Ofield Dukes, educator and public relations executive, died earlier this month at a hospital in Detroit. He was 79 years old.
Over a quarter of a century Ofield taught at Howard University and American University. He was instrumental in the launch of the Howard University School of Communications. And he served as a public relations counselor to three presidents of Howard University.
A native of Alabama, Ofield moved to Detroit as a child. He was a 1958 graduate of Wayne State University with a degree in journalism. After working for the Michigan Chronicle, he moved to Washington, D.C., and served as deputy director of information for the President’s Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity. He later joined the staff of then vice president Hubert Humphrey.
In 1969 Ofield started his own public relations firm and secured its first client, Motown Records. Ofield was a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation and served on its board of directors for 14 years.
