Tribute to Former President Frederick Humphries Sr. Who Ushered in a “Golden Age” for FAMU

Dr. Frederick S. Humphries, Sr., passed away on June 24, 2021, leaving a legacy of Black exceptionalism that remains the envy of academia. The young man from the port town of Apalachicola on the panhandle of Florida would have an extraordinary impact on many thousands of Black students and their families.

Growing up in Apalachicola, Humphries was influenced by a diverse group of people. He attended Holy Family School, one of the few Black Catholic grammar schools in the south ruled by Black nuns who were relentless disciplinarians. Once, Humphries’ school scored so high on an exam, the Monseigneur suspected cheating. He gave them a diff erent test and their scores were even better. The small town had a reputation for Black high achievers. But Fred Humphries said it was not enough for his high school math teacher Charlie Watson who constantly pushed him to “do better” and to always “strive for excellence.” Construction work in Apalachicola introduced him to Ruffi n Rhodes. Ruffi n talked incessantly about the power of education. Finally, Humphries said, “What’s the highest degree of educational achievement?” Rhodes said, “a doctorate.”

With that, Humphries was off to Florida A&M College, which became a university during his time there. He was a popular student. Tall, handsome, and smart, known for his competitive spirit on the basketball court and in the classroom. He enjoyed getting better grades than his big-city friends. To his buddy Carl Kirksey from Miami, he asked, “How did you do on that math exam?” Carl said, “I got an 80.” “I got a 95,” was Humphries retort. He graduated with honors with a degree in chemistry, from FAMU. Humphries began his role as a member of the “First Evers” as the first African American to earn a doctorate in physical chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh.

After teaching chemistry at FAMU in 1974, he became president of Tennessee State University (TSU), an arch-rival of the Rattlers. Humphries was president when the state wanted to merge TSU with the Nashville campus of the University of Tennessee, a White school. It happened, but the federal land-grant status of TSU, protected it from a hostile takeover of sorts by a White institution. Tennessee State maintained its administrative status and brand.

That episode was not Humphries’s first bout with suppression. He acknowledged institutional racism as a worthy adversary to be outmaneuvered. That was his approach; it was a successful strategy.

When he returned to his beloved FAMU as president in 1985, it was the beginning of a remarkable journey that would elevate the university and Historically Black Colleges and Universities to their rightful status as valuable institutions of higher learning. Humphries’ commanding presence, innovating ideas, and enthusiasm was a powerful magnet attracting students, faculty, corporations, alumni, and research dollars at a level never before realized.

He was defiant and unrelenting when advancing FAMU. During the Humphries’ years from 1985-2001, FAMU burst onto the scene as an HBCU with unmatched academic credentials. First, he increased en-

Dr. Frederick Humphries was my president as an undergraduate student at Florida A&M University and Derek and I are deeply saddened by his passing. He was larger than life. His leadership made way for scores of students to find their best selves on the highest of seven hills in Tallahassee, Florida. With his “Life Gets Better Scholarship,” he made life better for a generation of Rattlers, exposing countless students to opportunities and possibilities that exceeded the expectations of many. His enormous spirit will continue to live in every Rattler that he touched. Our prayers are with the Humphries family and my fellow Rattlers nationwide.

—MAYOR KEISHA LANCE BOTTOM

rollment with an unorthodox recruitment style that was legendary. He would approach young people on the streets of Europe and Africa touting the FAMU brand. The University’s dominance of National Achievement Scholars would upend academic norms. FAMU led the nation with these scholars outpacing Harvard, Yale, and Stanford in 1992, 1995, 1997, and tying Harvard in 2000. But, also part of the big picture was Humphries’ commitment to disadvantaged students with untapped potential who would be nurtured at FAMU. That was the Fred Humphries’ dream.

The intrinsic strength of an HBCU education was a powerful weapon for Humphries whose motto was Excellence with Caring which resonated nationwide. His defiance of racial norms was a startling rebuke to the Board of Regents and all those he viewed as a threat to FAMU. Humphries’ FAMU engendered the kind of can-do spirit and self-esteem the next generation needed to compete in the marketplace.

