Dr. Michael L. McFrazier to serve as acting president at Prairie View A&M University
PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas - Dr. Michael L. McFrazier will serve as acting president at Prairie View A&M University until the new president assumes leadership in June, the university says.
Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp named Dr. McFrazier to the position after Dr. Ruth Simmons announced she would be leaving her role as president earlier than expected.
Dr. McFrazier is currently Dean of Prairie View A&M University’s Whitlowe R. Green College of Education. He will serve as acting president beginning March 1 until June 1, when Dr. Tomikia P. LeGrande assumes leadership as the university’s ninth president.
"Prairie View A&M University has an established legacy of achieving excellence in teaching, research, and service, and I will work assiduously to continue that legacy," Dr. McFrazier said. "The importance of this job is humbling, and I am indeed honored to have been asked to serve."
According to the university system, Dr. Simmons appointed Dr. McFrazier as professor and dean at the university in 2019, after he worked as interim dean at the education college for a year.
The university system says Dr. McFrazier has held a number of senior leadership positions at the university, has helped secure million-dollar grants for the university, and partnered with Aldine ISD to develop and open the all-boys school Impact Leadership Academy at Wilson.
Dr. McFrazier is an alumnus of the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Baylor University and Paris Junior College. He began his professional career as a Waco ISD teacher and administrator, and he joined the faculty in the Whitlowe R. Green College of Education in 1998.
MORE: The legacy of Prairie View A&M University
On Feb. 10, Dr. Simmons announced she would be leaving her position early, at the end of the month, in a letter posted to the university’s website.
She wrote that she was advised she could only continue as president with "limited presidential authority." To which she said, "I could not and would not agree to being president in name only."
Before announcing her early departure, she was expected to exit her role at the end of the school year.
In response to her departure, Chancellor Sharp said presidents in the university system cannot hire senior staff or deans, except on an interim basis, once they announce they are leaving so that the new president can choose their leadership team.
"I informed Dr. Simmons that we will not make exceptions to this policy and she chose to resign. I am sorry she chose this path, but I am forever grateful for her service at Prairie View A&M University and look forward to even greater things in the future," Chancellor Sharp said in a statement.
On Feb. 14, Rice University announced Dr. Simmons would be joining the university as a President’s Distinguished Fellow.