Willie Lee Dorothy Campbell Glass (August 24, 1910 – May 2, 1999) was an African-American academic, consultant, and educator. She was the youngest graduate and first black woman to receive a master’s degree in home economics at Iowa State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, now known as Iowa State University.[1] The city of Tyler, Texas, named a day in her honor.[2]
Early life and education
Willie Lee Dorothy Campbell was born on August 24, 1910 in Nacogdoches, Texas, to Edward John and Mary Gertrude Kennedy Campbell.[3][4] Her father, Edward John Campbell, was the head of the "colored" schools in Nacogdoches.[5]
She graduated from E. J. Campbell High School, named after her father, as class valedictorian in 1927. She attended Prairie View State Normal & Industrial College. After receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in home economics at Prairie View in 1931, she became the first African-American woman to earn a master's degree in home economics at Iowa State College, receiving a Master of Science degree with honors in 1933. Her thesis was titled "Training, Experience and Salary of Negro Home Economics Teachers in Secondary Schools in Texas". In 1936, she married Dominion Robert Glass, president of Texas College.[6] Texas College is a historically black college in Tyler, Texas.[7]
Career
Soon after graduating from Iowa State College, she began teaching at Virginia State College, where she was the head of the department of food and nutrition. After teaching at the college for around a year, she returned to Nacogdoches to teach at Nacogdoches High School for a short time.
In 1950, Glass became the first black woman appointed to the Texas Education Agency. She held the position from 1950 to 1974.[8] In 1981, Governor Bill Clements appointed her to the Texas Board on Aging.[6]
She was also a co-founder of the Top Ladies of Distinction, Inc.[8]
Awards
Distinguished Alumna Award, Prairie View A&M College of Texas, 1961
Sojourner Truth Award, National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women’s Clubs, 1965
^Hollandsworth, Skip (April 1990). "Grand Dames". Texas Monthly Magazine. Retrieved December 25, 2023. In a country devoted to the young, grande dames still manage to hold their own, whether it be through the political and financial clout of Lady Bird Johnson; the social preeminence of Nancy Hamon, a lavish Dallas party queen who once chartered a yacht for a Mediterranean cruise with a group of her friends; or the leadership of 79-year-old Willie Lee D. Glass, the black home-economics teacher who broke through Tyler's color barrier to sit upon numerous civic boards and committees—Tyler even named a day in her honor.
Brownlee, Laura (November 1996) "Willie Lee Glass: An East-T-Plex Living Legend" Bold Pioneer. 39 (9)
Hallman, Patsy Johnson Spurrier (1998) A Psalm of Life: The Story of a Woman Whose Life Made a Difference, Willie Lee Campbell Glass
Greer, Rebecca W.; Kenner, Janie O. (July 2, 2009). "Willie Lee Glass: A Lady of Remarkable Influence". Family & Consumer Sciences Research Journal. 37 (2): 140–148. doi:10.1177/1077727X08327240.