As one of the United States’ most prestigious historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), Howard University has an extensive list of notable alumni: Nobel and Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Toni Morrison, Former United States Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, actor and producer Chadwick A Boseman and former Vice President Kamala Harris among them.
With its location amid the political institutions, embassies and international organizations of Washington, DC, the university has also been a training ground for students who have gone on to become world leaders, particularly in Caribbean nations, such as Grenada’s former Prime Minister, Keith Mitchell, who earned his Masters in Mathematics at Howard University, and former Premier of Bermuda, Ewart Brown. The first Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Eric Williams, taught at the school for many years.
Such is its reputation as a center of Black intellectual life that it’s unofficially known as ‘The Mecca’. That rich history in the Caribbean is what first drew Wayne AI Frederick to Howard University as a 16-year-old freshman from Trinidad and Tobago to study medicine.
“Williams, who attended Oxford University, used to refer to Howard University as the Black Oxford and I wanted to be part of that faculty,” Frederick tells The CEO Magazine.
It was the beginning of not only a distinguished career in medicine, but also higher education.
“As a surgical oncologist, I made a decision to practice in an academic environment to influence young people and train them in the same way that I had been trained,” he says.
Frederick also recognized that influence worked both ways.
“Young people are energizing and keep you on your toes and keep you sharp, especially in a field of constantly evolving medicine like mine,” he says.
Open arms
The move to the United States to study also marked the start of a lifelong connection with Howard University. In 2013, Frederick was appointed its Interim President, becoming its 17th President between 2014 and 2023.
His leadership was one of growth and transformation and he returned in September 2025 as Interim President. It’s no surprise that he is considered a ‘true son’ – one who understands the rich legacy he is carrying.
The institution was founded on 2 March 1867, when a congressional church group came together to establish a university in the same vein as a hospital they had founded five years earlier for formerly enslaved people moving from the south to the north to access healthcare. One of the individuals in the group was a Union General and Civil War Hero, Oliver Otis Howard.
“The mission has been to provide opportunities for those who wouldn’t otherwise have them,” Frederick explains.
While today, its student population is predominantly African-American, it’s an open door policy that has welcomed Japanese Americans during the internment and Jewish-Americans in the 1940s and 50s.
“We have always had open arms to give everyone an opportunity,” he says.
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Howard University has, Frederick points out, the ‘most complex’ environment of any HBCU, with 120 degree programs across 14 schools and colleges and a student population approaching 15,000.
“We have a medical school, a dental school, a divinity school and a law school. Our graduate and professional programs are unique and we hold our own hospital,” he explains.
“When you look across the landscape of American universities and you look at the diversity of our offerings, we are probably only one of five schools that have such a breadth of educational opportunities. As an HBCU, that’s even more unique.”
Research scope
Last year, Howard University was re-designated a Research One Carnegie research institution. Frederick is principally responsible for laying the foundation for this achievement, one that no other HBCU president has achieved to date.
“We really cover the breadth,” Frederick says of the university’s research scope.
There’s also the influence the university has over policy, too.
“We have an incredible partnership with the Department of Transportation looking at traffic adjustment and issues around where and how we build transportation systems to serve various populations, for instance,” he says.
“Our research covers the full gamut, especially research that’s put into impacting and influencing the communities around us.”
The university has also partnered with the likes of Google, through programs such as Howard West, which sends students to be co-taught by Google Engineers.
“It’s a great environment for students to be immersed in because they got to see exactly what it was that Google wanted them to know,” he says.
Amplifying humanity
What also sets Howard University apart is its endowment: At US$1.4 billion, it’s the largest amount of any HBCU and the only one above a billion dollars.
“What that allows us to do is partner and engage with a wider variety of people,” Frederick explains.
In some cases, Howard uses its land for long-term leases to ensure the right types of developments are on campus. In some cases, it deploys some of that capital to build the buildings and the facilities it wants to have.
The institution is also one of the major employers in the region and has a significant impact across the wider community not only as an employer, but also through its own hospital.
“I believe that universities exist to amplify other people’s humanity,” he says. “That means that when we look holistically as a community, whether it’s culture, whether it’s economics, whether it’s health, Howard University has contributed significantly to the DC, Maryland and Virginia regions – and beyond.”
As the current steward in the relay, as he describes his role, Frederick knows that Howard University is in good shape. As he prepares to pass the baton on safely to its next leader, he’s also clear about how he would like the future to look.
“My vision over the next five-to-10 years is significant growth: in technology, in our campus and how many students we can accommodate, in our academic medical program and our athletics program,” he reveals.
“I anticipate a lot of excitement as we transform the campus.”
