History of The Thomas F. Freeman Honors College
Originally, the Honors College was known as the Frederick Douglass Honors Institute, under the leadership of Dr. Patricia Williams. Later, Dr. Sanders Anderson and Dr. Richard Pitre served as directors, with Ms. Linda coach-Riley and Program Coordinator. When Dr. John Rudley became president in 2008, he engaged TSU veteran Dr. James Douglas, the new provost then Dr. Sunny Ohia, Dr. Thomas Freeman, and the TSU community to create “a first-class institution of higher learning.” In 2009, The Honors College was created by the TSU Board of Regents and was aptly named Thomas F. Freeman Honors College to preserve Dr. Freeman’s enduring legacy of academic excellence and as an inspiration to future leaders.
TSU leaders during the inauguration of the Thomas F. Freeman Honors College in 2009.
Dr. Freeman served as the Founding Dean from 2009 to 2011. He was the legendary coach of the TSU Debate Team that is known internationally. He was also a distinguished professor of Psychology and Philosophy.
In 2011, Dr. Humphrey Regis as served as the dean. He instituted many programs that are still implemented to this day, such as the Frederick Douglass Lecture Series, and the Course Augmentation Proposal (CAPS) for juniors.
In 2011, Dr. Elizabeth Brown-Guillory served as the Interim Dean. Under her leadership, the Honors College flourished even further with the implementation of more systematic and focused advising system.
In 2017, Dr. Dianne Jemison Pollard, became the dean of the Honors college. Under her leadership, new programs were instituted. The senior thesis program which started in 2018 has since then become the banner program of the college. The Honors College moved into the new Library and Leaning Center in 2019. With state-of-the-art educational facility, the college has since provided Freeman Scholars access to millions of digital resources and connections to global educational communities.
In 2019, the Honors College established the Freeman Research Journal, an open-access digital journal to house the Honors senior thesis. This program has given the scholarly works of Freeman Scholars some degree of global visibility and exposure.
Currently, Dr. Hector Miranda Jr. serves as the acting dean. Under his leadership, the Senior Thesis Program is strengthened by the introduction of the Junior Thesis Exploration and Proposal Program (JTEP). This program provides momentum for scholars to start exploring topics for research, explore available resources, and connect with mentors in their junior year. The Frederick Douglass Lecture Series has evolved into a social media event, renamed TSU TALK/ A Frederick Douglas Lecture. Harnessing the power of the internet, lectures are audiovisually streamed live and recorded for YouTube. The Honors College is now actively seeking external scholarships and postbaccalaureate opportunities for Freeman Scholars, such as the McNair Scholarship Program and the Fulbright U.S Scholars Program. New programs are currently being developed in partnerships with other institutions and private corporations. These new strategies are aimed to provide every Freeman Scholars the true Honors learning experience, and access to all educational opportunities in order for them to be truly competitive in the modern workplace.