[3] Frederick pursued Ordinary and Advance Level college-prep studies at Saint Mary's College (high school), Port of Spain, Trinidad.

[8] Upon his return to Howard University, he served as Associate Dean in the College of Medicine, Division Chief in the Department of Surgery, Director of the Cancer Center, and Deputy Provost for Health Sciences.

[11] In January 2019, Frederick unveiled the university's new strategic plan, Howard Forward, which serves as the blueprint for the institution for the next five years.

[20] In June 2023, before his retirement, the Howard University Board of Trustees unanimously approved the renaming of The Undergraduate Library in honor of Dr.

[24] The start of the Spring semester was delayed [25] by a week as the university procured temporary boilers to heat impacted buildings across campus.

[28] In February 2017, Frederick and sixty-eight other presidents of black institutions went to the White House to meet with various officials, in the hope of securing additional funding from the federal government.

[29] The meeting prompted outrage on campus and a spate of graffiti vandalism that included allegations that Frederick did not care about black people and was a "plantation overseer".

[30][31] Mark Mason, an alumnus who is chief financial officer at Citigroup and a vice-co-chair of the university's board of trustees, later told The New Yorker that the graffiti was "inappropriately personalized and should not have happened.

[35] However, Frederick received a letter of support from the university's Council of Deans, which represents leaders of Howard's schools and colleges.

In a letter sent by Nadia N. Pinto, its president, she wrote that it was important to hear the concerns of students and meet their needs, but Frederick had been a capable and effective leader who deserved to remain in his job.

[37][36] Frederick has conducted research bridging health disparities with a particular emphasis on cancer outcomes among African Americans and other underrepresented groups.