Netflix and Howard University establish $5.4 million scholarship in honor of Chadwick Boseman

Netflix and Howard University have set up a $5.4 million grant out of scholarship for Chadwick Boseman, called The Chadwick A. Boseman Memorial Scholarship.

The full grant will cover four years of tuition at Howard’s College of Fine Arts, which was renamed after Boseman recently. Boseman went to the school studying directing and acquired a bachelor of fine arts degree in 2000.

This semester, one grant will be granted to each class year. From that point onward, one approaching first year recruit will get the grant every year. Understudies in the dramatic arts will be viewed as first.

“It is with immense pleasure and deep gratitude that we announce the creation of an endowed scholarship in honor of alumnus Chadwick Boseman, whose life and contributions to the arts continue to inspire,” said Dr. Wayne A. I. Frederick, president of Howard University. “This scholarship embodies Chadwick’s love for Howard, his passion for storytelling, and his willingness to support future generations of Howard students. I am thankful for the continuous support and partnership of Chadwick’s wife, Mrs. Simone Ledward-Boseman, and to Netflix for this important gift.”

Netflix co-CEO and chief content officer Ted Sarandos said in an statement: “While [Boseman] was taken from us too soon, his spirit is with us always in his work and the good that he has inspired. He always spoke of his time at Howard and the positive way it shaped his life and career. Now, we will have the opportunity to give many future superheroes a chance to experience the same. We are grateful to Simone and Chadwick’s whole family and our partners at Howard University for making this possible.”

The beneficiaries will all exemplify “a drive for excellence, leadership, respect, empathy, and passion,” as per the school.

Boseman passed on in August 2020 after a private fight with colon cancer.