The Dr. Frank Douglas '66 Endowed Scholarship Fund for the Advancement of Black Excellence

Dr. Frank L. Douglas is an award-winning and longtime veteran in the field of healthcare and pharmaceuticals. Earning a B.S. in Engineering from Lehigh University in 1966, Douglas went on to earn a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry and M.D. from Cornell University. He completed his internship and residency at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institution and a fellowship at in neuroendocrinology at the National Institutes of Health. Since graduating, Dr. Douglas has led a life full of accomplishment and honors (https://engineering.lehigh.edu/alumni/frank-l-douglas).

He recently served as CEO of THEVAX Genetics Vaccine Company, where he lead a company that uses immunotherapy to address virus induced tumors and infections in patients to improve the quality of life and longevity of its patient. Dr. Douglas was born and raised in Guyana during a time of great political unrest and, as a result, was unable to obtain the required funds needed to attend University. In his book, “Defining moments of a Free Man from a Black Stream”, Dr. Douglas explains how he was offered a Fulbright Scholarship to the University of his choice in the United States of America; Lehigh University would be his final choice. Without this scholarship, where would we be?

Racial injustice and systemic inequality manifest themselves in many ways, and access to higher education is certainly among those ways. Lehigh has not been immune from this. Cos Denson, the first Black student to graduate from Lehigh, earned his diploma just ten years before Dr. Douglas, in fact. Lehigh is working to promote and make available the opportunity for a Lehigh education to a broader audience, and we would like to do our part to help move the needle. Currently, only 4% of Lehigh’s undergraduate population is Black.

While racial inequality has been persistent in this country since its inception, events of the last several months have shone a new light and brought on new calls to action. As proud alumni from one of the top universities in the country, members of the Class of 2011 think it is not just important—but imperative— to join in the conversation and do our part to promote equality at every level by working towards a more inclusive and equitable Lehigh.

We present to you the Dr. Frank Douglas ’66 Endowed Scholarship Fund for the Advancement of Black Excellence – an endowment that will continue to increase opportunities for generations to come.