During his presidency, Frederick Humphries raised over $157 million, awarded 873 Life Gets Better Scholarships, and increased Foundation revenues tenfold. FAMU was named College of the Year by Time Magazine and the Princeton Review. Grants jumped from $8 million to $62 million and enrollment soared from 5,000 to 12,000. Humphries was always focused on FAMU’s research profile, but now was able to strengthen engineering, the sciences, and pre-law. Of course, he successfully restored the FAMU College of Law, in 2000.

The famous 8th President always credited a great faculty for playing a major role in the success of his eff orts. The expansion of graduate studies is a testament to that fact. The most extraordinary part of Humphries’ legacy was the elevation of FAMU to prominence that in turn established the relevancy of all of America’s HBCUs.

Dr. Humphries was preceded in death by his parents, Thornton G. Humphries, Sr. and Minnie Henry Humphries; his brother, Thornton G.

The Humphries family: Clockwise from left- Son, Frederick Jr., President Humphries, younger son, Laurence, wife Antoinette and daughter, Robin Tanya. CREDIT: HUMPHRIES FAMILY 42 // FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY // A&M MAGAZINE

“With style and substance, Dr. Humphries presided over Florida A & M University. His love, pride, and laughter along with his searing brilliance lifted FAMU to soaring heights of ‘Excellence with Caring.’ FAMU grew, roared, and prospered as an American citadel of higher education under the leadership of Frederick Humphries, a true giant in head, heart, and spirit. Gone from our presence but never from our hearts and mind — We love Frederick Humphries forever.”

—LEON COUNTY DISTRICT 1 COMMISSIONER BILL PROCTOR, FAMU HIGH GRADUATE AND POLITICAL SCIENCE INSTRUCTOR AT THE UNIVERSITY, IN A STATEMENT

Humphries, Jr. and sister, Mona Humphries Bailey. He was married to the late Antoinette McTurner Humphries. He is survived by their three children, Frederick S. Jr., (Kim Sheftall) of Washington, D.C; Robin Tanya Humphries Watson of Orlando, Fla.; Laurence Anthony (Carnesha Allen) of Houston, Texas.; and eight grandchildren Brian Alexander P. Watson of Oakland, Calif., Arielle Simone Humphries of New York, N.Y, Kirsten Antoinette Watson of Los Angeles, Calif.; Frederick S. Humphries, III of Los Angeles Calif., Laurence Anthony Humphries II of Atlanta, Ga., Dylan Gabrielle Humphries of Atlanta, Ga., Isabella Antoinette Humphries of Houston, Texas, and Pierce Henry Humphries, of Houston, Texas; and two sisters, Mamie Stevens of Moss Point, Miss.; Barbara (Milton) Jones of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; a beloved companion, Barbara Curry Murrell, of Nashville, Tenn.;

During his presidency, Frederick Humphries raised over $157 million, awarded

873 Life Gets Better

Scholarships, and increased Foundation revenues tenfold.

HONORING THE “GOLDEN AGE” OF DR. FREDERICK S. HUMPHRIES: FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY’S

EIGHTH PRESIDENT BY E. MURELL DAWSON AND YVETTE STENNETT

With profound sadness the Rattler Nation celebrated the life and legacy of a giant, its beloved Dr. Frederick S. Humphries, the 8th President of Florida A&M University (FAMU), who passed away on June 4, 2021, in Orlando, Florida. The annals of history will record that President Humphries saved FAMU.

Months later, tributes continue to pour in from the public celebrating his life. The President Frederick S. Humphries, Sr. “Excellence with Caring!” Memorial Exhibit has opened at the Carrie Meek-James N. Eaton, Sr. Black Archives Research Center and Museum in FAMU’s historic Carnegie Library. How is an era of extraordinary leadership and growth captured in a hastily constructed exhibit? It is an impossibility. The exhibit could only provide mere glimpses into the mind, work, and vision of this phenomenal man who piloted FAMU’s third “Golden Age.”

When President Humphries took offi ce in 1985, after serving 10 years as Tennessee State University’s 5th president (1975-1985), his reputation, experience and pioneering work as an educational leader foretold his forthcoming destiny of ushering in a period of enormous prosperity at FAMU. When placed in historical context, two of his FAMU predecessors, Nathan B. Young and J.R.E. Lee, Sr, also advanced the institution and brought national notoriety to its mission, eff orts and worth.

