One of Howard University's speakers at its National Black Executive Exchange Program was alumna Omarosa Stallworth, who typically describes herself as "former deputy associate director of presidential personnel at the White House under the Clinton Administration." But that has nothing to do with why she was chosen to speak to students. Omarosa is a celebrity, one created by the Donald Trump reality show "The Apprentice" in its first and most popular season. The puzzling thing about Howard's decision to feature her as a role model whose advice to college students is worth heeding is this: she became a celebrity by shamelessly flaunting a selfish, arrogant and dishonest character. Her most publicized quote on the show was, "I'm going to crush my competition, and I'm going to enjoy doing it." Clips of her lying to competitors on the show have become standard fare in business school courses. After Trump finally fired her, she dissolved in tears, then later attributed her failure to "racism," despite the obvious fact that her divisive and abrasive personality and back-stabbing tactics would have made her a manager's nightmare in any culture on earth.

She maintains, with likely justification, that the film-editing of "The Apprentice" made her appear even more of a villain than she was. It doesn't matter. Nearly everything the public knows about Omarosa Stallworth is negative; virtually all of her conduct on the show was objectionable. Howard University is not the only institution or organization that has made the bizarre choice to elevate this unapologetic advocate of unethical workplace and interpersonal conduct to role model status; both NOW and the NAACP have included her on programs, and earlier this month, Essex County College featured Stallworth in its celebration of African American History Month. But the nation's oldest black university is the only institution to deem her worthy of emulation as a "business executive." Stallworth's career since the debacle of "The Apprentice" has been to capitalize on her villainess persona in a series of progressively more seedy reality shows and paid appearances. What could she possibly teach college students?

Nothing good. By holding up a bad role model as a good one simply because she attained celebrity status through unethical behavior, Howard has earned itself a summa cum laude Ethics Dunce Degree.