Phylicia Rashad on leaving Howard University: ‘This was a grand place to be’

The first thing to understand about Phylicia Rashad, the outgoing dean of Howard University’s Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts — as opposed to Phylicia Rashad the two-time Tony-winning actress and TV mom emerita — is that she really didn’t want to do this interview. Not because she was too busy (though Commencement was just a week away) or media-shy (pfft), but because she didn’t get all the fuss.