Originally published on AJC.com
F. Dubois Bowman was on a soccer field in Michigan two months ago, walking the sideline during his daughter’s match, when he learned he would be the next president of his alma mater, Morehouse College.
It was a moment of immense gratitude, he recalled Thursday, his third day on the job. Sitting in a boardroom on the Atlanta campus, with portraits of his predecessors hanging on the wall behind him, the 13th president of the all-men’s historically Black private college said the role is an opportunity to give back to the institution that gave him so much.
“Morehouse changed my life,” Bowman said in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I hope I’m able to deliver to (students) the same kind of transformative experience that I had here.”
F. DuBois Bowman, is a renowned public health scholar and 1992 graduate of Morehouse College. (Hyosub Shin/AJC)
Bowman has been tied to the school since first arriving on campus at 17 years of age.
A member of Phi Beta Kappa and Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, he graduated in 1992 with a degree in mathematics. His wife, Cynthia Bowman, is an alum of Spelman College, the neighboring all-women’s HBCU. One of their sons is a recent Morehouse graduate while another is currently enrolled.
As a faculty member at Emory University — before becoming a department chair at Columbia University — he mentored Morehouse students. And during his time as dean of the University of Michigan School of Public Health, he established a pipeline program for Morehouse and Spelman colleges.
“There were many, many points of connection that would make the opportunity resonate with me,” he said of the presidential role, made vacant after the retirement of David A. Thomas. “And certainly one that I felt was very compelling.”
Bowman is taking on the role at a moment where college presidents across the country are in unprecedented territory. President Donald Trump’s administration has canceled federal grants that many schools depend on. Morehouse has had at least three grants terminated, costing the college more than $1 million, according to some research.
That federal dynamic didn’t really factor into his decision to pursue the Morehouse opportunity, Bowman said. But it also wasn’t lost on him. The school he oversaw at Michigan had roughly $13 million in grants canceled. And with a master’s and Ph.D. in biostatistics, his research on disorders like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s was largely made possible with federal money.
“The United States has really been at the vanguard when it comes to biomedical research, novel advancements in health interventions, and a lot of that has been driven by our system of higher education,” he said. “I think there’s a lot at risk.”
During his tenure, Bowman intends to focus on optimizing the student experience. He envisions a larger campus footprint, renovating current facilities and constructing new ones as part of an effort to increase enrollment. Morehouse has more than 2,400 students. “We’ll approach growth in a measured way,” he said. “But certainly, having the capacity to grow is a prerequisite.”
A 324-bed residence hall expected to be completed next year will help. It’s being financed by the $500 million “Making Men of Consequence Campaign;” the fundraising effort eclipsed the $320 million mark earlier this year.
Walking the campus, Bowman is frequently asked for photos with passersby. It’s part of the fanfare that comes with being named president of a college where Bowman says many alumni feel called upon to contribute. He views his presidency as a chance to do just that.
“Given my academic pathway, this was one of the ways that I felt that I could go back and help to support and serve the institution,” he said.
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