Center for Excellence in Advertising

The American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A’s) has committed to increasing the representation of multicultural professionals at all levels of the agency business. Despite continuous reports of dramatic levels of discrimination throughout our industry, the 4A’s remains proactive toward reaching their diversity objectives. With this in mind, in September 2008, the 4A’s partnered with Howard University and established the Center for Excellence in Advertising (CEA).

What is CEA?

The Center for Excellence in Advertising at Howard University is an Executive Education Program. CEA’s vision is to become the advertising industry’s certified talent resource and pipeline for people of color. We will be the preeminent training facility for multicultural individuals who are interested in advancing their careers in the advertising industry. CEA will be managed by the John H. Johnson School of Communications, which has the only accredited degree-granting program in advertising among the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).

CEA’s objectives are to:

Provide professional development to entry and mid-management level advertising executives.

Become the talent resource base for the advertising industry, to broaden the pipeline for minority advancement at levels of agency operations.

Provide diversity management development opportunities for C-Suite executives.