Michael Steele, the first Black lieutenant governor of Maryland from 2003-2007 and the first African American Republican National Committee chairman from 2009-2011, has been appointed as the 2023-2024 Gwendolyn S. King and Colbert I. King Endowed Chair in Public Policy at Howard University.
As the recipient of the endowed chair, Steele will develop and host a lecture series to engage the Howard University community on several subjects including politics, voting, policy making, and civil service.
The announcement was made Wednesday and the first session titled “In Defense of Common Sense” will be held Thursday at 6 p.m. in the Founders Library Browsing Room.
“It’s such an honor to have been selected to hold the King Chair and to be part of the Howard University community,” Steele said. “I see this as a unique opportunity to challenge and be challenged by students and faculty on what that means in the 21st century and why it is important to define how we govern ourselves and understand what it means to be an American.”
Steele is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in international studies and a juris doctorate from the Georgetown Law Center. He presently works as a commentator for MSNBC and has his own legal and consulting firm, The Steele Group.
“For more than two decades, Michael Steele has been a leading and respected voice in American politics, someone who has been a barrier-breaker and advocate for upholding the tenets of our democracy,” said Howard University President Ben Vinson III. “As the King Endowed Chair in Public Policy, Mr. Steele’s appointment continues our commitment to creating bipartisan discussions that earnestly address some of our nation’s most pressing problems, work that is imperative in today’s society.”
Former King Chair recipients include the late U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings, political strategist and commentator Donna Brazile, and former NAACP Legal Defense Fund President Elaine Jones. The chair was established in 2008 by the Kings.