Howell, 41, says he planned to work after he earned his four-year degree. But then his professors at the University of Memphis shined light on a higher education path that goes even further. Specifically, they referred him to the school’s Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program.
Subsequently, in 2010, Howell became the first African-American to graduate from the University of Memphis with a doctoral degree in electrical engineering, according to Deborah Northcross, former director of the school’s McNair program.
