Howard University’s board of trustees voted to extend the contract of President Wayne A.I. Frederick for five additional years, the board recently announced.
Frederick became the 17th president of Howard two years ago, having previously served as the school’s interim president since October 2013. Before the extension, his tenure was set to end in 2019.
“President Frederick has been a transformational leader for Howard University and the entire board of trustees is excited to continue to work together in service to our community in the years ahead,” said board Chair Stacey Mobley. “Because of his visionary leadership, Howard has made great strides in advancing the academic progress of students, enhancing faculty experience, and stabilizing the university’s financial position.”
Frederick had also been a provost and chief academic officer of the prestigious university in northwest D.C. The native of Trinidad and Tobago enrolled at Howard University when he was 16 years old, earning his bachelor’s and medical degrees in just six years. He completed his surgical residency at Howard, and then became a surgical oncology fellow at the University of Texas’s MD Anderson Cancer Center. He also holds an MBA from Howard’s School of Business.
“President Frederick has made tremendous progress in forwarding Howard’s goals and the mission of the university,” said Mark Mason, vice chair of the board of trustees. “We are confident that this positive and exciting momentum will continue. It was incredibly important to the board that we take a long-term approach and avoid the instability of leadership that seems to be an unfortunate trend today in higher education. Howard deserves a strategic leader and we have that in President Frederick.”
