ANNOUNCER: Make the choice to begin anywhere in your life.

And the journey has started.

And along the way, be inspired.

Listen to the stories by joining the president of Howard University Dr. Wayne A.I Frederick on The Journey Before joining Howard University in October, 2020 he was the longest serving city administrator in the history of Washington DC local government.

Where he experienced serving at the right hand of mayor Muriel Bowser.

He worked to ensure the needs of DCs citizens businesses and visitors were being met.

Hello, my name is Dr. Wayne Frederick and my guest today is veteran public servant Rashad Young who joins me for an insightful conversation about his life experiences and career path.

Rashad welcome to The Journey.

Thank you, Dr. Frederick for having me.

Now since you've been here with us this is a very different from a city.

We do have some town ongoing issues but they tend to be very different.

What do you think has been the greatest difference from the prior jobs you've had working in cities than being in higher education?

Well, you know, I think it's really the mission focus.

That's how our university, when you're at a city there's all kinds of things that you're responsible for some never integrate or touch each other.

But at Howard, there is this singular focus on producing the best and the brightest students.

And that's been the biggest transition is that all the parts sort of fit neatly together in this puzzle, in the higher ed space.

And I really enjoy that transition.

Now getting into the city administration has to be fairly unique.

So let's go back a little bit to kind of what your first job at a city was like and what really prepared you what was your education like that got you there?

So I have an interesting path here.

So my academic preparation is really in the business side.

So I have an undergrad degree in business and in MBA as well.

And I started in local government at the ripe age of 18.

And I happened to have gotten this scholarship to the University of Dayton named after the civil rights leader, W. S.McIntosh, and that scholarship gave me an internship in city government.

So my first experience in government was as an undergrad student working at city hall in Dayton, Ohio, then right after college I was hired as assistant to the city manager and that started my track in local government.

And where did you go to high school?

And what about that high school experience, for instance really shaped your thought process that at the age of 18 you'd be willing to take a scholarship that had you in city hall.

Yeah, so I went to public schools in Dayton, Ohio I went to Meadowdale High School go Lions is still there, although in a different building in my hometown.

And really it was the connection of that high school experience to service.

And so when I was in high school, I got a chance to meet city commissioners.

For example, one of my friends, his father was a director of an agency at city hall in local government.

And so it just opened up a career opportunity and experience that frankly before I got into engage in activities in high school, I didn't even know they existed.

I didn't know that there was this profession in local government, that people, that could really train people on how to manage localities and cities.

And so, because I was connected to service through high school and working in the community I got to see this local government upfront.

And when the scholarship opportunity came, I thought, wow this is a great opportunity to really see if this is what I wanna do long-term.

And in Dayton, I would imagine that the the issues were unique and different to the jobs you would take subsequent to that.

So we're gonna go through the three cities and kind of contrast or I should say the four municipalities RASHAD: Yes Because I believe there's a fourth in there.

So let's start first with Dayton.

What about Dayton's either challenges, opportunities were unique?

So Dayton is where I think I cut my teeth in really urban management.

Dayton's history has been a manufacturing town.

Everybody who is from Dayton for multiple generations had a family member that worked at General Motors or Frigidaire.

Mine included, my grandmother worked for GM my mother worked for the factory at NCR who now makes ATM machines.

And when the economy started to change and the auto industry started to change to globalization all those factories closed.

And so Dayton became a city that was really struggling with what its economic identity was gonna be.

There were lots of jobs that were cut the city shrunk as suburban sprawl took place.

And so managing in that environment of a shrinking urban city that has high needs was really, really difficult.

FREDERICK: Right.

Now you contrast that with a city like Greensboro where there were some similarities in Greensboro they were a textile community.

And so they made furniture High Point University high point North Carolina, where High Point University is everybody in Greensboro made furniture in high point made furniture.

And that city too went through a renaissance.

And that's actually where I got my first inkling of what higher ed could be.

In Greensboro, they had five colleges and universities in the city.

And so the university presence really is what drove the economic renewal in Greensboro.

Research, human capital development attracting jobs with the pipeline of a workforce.

And so that was really unique.

And I have some experience managing through that at Greensboro.

Now, Alexandria totally different, a suburban urban community, high development, building renewal everything in Alexandra was about land use.

