Frederick S. Humphries

Former Florida A&M University president Frederick S. Humphries, whose 16 years of leadership at the school are often referred to as its “golden years,” has died. During his tenure, Humphries, who died Thursday June 24 2021 at age 85, oversaw the revival of FAMU's law school and doubled the university's enrollment. Born in Apalachicola, Florida, in 1935, Humphries graduated from FAMU in 1957 with a degree in chemistry. He later completed his masters and doctorate degrees in chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh, becoming the first Black person to obtain a Ph.D. from that program. He taught at the University of Minnesota before returning to his alma mater as a professor of chemistry in 1968. In 1974, he was named the president of Tennessee State University. In 1985, he became president of FAMU. Humphries is survived by his three children, Frederick Jr., Robin Tanya Watson and Laurence Humphries, as well as eight grandchildren. His wife, Antoinette McTurner Humphries, died in 2006.