In Memoriam: Frederick Stephen Humphries, 1935-2021

Frederick S. Humphries, the eighth president of Florida A&M University, died on June 24 at his home in Orlando, Florida. He was 85 years old.

A native of Apalachicola, Florida, Dr. Humprhires earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry at Florida A&M University. He held a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh. He served on the faculty at Florida A&M University and the University of Minnesota.

Dr. Humphries served as president of Florida A&M University from 1985 to 2001. Earlier, he was president of Tennessee State University in Nashville from 1974 to 1985. In 2013, HBCU Digest named Dr. Humprhires as one of the five best HBCU presidents of all time.

After stepping down as president of Florida A&M University, Dr. Humphries served as president and CEO of the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education and as a Regents Professor at the Florida A&M University College of Law in Orlando.

Larry Robinson, the current president of Florida A&M University, said in a statement,  “Dr. Humphries is one of FAMU’s favorite sons. He committed his life to the advancement of higher education, in particular within the HBCU community, and changed the trajectory of FAMU.”

Related Articles

1 COMMENT

  1. Condolences to the Humphries Family and the FAMU Family. The HBCU community and especially the Florida HBCU community appreciate Dr. Humphries definitely appreciated his lifelong contributions to “Black Higher Education”. RIP Rattler.

Leave a Reply

Get the JBHE Weekly Bulletin

Receive our weekly email newsletter delivered to your inbox

Latest News

Students at Three HBCUs in New Orleans to Participate in Power of Prosperity Initiative

The Power of Prosperity program will help remove barriers to students’ academic success by providing students and their families with free access to financial support and resources.

Yale University Scholar Wins Early Career Physics Award

Charles D. Brown II, an assistant professor of physics at Yale University, has been selected as the winner the Joseph A. Johnson Award for Excellence from the American Institute of Physics and the National Society of Black Physicists.

Three African Americans Appointed to New Administrative Posts at Universities

Arthur Lumzy Jr. is the new director of student career preparedness at Texas A&M University–Commerce. Sandra L. Barnes was named associate provost for undergraduate education and student success at Alcorn State University in Mississippi and Roberto Campos-Marquetti has been appointed assistant vice president for staff and labor relations at Duke University.

North Carolina A&T State University to Debut New Graduate Programs in Criminal Justice

The university's criminal justice master’s and doctoral programs are designed to provide high-quality graduate education and training in criminal justice with the four areas of specialization: investigative science, digital forensics, research methodology, and social justice.

Featured Jobs