guidelines (p. 20), candidates for Associate Professor with tenure must document satisfactory departmental, School, and University service, or related community service. My record consistently exceeds this baseline.
Context: Appointed and served as Assistant Chair for the Department of Media, Journalism & Film, managing operations for a large and complex academic department.
Effort: Led curriculum scheduling, facility coordination, faculty support, and student advising. Built transparent, shared-use production policies to ensure fair resource distribution across the department.
Impact: Strengthened vital institutional partnerships with WHUT (Howard University Television) and advanced school-wide strategic integration. This leadership role demonstrates high institutional trust, operational excellence, and a deep commitment to university governance.
Invited to participate in the 2023 Congressional Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill, partnering with the NAMM Foundation and We Are Moving The Needle.
Effort: Met with congressional offices linked to major federal committees (Senate HELP, House Appropriations, House Education) to lobby for music education funding and workforce development. Delivered formal remarks in the historic Mike Mansfield Room alongside NAMM CEO John Mlynczak, GRAMMY-winning engineer Emily Lazar, and artist J. Dash.
Impact: Linked Howard University’s research and creative leadership directly to national policy conversations regarding federal arts funding, ESSA implementation, and cultural workforce development.
Context: Collaborated with the Georgetown-Howard Universities Center for Clinical and Translational Science on an institutional video project, submitted March 20, 2025.
Effort: Executed the professional voiceover recording and editing pipeline in tandem with a graduating audio senior.
Impact: Produced high-utility media deliverables for a major regional research asset, reinforcing the School of Communications' interdisciplinary service capacity.
Contributed to design of the new Hip Hop Studies minor by adding courses MJFC 333 - Music in Media and MJFC 462 - Advanced Audio Production to the curriculum.
- Context: Elected and served as the departmental representative for Media, Journalism, and Film (MJFC) on the School of Communications Executive Committee (2022–2024).
- Effort: Participated in monthly strategic meetings with school leadership to evaluate academic planning, curriculum alignment, resource allocation, and faculty governance. Ensured the operational needs of the Audio/Radio sequence were fully represented.
- Impact: Advanced transparent governance and consensus-building across multiple disciplines. This service profile demonstrates institutional trust and collaborative leadership within the school's highest decision-making bodies.
Context: Invited to serve as the official 2026 Commencement Name Reader, managing one of the university’s most visible and culturally significant ceremonial traditions.
Effort: Coordinated with cross-functional backstage teams to manage real-time name adjustments and phonetic guides. Maintained high public communication standards to ensure the correct, respectful pronunciation of all graduate names during the ceremony.
Impact: Protected and enhanced a vital institutional tradition, ensuring an affirming, celebratory experience for graduates and their families. Received widespread accolades and formal gratitude from university leadership, faculty, and families for professional execution.
Effort: Joined meetings with Maryland legislators and staffers in Annapolis to advocate for safeguards that limit the misuse of creative works, like song lyrics, as criminal evidence. Aligned my work as an artist and researcher with national First Amendment and RAP Act advocacy efforts.
Impact: Contributed to a multi-year policy effort that culminated in Governor Wes Moore signing the bill into law on May 13, 2026. This work established major legal protections for creative professionals regarding race, equity, and artistic freedom.