McBay, Shirley ,
1935-2021, American mathematician and educator, b. Bainbridge, Ga.,as
Shirley Ann Mathis, Paine College (B.S., 1954), Atlanta Univ. (M.S., 1957),
Univ. of Georgia (Ph.D., 1966). McBay graduated from college when she was 19
years old and became the first Black student to earn a doctorate at the
Univ. of Georgia in any field, and the first woman to receive a mathematics
doctorate. She taught at Spellman College (1960-1975), creating its Division
of Natural Sciences, which she chaired, and serving as an Associate Academic
Dean (1973-75). She joined the National Science Foundation to work on
increasing opportunities for minority students (1975-80). As Dean of
Students at M.I.T. (1980-90), she studied why Black students did not fare as
well as their white peers at the school, undertaking a pioneering study,
Quality Education for Minorities (1987-90). She left M.I.T. to run the
Quality Education for Minorities Network (1990-2016), advocating for
minority students in the sciences.
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