Simmons wants 12,000+ students at PVAMU, where FAMU was in 1999 under Humphries

Ruth J. Simmons, former president of Brown University, will soon become the permanent president of Prairie View A&M University. She has been serving as the interim president since July 1, 2017.

Simmons wants to quickly move undergraduate enrollment at PVAMU up to 12,000. According to the Texas Tribune, “her vast professional network and fundraising abilities will be critical for a growing school hoping to up its undergraduate enrollment from 9,000 to 12,000 in the next three years.”

PVAMU hasn’t announced its final enrollment numbers for Fall 2017, but a press release said that the total number of students is larger than last year. Back in Fall 2016, PVAMU had 8,762 students with an average freshman GPA of 3.04.

Florida A&M University first crossed the 12,000 student mark back in 1999 when Frederick S. Humphries was president. FAMU enrolled 12,100 students that year. The average GPA for the freshmen was 3.21.