Race scholar Ibram X. Kendi is creating a third campus research institution as his scandal-prone Boston University (BU) center nears its end.
Kendi, whose “anti-racist” theories gave him national prominence in 2020, will join Howard University to start an “Institute for Advanced Study” focused on the experiences of “the global African Diaspora,” while his Center for Antiracist Research at BU will close June 30, the Washington Post reported Thursday. His departure comes after the center received millions of donor dollars and controversy over a lack of published work during its five-year existence.
“Dr. Ibram X. Kendi’s exceptional scholarship and unwavering commitment to social justice align perfectly with Howard University’s mission and values as we deepen our scholarship on the African Diaspora,” Howard Provost Anthony Wutoh said in a press release. “We are confident that under his leadership, the new institute will become a beacon of excellence and a catalyst for transformative change.”
Howard University’s press team did not immediately respond to inquiries from the Daily Caller News Foundation about its goals for Kendi’s institute. The release did not give a timeline for its opening.
Howard is a historically black institution and former Vice President Kamala Harris’s alma mater.
We are pleased to announce the appointment of Ibram X. Kendi, Ph.D., as the director of the newly established Howard University Institute for Advanced Study.
The institute will be dedicated to interdisciplinary study advancing research of importance to the global African… pic.twitter.com/BlJIJ1j6Vj
— Howard University (@HowardU) January 30, 2025
The new institute’s research will explore “race, technology, racism, climate change, and disparities,” the university said, mirroring Kendi’s signature philosophy that statistical differences in outcomes between ethnic groups are sufficient evidence for societal racism. The team aims to address “deep and persisting inequities in areas including, but not limited to, technology, the environment, healthcare, the economy, governance, education, and the criminal legal system.”
After creating the Antiracist Research and Policy Center at American University, which still exists, Kendi founded BU’s Center for Antiracist Research in 2020. Former staff came forward in 2024 to accuse Kendi of financial mismanagement and of allowing administrative dysfunction that allegedly made the institution unproductive.
The university ran an audit in 2023 and said it found no wrongdoing, but the center still drew criticism for only publishing two original academic papers after three years of operation and $43 million in funding. Its donations surpassed $55 million by 2024, The New York Times reported.
A page on the center’s website titled, “What We’re Working On” contains no original research since 2024, however, it links to documents such as legal briefs to courts supporting Democrat-backed policies on voting, LGBT rights, and other issues.
BU’s press team did not immediately respond to an inquiry about how much money has been allocated toward its dwindling anti-racism center. Kendi did not immediately respond to a request for comment about his overall accomplishments at the institution.
“This is the most fulfilling career choice I have ever made,” Kendi said in the press release regarding his departure to Howard. “I can’t wait to get started on our new institute.”
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