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 president emeritus, having previously served as Howard’s 17th president. In addition, Dr. Frederick is the distinguished Charles R. Drew Professor of Surgery at Howard University College of Medicine. A practicing cancer surgeon at Howard University Hospital, he provides consultation to patients, performs surgeries, and conducts lectures for second and third-year medical students and surgical residents.
Prior to his current 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, guiding both organizations and their more than 3,000 team members and 1.3 million volunteers.
Dr. Frederick first served as Howard University’s interim president in 2013. He then served as the 17th president from 2014-2023, a period marked by considerable growth and transformation. Under his leadership, Howard enhanced resources for students and faculty, increased enrollment and financial aid for first-time college students, significantly improved student retention and graduation rates, enhanced operational efficiency, broadened public service, attracted record philanthropic support, strengthened fiscal stability, and increased the endowment to nearly $1 billion. His vision and focus on academic excellence led to the expansion of Howard’s research capacity and laid the foundation for its Research One designation in February 2025, a Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education signifying “very high research activity.” During his presidency, Howard also developed a pipeline of commercial mixed-use projects that have created affordable housing and thousands of jobs in Washington, D.C. In 2023, Howard’s Board of Trustees commemorated his dedicated and extraordinary leadership by naming the Wayne A. I. Frederick Undergraduate Library in his honor. 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.
Dr. Frederick is a true son of Howard University. He matriculated to Howard at the age of 16, earned a B.S./M.D. dual degree at the age of 22, and earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Howard’s School of Business in 2011. 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.
An accomplished scholar, Dr. Frederick devotes much of 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, Save the Children, and Tempus AI. Dr. Frederick is the lead independent director of Mutual of America Life Insurance Company and senior advisor for Blackstone 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, and the American College of Surgeons. In 2022, Dr. Frederick was elected to the National Academy of Medicine, one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine, in recognition of outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service.
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 Saint Mary’s College – Trinidad and Tobago 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, and was inducted into his high school’s Hall of Fame.
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 Lowell F. Hawthorne Foundation’s Educator Award. He was also 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. Dr. Frederick is also the 2025 recipient of the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America’s 2025 Chairman’s Award.
