Courtney A. Howard

Chief Diversity Officer and Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Courtney A. Howard is the chief diversity officer and vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion at the College of Charleston. She began this position in October 2022.

In this role, Howard provides leadership to the Office of Institutional Diversity and serves as a member of the president's cabinet. She is responsible for advocating and promoting a campus culture in which all can thrive and be engaged at the College of Charleston. She provides strategic and programmatic leadership for collaborative initiatives that advance diversity, equity and inclusion as critical components of the College of Charleston experience.

 Howard joined the College of Charleston in 2011 and has served as director of the Center for Partnerships to Improve Education, as well as the School of Education's interim dean and associate dean. Prior to joining the College, Howard worked at Claflin University in Orangeburg, S.C., for seven years, serving as a tenured faculty member and administrator in the School of Education. She previously worked at Baldwin-Wallace College (now University) in Berea, OH. A science educator, she has served as a public middle school science teacher and science museum outreach coordinator.

Howard remains engaged in professional associations and community through board leadership and active membership. For 10 years, she served as secretary/treasurer for the Southeastern Association for Science Teacher Education. She has held leadership roles in Trident United Way, SC Commission on National and Community Service, Multiplying Good in South Carolina (formerly Jefferson Awards Foundation) and the Charleston Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Inc. Howard actively serves the Tri-County Cradle to Career Collaborative, Four Rivers Outreach Community Development Corporation and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

Howard holds both a doctorate and master's degree in curriculum and instruction from University of Florida, and a bachelor's degree in biology from Florida A & M University. 

Education

2003: Ph.D., Curriculum and Instruction (science education), University of Florida

1999: M.Ed., Curriculum and Instruction (secondary science education), University of Florida

1997: B.S., Biology, Florida A & M University

Career Highlights

2022-present: Chief Diversity Officer and Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, CofC

2017-2022: Associate Dean, School of Education, Health, and Human Performance, CofC

2019-2020: Interim Dean, School of Education, Health, and Human Performance, CofC

2011-2022: Director, Center for Partnerships to Improve Education, CofC

2010-2011: Interim Dean, School of Education, Claflin University

2008-2010: Director of Curriculum, Instruction, & Assessment, School of Education, Claflin University

2004-2011: Assistant Professor, School of Education, Claflin University

Honors and Achievements

2015: Riley Institute Diversity Fellow, Furman University

2008-2009: Claflin University Spotlight on Faculty Excellence Achievement in Teaching Award

2006: Faculty advisor to 2nd place team, FBI National Curriculum Development Challenge

2003: Black Graduate Student Organization Legacy Award, University of Florida

2000-2003: Gates Millennium Scholarship

1999: Inducted, Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, University of Florida