Biography

Wayne A. I. Frederick (B.S. ’92, M.D. ’94, MBA ’11), FACS, was appointed interim president of Howard University in September 2025. He is also the 17th president, president emeritus, and the distinguished Charles R. Drew Professor of Surgery at the Howard University College of Medicine. As a practicing cancer surgeon at Howard University Hospital, he continues to consult patients and perform surgeries. 

Prior to his role as interim president, Dr. Frederick served as the interim CEO of the American Cancer Society (ACS) and the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), guiding both organizations and their more than 3,000 team members and 1.3 million volunteers. 

Dr. Frederick is a true son of Howard University. Matriculating to the university at the age of 16, he earned a B.S./M.D. dual degree at the age of 22. Following his postdoctoral research and surgical oncology fellowships at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Dr. Frederick began his academic career as associate director of the Cancer Center at the University of Connecticut. He later earned a Master of Business Administration degree from the Howard University School of Business in 2011. Today, he continues to operate and lecture second and third-year medical students and surgical residents of the Howard University School of Medicine. 

Before leading ACS and ACS CAN, Dr. Frederick served as president of Howard from 2014 to 2024, a period marked by considerable growth and transformation. Under Dr. Frederick’s leadership, the university made major strides in student opportunity, public service, and fiscal stability, unleashing greater academic innovation and increased research capacity. In addition, the university significantly increased financial aid to first-time in college students, achieving a dramatic improvement in student retention and graduation rates. Dr. Frederick’s vision and emphasis on academic excellence led to the university reclaiming Research One status, a designation determined by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education signifying “very high research activity.” By enhancing resources for students and faculty, the university increased enrollment, enhanced efficiency and operations, attracted record philanthropic support, and increased the endowment to nearly $1 billion. In addition, Howard developed a pipeline of commercial mixed-use projects that have created affordable housing in Washington, D.C., while adding thousands of jobs. In June 2023, the university’s Board of Trustees unanimously approved the naming of the Wayne A. I. Frederick Undergraduate Library in honor of his selfless years of service and extraordinary presidential accomplishments.

Prior to his presidency, he held various positions across the university, including provost and chief academic officer, director of the Cancer Center, and associate dean in the College of Medicine. 

An accomplished scholar, Dr. Frederick devotes his time to writing and speaking on salient topics in higher education, including the impact of historically Black colleges and universities, campus intellectual diversity, the underrepresentation of African American men in medical school, and gender equity on college campuses. He also serves on numerous boards, including Agostini Limited, Humana, Insulet Corporation Inc., Save the Children, and Tempus AI Inc. Dr. Frederick is an independent director of Mutual of America and senior advisor for Blackstone Inc. and Boston Consulting Group.

An internationally recognized expert on disparities in health care and medical education, Dr. Frederick is the author of numerous peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, abstracts, and editorials. His research addresses narrowing racial, ethnic, and gender disparities in cancer care outcomes, particularly regarding gastrointestinal cancers. He is a member of several medical associations, including ACS, the American Surgical Association, the American College of Surgeons, and the National Academy of Medicine.  

Dr. Frederick has received various awards honoring his scholarship, service, and community impact. He was named one of Ebony magazine’s “Power 100” and recognized as a “Super Doctor” in The Washington Post magazine. He is the first-ever recipient of the Educator Award by the Lowell F. Hawthorne Foundation Inc. He was honored with the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center for his contributions to the medical field and has been featured as one of “America’s Best Physicians” in Black Enterprise magazine. He was presented with the Diaspora Public Diplomacy Leadership Award by the Embassy of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago for his contributions to strengthening Trinidad and Tobago's bilateral relations with the United States through excellence in global educational leadership. 

In 2015, Dr. Frederick was recognized by the then-president of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago for his appointment as president of Howard University. In 2017, he was named “Washingtonian of the Year” by Washingtonian magazine and was inducted into the St. Mary’s College, Port of Spain, Trinidad Hall of Fame. In 2020, he was named Nonprofit Leader of the Year by the Washington Business Journal. In 2021, he was honored as a “Great Immigrant, Great American” by the Carnegie Corporation of New York. In March 2022, Dr. Frederick received Trinidad and Tobago’s highest honor, the Order of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.