Eleanor Jones

Eleanor Jones (born August 12, 1929 in Norfolk (Virginia) ) is an American mathematician and university professor . She was among the first African American women to earn a PhD in mathematics. She taught at Norfolk State University as a professor for over 30 years .

life and work

Jones was the second of George Herbert Green and Lillian Vaughn Green's six children. At the age of 15, she finished her education in 1945 at Booker T. Washington High School in Norfolk, Virginia . She then studied mathematics, physics and education at Howard University on a scholarship from the university and the Pepsi-Cola Corporation . She was mentored by Elbert Frank Cox , the first African American to do a PhD in mathematics. In 1949 she received her bachelor's degree with honors from Howard University and her master's degree in 1950 . She then returned to Booker T. Washington High School as a math and science teacher for 2 years. In addition to teaching, she developed a new curriculum for the school's math program. In 1951 she married Edward Dawley Jr. and in 1953 retired from education to start a family. In 1955 she was hired as an associate professor of mathematics at Hampton University . When schools in Norfolk, Virginia closed for forced integration in 1958, she tutored students at a local church. In the same year, she also became vice chair of the Congress on Racial Equality (CORE) in Virginia. After her divorce, she wanted to do a PhD, but the state of Virginia did not allow black students at the time. So she moved to New York with her two sons in 1962 to study at Syracuse University . In 1963 she received a National Science Foundation scholarship and began working as a teaching assistant at Syracuse University. In 1966 she did her PhD with James Dolan Reid as the eleventh African American woman with the dissertation: Abelian Groups and Their Endomorphism Rings, and the Direct Decomposition and Euqsi-Endomorphisms of Torsion Free Abelian Groups. Excerpts from her dissertation were published in The American Mathematical Monthly in 1967. In 1967 she rejoined the faculty at Hampton University and a year later she became professor of mathematics and chair of the department at Norfolk State University . In 2003, she retired as Professor Emeritus at Norfolk University. She served on the American Mathematical Society's Committee on Opportunities for Underrepresented Minorities, the Executive Board of the Association for Women in Mathematics, and the Board of Governors of the Mathematical Association of America. In 1975 she was Vice President of the National Association of Mathematicians.

Awards

1965: Sigma Xi Science Honor Society of Syracuse University
1985 full member of the Sigma Xi Science Honor Society
1975: Vice President of the National Association of Mathematicians
1994: Distinguished Service Award, National Association of Mathematicians
1983–1986: Seated on the Board of Governors of the Mathematical Association of America
1989–1994: Board member of the Association for Women in Mathematics
since 1990: Member of the American Mathematical Society's Accessibility Opportunities Committee for Under-Represented Minorities

literature

Kenschaft, PC, Keith, S .: Winning Women into Mathematics. Washington: DC, 1991.
Newell, UK: Black Mathematicians and their Works. Ardmore, PA: Dorrance, 1980.
Case, Bettye Anne; Leggett, Anne M .: Complexities: Women in Mathematics. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2005, ISBN 9780691171098 .
Krapp, Kristine M .: Notable Black American Scientists. Detroit: Gale Research, 1999, ISBN 978-0787627898 .
Spangenburg, Ray; Moser, Kit: African Americans in Science, Math, and Invention. New York, NY: Facts on File, 2003, ISBN 0-8160-4806-1 .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME	Jones, Eleanor
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Jones, Eleanor G. Dawley
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American mathematician and university professor
DATE OF BIRTH	August 12, 1929
PLACE OF BIRTH	Norfolk (Virginia)