President Young (1901-1923) ushered in FAMU’s first “Golden Age.” His administration raised educational standards of the Florida State Normal and Industrial School for Colored Students and elevated it to an offi cial four-year bachelor’s degree-granting college (1909). This same year, the school’s name was changed to the Florida A&M College for Negroes (FAMC). President Young lead the fledgling college for an unprecedented twenty-two years. His firing by the Florida Board of Control in 1923 led to a year-long protest where students burned several major campus buildings. Known as the “Great Fires of FAMC,” this was one of the earliest student-led demonstrations on any American college campus.

FAMU’s second “Golden Age” rose from these ashes of protest, when Lee was appointed as the third president (1924-1944). He was a former administrator at Benedict College and Tuskegee Institute and trained under the famous Booker T. Washington. As FAMC’s president, Lee expedited a campus-wide building boom amid the Great Depression and World War II. Over two decades, several brick dormitories and some 40 buildings were constructed using federal grants. This period of progress and growth was FAMC’s second “Golden Age.” It lasted until Lee’s untimely passing in the FAMC Hospital in 1944.

Forty years later, FAMU bred, Dr. Fred Humphries, a fierce defender of African American education and HBCUs was appointed president (1985-2001). During these 16 years, his reputation as an expert administrator, fundraiser and recruiter was solidified. He presided over FAMU’s centennial celebration; reestablished FAMU’s College of Law; amassed an impressive construction record; established the Institute of the Environment (now School of the Environment) and Institute of Public Health (now a part of the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences); and created several new Ph.D. programs. Humphries attracted record student enrollments and in 1997-98 recruited the most National Achievement Scholars, beating such Ivy-league institutions as Harvard, Princeton, and Yale. He also established his signature “Life Gets Better” Scholarship. One of FAMU’s most coveted honors was being selected as the 1997-98 “College of the Year” by Time Magazine. These are but a few of the countless accolades from the Humphries’ “Golden Age.”

The memorial exhibit seeks to honor this extraordinary leader and lend insight into this phenomenal period in FAMU’s history. Upon his retirement as Regent Professor (2003-2014) at the FAMU College of Law, Humphries personally selected and sent to the Black Archives printed records, and a vast array of artifacts from his long-standing, stellar career. The items included: awards, publications, construction helmets, framed news article and photographs. The most striking artifact in the exhibit has been his green presidential academic robe and cap.

The unplanned exhibit took on a life of its own as many people and units across the campus contributed to its completion. The exhibit includes memorabilia on First Lady Antoinette Humphries and the First Family. Also included are artifacts from his older sister and mentor, educational leader, consultant and FAMU alumnae, Mona Humphries Baily, the 1954 Miss FAMU and the 17th National President of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

The research for excellence and success in higher level education has already been conducted. President Humphries and his administration gave us a blueprint for future FAMU “Golden Ages.” The effi cacy of his model is based on empirical findings and is designed to sustain for generations. President Humphries has bequeathed to all a “living inheritance.” One that cannot be contained by time, circumstance, or physical objects. An inheritance that compels us to seek out the best and the brightest, and to see the diamonds in the rough. This refers to faculty, staff , students and others within the Rattler Nation. His legacy also challenges future presidents and their administrations to strive for more FAMU “Golden Ages.” The Dr. Frederick Humphries Memorial Exhibit is located on the first floor of Carnegie Library and remains open due to its popularity. For more information contact the Meek-Eaton Black Archives at 850.599.3020 or blackarchives@famu.edu.

THE PRESIDENT NO ONE SAW COMING

BY EDDIE JACKSON

Reprinted by permission of Tallahassee Democrat Newspaper

In 1985, Frederick S. Humphries was planning an attack on the soul of higher education in America. He believed this nation had promised African American students that if they worked hard and earned good grades, merit would overcome racism.

His development team produced a proposal called “Life Gets Better.” Humphries slid copies of the proposal targeted for Fortune 500 corporations into a briefcase and put on his traveling shoes.

He squeezed five corporations into a single day’s meeting, selling his proposal at full strength in the early morning hours — and somehow got stronger as the day grew longer. Intellectually he was off the charts, whip smart with a photographic memory, a distinguished scientist with a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh. But he was a born salesman who could have earned millions in the business world. And although higher education was his wheelhouse, he never lost a sale.

