(BLACKPR WIRE) MIAMI GARDENS, FL [NOVEMBER 10, 2010] –The Florida Memorial University Board of Trustees has selected Henry Lewis III, Pharm.D. to serve as Florida Memorial University’s new president. The announcement was made during an afternoon meeting attended by nearly 300 faculty, staff and students anticipating an introduction of the new president-elect by Charles W. George, chairman of the Board of Trustees.

After being introduced to the campus family, Dr. Lewis expressed his appreciation to the Board for their confidence in his leadership and stewardship, and his enthusiasm to instill confidence and competence in each prospective Florida Memorial graduate. “I see a diamond in the rough in Florida Memorial University, and I am confident that the institution can be the greatest institution it can be,” he stated.

Dr. Lewis has served as dean and professor in the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at Florida A&M University (FAMU) in Tallahassee, Florida for the past fifteen years. As a former interim president of FAMU, he also served as dean of the Texas Southern University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences for four years. Dr. Lewis is the past president of the Minority Health Professions Foundation (MHPF) and the Association of Minority Health Professions Schools (AMHPS). Under his leadership, the two organizations secured over $100 million in support of programs improving the quality of education and availability of health care to underserved communities.

Dr. Lewis is also the former chairman of the board of the Florida Education Fund, the nation’s largest producer of African-American Ph.D.’s. After graduating from FAMU with a bachelor of science degree in pharmacy from the program where he now serves as dean, he earned a doctor of pharmacy degree from Mercer University Southern School of Pharmacy in Atlanta, Georgia and completed his post-doctoral studies at Harvard University’s Institute for Educational Management.

About Florida Memorial University:
Located in the City of Miami Gardens, Florida Memorial University is a private, historically Black institution offering 41 undergraduate degree programs and 4 graduate degree programs to a culturally diverse student body. Since its inception in 1879, the University has upheld a commitment to providing a solid foundation for thousands of young people and opening doors to educational opportunities that may have otherwise been closed to them. As South Florida’s only Historically Black College or University (HBCU), it is widely recognized for being the birthplace of the Negro National Anthem, “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing” and the home of Barrington Irving, Jr., the first and youngest pilot of African descent to fly solo around the world. Florida Memorial University is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).

For more information, please contact the Office of Public Affairs at (305) 626-3624 or visit www.fmuniv.edu.