Lucy Stanton

Lucy Stanton (1831–1910), an abolitionist and feminist, was the first to earn a four-year college degree from Oberlin College in 1850 and passionately championed education for women.

Charlotte Forten Grimke

Charlotte Forten Grimke (1837 – 1914), an educator, poet, and Abolitionist was the first teacher in the world to work with white students atthe Salem Public School in 1855.

Sarah Jane Woodson Early

Sarah Jane Woodson Early (1825 – 1907), an educator, abolitionist, and feminist, was the first to become a college professor at Wilberforce University in 1859.

Mary Jane Patterson

Mary Jane Patterson (1840–1894), an educator, was the first to receive a B.A. degree from Oberlin College in 1862 and later became principal of a prestigious school in Washington, D.C.

Fanny Jackson Coppin

Fanny Jackson Coppin (1837 – 1913), an educator and missionary, was the first to receive the title of Principal at the Institute for Colored Youth in Philadelphia in 1869.

Lucy Craft Laney

Lucy Craft Laney (1854–1933), a pioneering educator, founded the first school for Black children in Augusta, GA, in 1883 and was known for her dedication to education and civil rights.

Anna Julia Cooper

Anna Julia Cooper (1858 – 1964), a distinguished scholar, author, and pioneering black feminist, was the first to publish a black feminist analysis, A Voice from the South in 1892.

Mary Church Terrell

Mary Church Terrell (1863–1954), educator and activist, was the first president of the National Association of Colored Women in 1896 and the first Black woman on Washington’s school board.

Mary Annette Anderson

Mary Annette Anderson (1874–1922), an American professor, was the first African American woman inducted into Phi Beta Kappa and the first to graduate from Middlebury College in 1899.

Ethel Hedgeman Lyle

Ethel Hedgeman Lyle (1887–1950), an educator, was the guiding light of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, the first organization founded by African American women at Howard University in 1908.

Georgiana Simpson

Georgiana Simpson (1866–1944), a dedicated educator, became the first to earn a Ph.D. in German from the University of Chicago in 1921 and actively contributed to Delta Sigma Theta.

Eva Dykes

Eva Dykes (1893–1986), an educator and scholar, was the first to earn a Ph.D. in English-Philosophy from Radcliffe College in 1921 and later became a founding professor at Oakwood University.

Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander

Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander (1898 – 1989), a lawyer and civil rights activist, was the first to earn a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Pennsylvania in 1921. She was the first National President of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

Virginal Proctor Powell

Virginal Proctor Powell (1897–1991), an educator, was the first to earn a degree in Library Science from Carnegie Library School in 1923 and later dedicated her career to expanding access to public libraries for Black communities nationwide.

Dorothy B. Porter

Dorothy B. Porter (1905–1995), an educator and librarian, was the first to earn a master’s degree in Library Science from Columbia University in 1932 and revolutionized how libraries globally classified and preserved works by Black authors.

Beverly Prosser

Beverly Prosser (1895 – 1934), was the first to earn a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Cincinnati in 1933. Her research focused on the educational development and psychology of Black children in segregated schools.

Ruth Ella Moore

Ruth Ella Moore (1903 – 1994), an educator and scientist, was the first to earn a Ph.D. in Bacteriology from Ohio State in 1933.

Glenda (Baskin) Glover

Glenda (Baskin) Glover, a Ph.D., J.D., CPA, was the graduate and first female to be elected president of Tennessee State University in 2013.

Flemmie Kitttrell

Flemmie Kitttrell (1904 – 1980), an educator, was the first to earn a Ph.D. in nutrition from Cornell University in 1936.

Anna Johnson Julian

Anna Johnson Julian (1901 – 1994), an educator, was the first to receive a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Pennsylvania in 1937.

Roger Arliner Young

Roger Arliner Young (1889 – 1964), a scientist, was the first to earn a Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of Pennsylvania in 1940 and made groundbreaking contributions to marine biology.

Merze Tate

Merze Tate (1905–1996), an educator and historian, was the first Black woman to earn a Ph.D. in Government and International Relations from Harvard in 1941.

Ruth Smith Lloyd

Ruth Smith Lloyd (1917–1995), an educator and scientist, was the first African American woman to earn a Ph.D. in anatomy from Western Reserve University in 1941.

Margurite Thomas Williams

Margurite Thomas Williams (1895–1991), an educator, was the first to earn a Ph.D. in geology from a Catholic university in 1942, pioneering research on human impact and land erosion.

Marie Maynard Daley

Marie Maynard Daley (1921 – 2003), an educator, was the first to earn a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Columbia University in 1947.

Manet Fowler

Manet Fowler (1916 – 2004), an educator, was the first to earn a Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Cornell in 1952.

Jewel Prestage

Jewel Prestage (1931 - ), an educator, was the first to earn a Ph.D. from the University of Iowa in Political Science in 1953.

Elizabeth Duncan Koontz

Elizabeth Duncan Koontz (1919 – 1989), an educator, was the first to be elected president of the National Education Association in 1968.

Willie Hobbs Moore

Willie Hobbs Moore (1934 – 1994), an educator, was the first to earn a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Michigan in 1972.

Barbara Sizemore

Barbara Sizemore (1927 – 2004), an educator, was the first superintendent to head a major school system, Washington, DC in 1973.

Mary Frances Berry

Mary Frances Berry (b. 1938), an educator was the first African-American woman to become chancellor of the University of Colorado in 1976.

Clara Stanton Jones

Clara Stanton Jones (1913 – 2012), a librarian, was the first to become president of the American Library Association in 1976.

Jennie R. Patrick

Jennie R. Patrick (b. 1949), an educator and chemical engineer, was the first to earn a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1979.

Jewel Plummer Cobb

Jewel Plummer Cobb (b. 1924), an educator, was the first to become president of a major west coast university, California State University at Fullerton in 1981. (Chicago Connection)

Niara Sudarkasa

Niara Sudarkasa (b. 1938), an Africanist, anthropologist, and educator, was the first to serve as president of Lincoln University in Pennsylvania is 1986.

Johnetta Cole

Johnetta Cole (b. 1936), an educator, anthropologist, and museum director, was the first to become president of Spellman College, (all female college) in 1987.

Ruth J. Simmons

Ruth J. Simmons (b. 1945)), an educator and academia administrator, was the first to become president of Brown University in 2001.

Paulette McCrae

Paulette McCrae, an academic administrator and cancer researcher, was the first to earn a Ph.D. in Neurobiology from Yale University in 2007.

Kyla McMullen

Kyla McMullen, an engineer, was the first to earn a Ph.D. in Computer Science and Engineering from the University of Michigan in 2012.