Morehouse College has named F. DuBois Bowman, a renowned public health scholar and 1992 graduate of the college, as its 13th president following a national search, the Board of Trustees announced Tuesday.
Bowman, currently dean of the University of Michigan School of Public Health, will assume the presidency on July 15. He succeeds David A. Thomas, who is stepping down after seven years marked by institutional growth, renewed national visibility and moments of profound challenge.
“Dr. Bowman’s record of visionary leadership, his deep commitment to academic excellence, and his lifelong dedication to Morehouse make him the ideal choice to lead the college into its next era,” Willie Woods, board chairperson, said in a statement.
Bowman is currently traveling in Asia and was not immediately available for comment, the college said.
Bowman has deep connections to his alma mater. A member of Phi Beta Kappa and Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Bowman is a two-time Morehouse parent and has served as a mentor and advocate for students. He created a pipeline program for Morehouse and Spelman graduates to pursue advanced public health training at Michigan. In 2019, he received Morehouse’s highest alumni honor, the Bennie Trailblazer Award, named after the legendary sixth president of the college, Benjamin E. Mays.
“Returning to Morehouse as its 13th president is the honor of a lifetime,” Bowman said in a statement. “This institution shaped who I am — instilling a commitment to excellence, justice, and impact.”
The announcement comes just days before the 157-year-old Atlanta institution’s annual commencement exercises — scheduled for Sunday — and at a pivotal time for the nation’s only historically Black college dedicated exclusively to the education of Black men.
Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
Thomas, who expanded academic offerings and increased philanthropic investment at Morehouse, recently found himself at the center of a campus reckoning over the Israel-Hamas war. The tension reached a crescendo during Morehouse’s commencement ceremony last year, when then-President Joe Biden delivered the keynote address amid peaceful student protests and national scrutiny.
In a June interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Thomas said the emotional weight of that moment only fully surfaced after the ceremony. He welcomed the difficult conversations that followed and said the experience ultimately strengthened the college’s resolve and sense of mission.
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Bowman, a South Carolina native, brings a record in public health research, academic leadership and service. At Michigan, he leads a top-ranked public health school of more than 1,300 students with an annual research portfolio exceeding $100 million.
His work focuses on the use of statistical analysis to understand neurological and mental health disorders, including Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, depression and schizophrenia. His research has helped advance more personalized treatment approaches and examine how environmental factors affect brain function in young people.
A member of the National Academy of Medicine, Bowman is also a fellow of both the American Statistical Association and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Prior to his tenure at Michigan, Bowman held faculty and leadership positions at Columbia University and Emory University. He earned a master’s degree in biostatistics from the University of Michigan and a Ph.D. in biostatistics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
He is married to Cynthia Bowman, a graduate of Spelman College, Georgia Tech and Northwestern University. The couple has four children, including a son who graduated from Morehouse in 2024 and another currently enrolled.
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