Our Story
The Frederick Douglass Honors Program was first funded through Title III in the fall of 1987. Under the leadership of its first directors, Dr. Patricia Williams, Dr. Sanders Anderson and Dr. Richard Pitre, and the coordination of Mrs. Linda Coach-Riley, the program sought to promote intellectual curiosity and academic achievement.
When Dr. John Rudley became president of Texas Southern University in 2008, he used “raising the bar” to rally TSU veteran Dr. James Douglas, new provost Dr. Sunny E. Ohia, and the university community to create “an institution of higher learning of the first class.”
The trio then tapped another TSU veteran, Dr. Thomas F. Freeman, to develop the existing Frederick Douglass Honors Program into an Honors College. Their vision and efforts bore fruit in 2009 with the launching of the Honors College, which is home to a talented group of scholars who are preparing themselves for service as global citizens.
Dr. Thomas F. Freeman was the Founding Dean from 2009 to 2011. Dr. Humphrey Regis served as the Dean from 2011 to 2014, and Dr. Elizabeth Brown-Guillory served as the Interim Dean from 2014 to 2017.
Presently, The Honors College is led by Dr. Dianne Jemison Pollard, who also served as the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the College from 2011 to 2015.