The proposal called for corporations to join the university’s Cluster Program with an annually $1,500 membership fee and support for the

A fiery temper was in store for the University Relations team that did not have pledge forms on hand when Humphries was talking to alumni. The FAMU Foundation had an endowment of less than $6 million when Humphries become president. When he retired in 2001, the endowment was approaching $70 million. Today it is $125 million.

Life Gets Better Scholarship program covering the full cost of a college education. When he retired, the Cluster had grown to more than 100 Fortune 500 Corporations which contributed $3 to $4 million annually.

GETTING RESULTS

Alumni within the sound of Humphries’ voice received the same treatment. Telling Humphries how much you loved FAMU didn’t mean much unless it was backed up with cash and pledges.

A fiery temper was in store for the University Relations team that did not have pledge forms on hand when Humphries was talking to alumni. The FAMU Foundation had an endowment of less than $6 million when Humphries become president. When he retired in 2001, the endowment was approaching $70 million. Today it is $125 million.

Proving FAMU’s majority African American faculty and student body could perform at an equal level with other institutions was not in his strike zone. He didn’t want to play for a tie. He wanted to win.

Humphries envisioned FAMU as a mecca that attracted the nation’s best and brightest African American faculty and student body, and an epicenter for innovation in higher education.

The late Joseph A. Johnson was the Herbert Kayser Professor of Science and Engineering at City College of New York, and had nearly 100 peer reviewed publications. He told Humphries he would come to FAMU only if he could have the same size research laboratory and equipment he had at City College. Humphries made it happen. When a student appeared on the cover of Parade Magazine for winning millions of dollars in scholarship funds, Humphries phoned her. She did not want to attend FAMU but did agree to visit the campus. When Humphries hung up the phone, he said, “I got her. After she visits the School of Business and Industry, I’m going to make her an off er.”

He did and she accepted.

He spent countless hours on the telephone calling students. When one student said she was going to Georgia Tech, Humphries asked if the president of Georgia Tech had called her. She said no. And then she said, “Dr. Humphries, I will see you in September.”

Enrollment soared to nearly 13,000. FAMU graduates with PhDs in engineering, environmental sciences, physics, pharmacy and education — plus MBAs in business — were multiplying. Faculty research funds were at an all-time high, approaching nearly $50 million. National and International recognition followed.

In 1989, the Marching 100 was invited by the government of France to be the sole U.S. representative at its Bicentennial Celebration of the French Revolution. In 1997, Time magazine and the Princeton Review named FAMU as its first College of the Year.

Outside the campus boundaries, on the streets of Tallahassee and beyond, white supremacy ideology loomed like dark clouds on a sunny day. Its leaders were so busy with racial chicanery, they didn’t see Humphries coming. Inside the campus, an educational enterprise was creating a new world — one graduation at a time.

Humphries’ Rattler spirit was born on a windswept day in 1952 in Bragg Stadium when he was a senior in high school in Apalachicola. He had driven over with a few friends to watch the Rattlers take on the North Carolina A&T Aggies.

The Rattler were behind at halftime 12 to 6. President George W. Gore Jr. strode majestically to the field at halftime. His strong baritone voice said just a few words: “My fellow FAMUans: Do not be concerned about the outcome of the game. You must always remember: The Rattlers will strike. And strike and strike again!” Pandemonium ensued. The crowd went wild and Humphries joined in. Dust swirled through the air behind the east stands. And he saw something and heard a sound he would never forget. The Marching 100 had entered the field, moving at 300 steps a minute.

Humphries was overwhelmed by the precision marching and complex formations, but nothing touched him like the grandeur of that extraordinary sound. It caught a ride on the wind, reached into his heart and never let him go. FAMU won the game 19-12.

I am convinced the last sound Frederick Humphries heard was the Marching 100 performing his favorite song, “Total Praise,” and that extraordinary sound took him home.

Outside the campus boundaries, on the streets of Tallahassee and beyond, white supremacy ideology loomed like dark clouds on a sunny day. Its leaders were so busy with racial chicanery, they didn’t see Humphries coming. Inside the campus, an educational enterprise was creating a new world — one graduation at a time.