And so that was really the opportunity where you had a lot of resources.

It seemed like particularly asking partners to my other communities that you could really do some visioning about what you're gonna build and create some place making opportunities.

And then DC is just, I mean, there's nothing like Washington DC in terms of a government.

Before we touch on DC in those three areas how active would communities and do you see that as something very different in terms of how active the community is in terms of the town and gown it's used in terms of really looking closely at legislator or for that matter, as you have, as you're describing, like now in Alexandria where you have lots of building and land use you know, are people asking for green space?

And really pushing on that.

Or would the three of them vary different because of the economic issues in terms of people's participation.

I think they were very different.

I would say this, there was a theme of engagement in all of those communities, the way that engagement took place and what people focused on were very different.

In Alexandria, for example because there was so much development and building I think the community could be a little more selective around the kind of development that it wanted green space and sort of what the traffic impact would be.

In Dayton, if a company said that they were coming I think everybody was jumping for joy panel on the table, let's get it done.

And so their community engagement took a different flavor really based upon what the issues were in that community at the time.

But all of the communities that I've worked in have been highly engaged, both from the citizenry to the business community, whatever the assets were in those communities really paid attention to what was going on at the city level, what the legislative impact would be in those respective you know states and people really whether they were at odds or swinging in the same lane really were trying to be connected and establishing a vision for how that community was gonna develop.

Now I moved to Washington DC in 1988 and there's a lots to love about the city.

Probably most importantly, the people anytime I meet people who were born here I tell them it's the greatest asset that the city has.

It's a very different city today.

RASHAD: Yes And I think during the period of time you know they're probably some of the greatest growth has also taken place.

And as well, this is a very transient city.

RASHAD: Yeah Every four years you've got a whole federal machinery at least some aspect of it.

One of the branches changing over sometimes, and as a result that can bring a whole swath of new people in a whole swath of people moving out.

How different is DC as it seems on the surface versus what are some of the things that under the surface you think are consistent and a greater need to be kept going?

Well, I think what, that's a great question 'cause what is consistent about it is that the community cares what happens in the community.

Every city I've ever been in.

You know people think their circumstance is unique to that city but at the end of the day, people want the same thing.

They want safe neighborhoods, they want great schools, they want jobs for themselves and their family and the tactic and strategy about how you get there may change based upon the strengths of the given community, but people want those core things.

What's very unique I think about the district and you said it is that at the communities I have been in it probably was the most transient.

Because of the change in the federal workforce that occurs, you know, cyclically there are certainly a number of universities and students here.

So you have that sort of churn of activity and then people are coming and going based upon what's happening in the federal industry.

DC has been long referred to as sort of a company town and the company being the federal government.

That has changed a bit over time and I would say certainly in my nearly six years in DC government, what we have seen is the growth in employment and jobs has been outside of the federal sector, some businesses and industries that do support the federal government but that while the federal employment has remained relatively flat, the job growth in DC has been other kinds of industries which I think bodes well for the longterm sustainability of the district.

The other thing that I'd say is different is that the governmental structure of the district is unlike anything in the nation.

You have a city, a state, their county functions the schools are, the district is responsible for.

And so there's, some of this uni gov circumstance there is no state legislator to go to.

It's still the DC council.

FREDERICK: Alright And then you've got the fact that that impacts you in the district because there's no federal representation either.

And so that does make a difference in terms of how the district is positioned relative to other states and give some unique challenges to our governing.

So with that in mind, I think you, you're probably one of the experts on this.

So I hear this all the time, you know, statehood why statehood?

What about the Cohen setup?

Doesn't work for the district of Columbia citizens versus what would be different with statehood?

So I think it really comes down to that representation in the halls of Congress.

One district residents pay a disproportionate amount of federal taxes without voting membership in either houses of Congress.

And if you even look at the stimulus process that happened this year states received about six or $700 million each based on a formula, a federal formula for stimulus support.

The district of Columbia didn't get that resource missed out on $700 million in part because there's nobody in Congress.

There was no senator that can say, "If you get it Maryland and you get it Virginia, then DC should get it too.

FREDERICK: All right.

