Hampton University Alumna Ruth Carter Wins ‘Alumna of the Year Award’ at the 2019 HBCU Digest Awards
BALTIMORE, Md. (August 30, 2019) – On a night unifying culture and celebrating Black excellence, Hampton alumna and Academy Award winner Ruth Carter won the Alumna of the Year Award at the 2019 HBCU Awards in Baltimore.
“This is Ruth Carter’s year! She is a true superstar and role model who inspires our students every day to Dream No Small Dreams. Congratulations to a very deserving alumna,” said Dr. William R. Harvey, Hampton University President.
Presented by HBCU Digest, The HBCU Awards is the first and only national awards ceremony honoring individual and institutional achievement at historically black colleges and universities throughout the United States.
Carter won the Oscar in the Best Costume Design category for her work in the 2018 film, “Marvel’s Black Panther,” at the 91st Academy Awards in February. Carter’s win made her the first African-American to win in the Costume Design category and it was the first ever Oscar for Marvel Studios. During the HBCU Awards ceremony, Hampton University’s
Majoring in Theatre Arts at Hampton University, Carter has worked in the entertainment industry for over three decades. Her unparalleled ability to develop an authentic story through costume and character has made her one of the most sought after and renowned costume designers today. She is also the costuming force behind movies such as “Malcolm X,” “Amistad,” “Selma,” and “Lee Daniels’ The Butler.” Carter recently worked on costumes for the 2019 movie, “Dolemite Is My Name,” starring Wesley Snipes and Eddie Murphy.
Created by HBCU Digest Founding Editor Jarrett L. Carter Sr. in 2011, the HBCU Awards crowns winners in the fields of leadership, arts, athletics, research, and community engagement. “Ruth Carter was a nearly unanimous selection for HBCU Alumna of the Year. Her work on the generational cinematic achievement that is ‘Black Panther’ helped to move a culture in support of self-affirmation, identity and pride; all things which are bold elements of the Hampton University experience,” said Carter. “It is a great honor to serve the committee’s wishes in awarding Carter an accolade which shows how HBCU graduates shape the world around them, and the better versions of a world we still dare to imagine.”
In 2018, the HBCU Awards created the William R. Harvey Lifetime Achievement award, which is named in honor of the legendary career of Dr. William R. Harvey, who has served Hampton University with dignity and created a monumental legacy for the past 42 years. This year’s recipient of the award was Maurice Taylor, Morgan State University Vice President for Academic Outreach and Engagement.
The HBCU Awards is the first national awards event to recognize the influence and impact of HBCUs on American culture.
