Howard University School of Business has established the Key to the School of Business -- an honor for graduates who provide superlative service to the school in its work to engage alums and support its students.

The first recipients of the Key to the School of Business are Tyrone Johnson (B.B.A. ’94) and his wife Amy (B.S. ’06 COAS). The couple has committed to endow a scholarship fund, but the Key to the School of Business recognizes a higher level of engagement, said Marcus Goode, director of development for HUSB and originator of the idea.

“Working with Dean Wilbon and Ms. Ragan Royal [assistant vice president for Individual Giving], we wanted to recognize the tireless efforts of School of Business alumni. And Mr. and Mrs. Johnson have developed a substantial partnership with the university in perpetuity—and the key is a representation of the opportunities that are unlocked for our students through their philanthropy and connections,” said Goode.

“It’s a real honor; it’s the inaugural key to the School of Business, right? There hasn’t been one before,” said Tyrone Johnson. He is pleased that “this isn’t something that’s going to be easy to obtain, or to achieve. It has to be both, you know – financial contribution, but then also demonstrating some real engagement with the University.”

HUSB Dean Anthony D. Wilbon, PhD, PMP, said the Johnsons went “above and beyond helping us with some of the activities that we have in the School of Business.” The duo, who live in Atlanta, organized and underwrote a reception for Atlanta-area HUSB graduates and supporters ahead of the Cricket MEAC/SWAC Challenge football classic in August. The reception gave Wilbon the opportunity to speak to the alums about HUSB’s progress and activities “and invite them to continue to engage with us going forward.”

Wilbon said, “Beyond the scholarship and beyond the commitment or the work with the reception, Tyrone has offered to help us in any way we need to build the community of Atlanta alums so that we can have access to them.”

Earlier in the year, Tyrone and Amy Johnson established The Mr. and Mrs. Johnson Endowed Fund, which will provide scholarships to HUSB sophomores who also have declared a physical science minor and exhibit financial need.

Tyrone Johnson is an operating partner at Trive Capital, a private equity firm based in Dallas, Texas. But his choice to attend Howard after graduating from the Boys and Girls School in Brooklyn, New York, underpins his career. “A lot of the confidence that I have now to be in the room as the only African American, to be the most senior person in the room as an African American, comes from in large part my time at Howard and having people nurture the notion that you are capable, and you deserve to be in that space,” Johnson said.

Amy Johnson also lauds her time at Howard. With a Black father and a white mother, she, and her brother, “were a little different, so to speak,” she said. “And I felt like I wanted to go somewhere where I would feel comfortable and embraced, accepted. And so, I decided that it would be nice to attend a university where all the different shades and colors were represented. And I chose Howard because at the time, Howard was it. And still is!”

Howard also gave Amy Johnson a boost in confidence because it forced her to be determined. “When we were at Howard, it was kind of like, if you didn’t speak up for yourself to get things done – be it financial aid or student accounts or whatever your situation – if you didn’t speak up for yourself, it wasn’t getting done. And so, I feel like it made me more assertive and just able to say what’s on my mind.”

Amy Johnson initially considered becoming a lawyer but instead graduated from the College of Arts and Sciences in 1996. Wilbon hopes that the association can provide an additional avenue for alumni outreach. “She’s anxious to get some work done with COAS as well,” he said.

The award is meaningful to the Johnsons for other reasons. “It’s a key. So, keys open doors, right? So, I like the metaphor there,” Tyrone Johnson said. “So how can we continue to help open doors, whether it’s students or people in the business community, to partner with Howard?”

He continued, “We have it on display prominently in our house. So, when people come over, it’s something that is a bit of a talking point. ‘Well, what’s that?’ ‘Oh, I’m glad you asked.’ And we tell the whole story. So, we have a lot of pride around receiving a key, and we display it proudly.”

About Howard University

Founded in 1867, Howard University is a private, research university that is comprised of 14 schools and colleges. Students pursue more than 140 programs of study leading to undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees. The University operates with a commitment to Excellence in Truth and Service and has produced one Schwarzman Scholar, three Marshall Scholars, four Rhodes Scholars, 12 Truman Scholars, 25 Pickering Fellows and more than 165 Fulbright recipients. Howard also produces more on-campus African American Ph.D. recipients than any other university in the United States. For more information on Howard University, visit www.howard.edu

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