History

Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen:
As president of the African Finance & Economics Association, I want to add my congratulations to the many that you have received on the occasion of the 125th anniversary of your historic institution, Howard University. We salute the pioneering spirit of its founders, but more importantly, applaud its accomplishments over the last 125 years. The May 1992 issue of Ebony Magazine emphasized this point by stating that “historic Howard University has been in the forefront of almost every important change affecting the lives of Black Americans ….. a list of Howard’s 59,000 living alumni reads like who’s who in Black America.” This is indeed a remarkable achievement.
With its glorious past, Howard is now looking forward to the 21st century with clearly defined set of goals and objectives to meet the challenges that the century portends; in essence, to become truly a “world class institution.” To this end, your president, Dr. Jenifer asserted in the May 1992 issue of Ebony that “my challenge to Howard is that we become one of the preeminent universities in the country, regardless of race …. and Howard’s 59,000 living alumni reads like who’s who in Black America.” This is indeed a remarkable achievement.
With its glorious past, Howard is now looking forward to the 21st century with clearly defined set of goals and objectives to meet the challenges that the century portends; in essence, to become truly a “world class institution.” To this end, your president, Dr. Jenifer asserted in the May 1992 issue of Ebony that “my challenge to Howard is that we become one of the preeminent universities in the country, regardless of race …. and to foster international relations especially as they relate to Africa …. etc.” This is where I perceive a meaningful relationship emerging between Howard and the African Finance Economics Association. By hosting our Launching activities, we hope that it will signal the genesis of further mutually beneficial collaborations. We thank you for this gesture.
I will make additional remarks later tonight; for now I want to welcome all of you to our launching activities on behalf of the African Finance & Economics Association. Professor Aiyegoro and the Program Committee have put together an excellent program and should be commended. Thank you (Ade).