ONYX MAGAZINE SALUTES
FREDERICK S. HUMPHRIES, SR., PH.D. F
rederick S. Humphries, Sr., Ph.D., under whose leadership Florida A&M University (FAMU) was named College of the Year, and who was a lifelong cheerleader and advocate for his alma mater, died Thursday, June 24, 2021, in Orlando. He was 85. Dr. Humphries, a renowned scholar, charismatic, visionary, and innovative administrator and admired public servant, left a legacy that touched countless students, corporate leaders, philanthropists, and peers across the nation. FAMU President Larry Robinson, Ph.D., who came to FAMU during Dr. Humphries’s tenure, has ordered flags to be flown at half-staff on the main campus and all satellite locations. “We have been informed of the unfortunate passing of Dr. Frederick S. Humphries, the eighth president of Florida A&M University. The dark clouds have indeed gathered on the horizon. 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,” Robinson, FAMU’s 12th President, said in a statement. “We join the Humphries family, friends and Rattlers around the world in celebrating a life dedicated to service and one well lived.” Dr. Humphries had a distinguished career in higher education as the eighth FAMU president and president of Tennessee State University (TSU), in Nashville. Along with his almost three decades of leading two Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), the Apalachicola, Fla., native served on countless corporate boards, and earned an impressive list of accolades and awards. Dr. Humphries was a trained scientist whose 6-foot-7 frame, booming voice and easy smile, commanded attention whenever he entered a room. He graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from FAMU in 1957 before going on to complete master’s and doctorate degrees in Physical Chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh. He was the first African American to obtain a Ph.D. in his discipline from the University of Pittsburgh. While a graduate student, he met his future wife of 46 years, Antoinette McTurner, who died in 2006. Dr. Humphries taught at the University of Minnesota before returning to his alma mater as a professor of chemistry in 1968. Starting in 1967, he was director of the 13-College Curriculum Program for HBCUs.
Dr. Humphries was a trained scientist whose 6-foot-7 frame, booming voice and easy smile, commanded attention whenever he entered a room.
FREDERICK S. HUMPHRIES, SR
ONYX MAGAZINE 7