And so when funding decisions are being made and choices are being made, you don't have an advocate other than our delegate, Eleanor Holmes Norton, who can't vote in the house, but you don't have voting representation to ensure equity and to ensure that DC gets treated as other states do in the country.

And that has made a, the most significant example of that is this federal stimulus where everybody got $700 million DC got zero in terms of that particular allocation of funding.

Alright now when you look overall at I guess the other states and just the volume of people, I believe DC has more people than Wyoming.

RASHAD: Yes.

And then you look at economic impact, tax collection et cetera.

It seems as if you do have a group of people that significant what, why the opposition?

Where is the opposition coming from?

I think the opposition is, twofold and they may sort of relate to each other.

I think there are some purists who interpret the constitution to just say it was not provided for by the founding fathers.

And therefore you cannot have it.

It's a violation on the constitution which does not in a fair argument, right?

And so other states have been admitted to the union beyond the original states that formed the United States.

And there's a procedure to do that.

And there are all kinds there are amendments to the constitution, quite obviously so change can happen.

And then it's political I think as well because the district has been historically democratic in democratic leaning.

I think there is a concern in terms of the national politics that representation by the district means two more democratic votes in the senate.

And that's not something that, you know the Republican side of the house is willing to embrace.

What about the concern that you have the seat of government the federal government in a state in particular that's gonna be voting on issues related to it.

Do you think that there's a potential conflict of interest?

I mean, I really don't because the way that the statehood sort of initiative has been articulated one would carve out a piece of the current district of Columbia to maintain its federal Arncliffe so that it would not be a part of any state.

It would just shrink.

So the part of the district that would be in no other state would shrink from its current geographic boundary which is all of the district of Columbia.

To something that's pretty more much more central to the downtown, where the literal seats of government exists between the Supreme Court the Capitol and the White House.

And so you can still carve out that space.

And the argument that suggests then the federal government would be beholden to this new state in terms of services just doesn't ring true because today all of those services that are provided to the federal government are provided by the district of Columbia, without any regard to partisanship or roads still have to be paved.

Snow still has to be removed and to not be too technical in the sorta jargon there's concurrent jurisdiction between the federal government in DC all over the place today.

You know, Rock Creek park, for example is a federal road exist in the district of Columbia.

We figured it out how to do each other's part without conflict.

And so that could happen in the new state as well.

Good.

Well, I hope I'm sure my listeners are gonna appreciate that because this is obviously a hot topic and getting into the technical aspects of it is helpful.

Switch gears a bit.

RASHAD: Yap You're here to help me with strategy.

RASHAD: Yes We built the strategic plan ahead of time.

I confess that I'm not always crazy about strategic plans because I think they live on shelves.

And I think the best strategy is to be constantly trying to improve yourself.

And you wouldn't hear for the building, how talk a bit about your own planning and strategic philosophy and then we will get into the strategy of what we're trying to do.

Yeah, so I always think when you talk about strategic planning that you just simply start where you are.

Oftentimes when we talk about building a plan and executing the plan, there are these things that you feel that are in somehow, or if we had better data or if we could organize differently in this way.

But the key is that you really just have to have a vision and know where you wanna be.

You know, whether it's one, four or five, 10 years from now and you start with the tools and the resources and the strengths that you have on the table now.

One of the great things about this plan and I've been in organization that has done lots of strategic plans, is that I have not been in an organization where this plan is as living as it is at Howard.

If you walk around and talk to anybody they will say, or mention Howard forward probably in the first five sentences of whatever they're gonna talk about.

So people really are embracing this and taking an opportunity to really think about what this plan means and how it will work for their everyday work.

And I think that's an outstanding way to approach the strategic planning implementation.

And you obviously came a Metaplan.

We have five pillars what's your assessment of what's in the plan.

So, you know, I think the plan is really about how to move this organization forward and make sure that it is leading and sustainable for the future.

The five pillars and some 18 initiatives that make up Howard forward, really touch every aspect of what we do in the university.

From teaching students and the environment that they're taught in to making sure that we've got resources to invest in that teaching mission to efficiency and customer service to how we address and engage with the community.

So it is very broad in its scope but extremely practical in its application.

And so, as I have looked at the plan and I literally walk around with the planning book in my book bag, everywhere that I go, so that I can constantly be thinking about the work that occurs on the campus and in other units are doing how that alignment occurs with the macro plan.

