Howard Dodson

Howard Dodson is Director Emeritus of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, the New York Public Library. A specialist in African American and African Diaspora history and culture, he served as Director of the Schomburg from 1984 to 2011. During his tenure there, Dodson increased the size of its collections from 5 million to more than 10 million items; raised more than $100 million to support its programs and services; and increased its user base from 40,000 to over 125,000 annually. Through its education, research, exhibition, and cultural programs, Dodson transformed the Schomburg into the premier center in the world dedicated to documenting and interpreting the Africana heritage. A leader in the fields of historical and cultural preservation, he made the center the gold standard in its fields of specialization. He is the author or editor of more than twelve books and has curated over twenty-five exhibitions. A graduate of West Chester State College (BS) and Villanova University (MA), Dodson also earned an ABD in history at the University of California at Berkeley. The recipient of five honorary doctorates, he was designated a New York City “Living Landmark” in 2010. From 2011 to 2015, Dodson served as Director of Howard University Libraries and Director of Howard’s Moorland-Spingarn Research Center.