And so I really do think from the plan's perspective, it is practical.

It is doable and it's relevant to the mission of the university.

And that's what you want in a strategic plan.

And as you've built plans for cities what are some of the biggest risk for strategic plans not being implemented or executed well?

I think there are two risks.

One that the plan is too static and doesn't recognize evolving circumstances in situations.

And then you can't leverage on the next opportunity that occurs.

And so the flexibility to sort of think about the strategy in the present day circumstance and opportunity, I think is really important.

The second piece to a strategic plan I think that causes some difficulty is that the measures aren't clear where we don't understand what success looks like.

And so when you talk about a big, bold vision where tomorrow looks different than today you've gotta be able to define what the goalposts are and how you're gonna evaluate your success over time so that you can track that progress.

And I think the third thing that's critical here is that you've got to have the discussion about the relevance of the plan in a way where people don't view it as an addition to their work but central to their work.

And so if this is an add on a report I have to fill out 'cause the president said that everybody has to fill out a report or an exercise at budget time.

Then people tend to view the plan as a secondary issue and not really relevant to their day to day.

And so you gotta talk about it and infuse the elements of the strategic planning in people's daily work.

So it's not an add on but a part of what you're doing to be successful.

I wanna piggy, piggyback a little bit on that last point, because in my opinion, I think that probably is one of the most important ingredients not just in the success of the plan, but in the success of a university that people are embedded in the mission.

What are some of the things that you think are important to get everyone on board, the entire community, into how they play a role in the ultimate success of the plan but really the ultimate success of the university?

Well, I think it's part of what you have to do there is how you talk about it, right?

And so one of the things that you have charged us with is making sure that there's relevance across the institution for people in this strategic plan.

So we wanna hear what that faculty member is doing in the school of business and highlight that story as an example of academic excellence for example.

We wanna hear what procurement is doing around procurement reform that really talks about the efficiency of the university and its enterprise.

'Cause that's the tenant of the plan.

And so what we've gotta be able to do is lift those stories across the institution from faculty to staff administrative units and show that relevance between what they're doing today and how that fits into this broader vision of what the plan is supposed to accomplish.

That part is critical to get the everyday person who shows up on campus or shows up in the lab or their classroom or their office to understand how what they do makes a difference to this mission of educating the best and the brightest in the country.

So obviously you came to know Howard from outside from external being a city administrator, engaging with the university, and now we've gotten a chance to see kind of under the hood, as they say.

What probably has been the most surprising thing that you've discovered that you didn't know about that yeah, you now know about.

Now that I'm sort of in the thick of it.

I think it is wow how much work there is to run the institution.

You know, as the city administrator, I was always on you always had something to do.

And now that I've gotten engaged and immersed a bit in university life, wow, there's just a lot coming at you that has to be managed and processed and thought about and sort of strategized around.

And so the volume of work and the magnitude of opportunity I didn't have a full appreciation for until I'm sitting in the seat a part of this team.

Excellent.

And as I tell everyone who comes here ultimately this university is here for the future.

Why Howard University?

Why do you think Howard University is so critical not just to DC, but to the entire nation at this present time in our history?

It is for a couple of reasons.

And part of that is what really drew me to this opportunity.

The national dialogue today around race in equity, inclusion, justice has been more pronounced in prominent than it has been in a long time.

And Howard being a leader, a natural leader having a history of not only scholarship and service but justice is compelling.

And so Howard's mission its leadership position in the country.

As a thought leader, as a producer of individuals who will move the needle on issues around equity and justice there's no more important mission at this time in our country.

And the focus that Howard has on black and brown people being a part of that conversation preparing them for roles of leadership, whether they be in business, law, medicine, science, or computing whatever their sort of field of expertise is the more we can produce those kinds of leaders in the country.

Then we can advance the ideals of equity, equality and justice across the country.

Howard has a history of doing it.

They have proven, they produce leaders that do it look at our vice president who is in the White House, a proud Howard alum.

And so Howard is important to the national dialogue in conversation and has a reputation and the stature to lead this effort with many others in the country.

Thanks for being here.

My guest today was Rashad Young, Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer at Howard University.

I'm Dr. Wayne Frederick, please join me next time on The Journey.

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