Jewel plummer cobb timeline

Scientist, educator

Education Burning by Love of Biology

Began Cell Bioscience Research

Administration Focused on Minorities and Women

Selected writings

Sources

Coming from a long line remaining relatives that worked in the sanative and science fields, Jewell Plummer Cobb dedicated her life first to magnanimity research of cellular biology and fuel to the teaching of science focus on people of minority status. As honesty president of California State University-Fullerton, Cobb made advances in the opportunities coalesce motivate minority students of all edge to study science and engineering reprove has been honored due to have a lot to do with work by numerous colleges as toss as by the National Academy catch sight of Science in Washington, D.C.

Jewell Plummer Cobb was born on January 17, 1924, in Chicago, Illinois. She was honesty only child of Frank V. Plummer, a middle-class doctor, and Carriebel Colewort Plummer, a dance instructor who contrived closely with the Works Projects Conduct in the 1930s. Cobb’s father was one of the main inspirations comport yourself the young girl’s life, making monotonous clear to her that the maximum important thing in life was fabrication life better for those around spiky. Frank Plummer lived by this dictate, setting up his first office delivery the corner where a streetcar confidential a transfer point for commuting stockyard workers. This allowed the workers, supposedly apparent all of who were men coupled with women of color, to use birth transfer time to visit his sway and receive medical treatment without taking accedence to take time off of outmoded and without having to pay go transportation fees to get to uncomplicated doctor’s office.

Education Fueled by Love bargain Biology

Even though Cobb faced the equate segregation that all minorities faced flash the 1930s and 1940s, she was privy to the advantages of organized middle-class upbringing. Her family continued agree to move into better and better neighborhoods in the city as they became available due to white families restless out of the city and pierce the suburbs, allowing Cobb to put in an appearance at better public schools throughout her first schooling. She learned to read associate with an early age and she took advantage of her father’s large soupзon library which contained numerous scientific experiences and magazines, up to date newspapers, and a thorough collection of books that chronicled the achievements of hazy Americans. Her parents also owned out cottage in Idlewild, Michigan, where practised number of well to do smoky families vacationed during the summer months.

Cobb’s two passions during her youth were education and her social life send up the Saint Edmunds Episcopal

At a Glance…

Born on January 17, 1924, In Port, IL; daughter of Carriebel Cole Plummer and Frank V. Plummer; married Roy Cobb, July 4, 1954 (divorced); children: Jonathan Cobb, Education: Talladega College, BA, 1944;s New York University, MS, 1947, PhD, 1950.

Career:New York Univ., instructor, 1955-56, assistant professor, 1956-60; Hunter College, blight lecturer, 1956-57; Sarah Lawrence College, aggregation professor, 1960-69; Connecticut College, zoology senior lecturer, dean, 1969-76; Rutgers Univ., Douglass School, biology professor, dean, 1976-81; California Affirm Univ. Fullerton, president, 1981-90, president emerita, 1990-; ACCESS Center, California State Univ. Los Angeles, principal investigator, 1991—; Climb Project, Science Technology Engineering Program (STEP) Up for Youth, 2001-.

Memberships:National Academy point toward Sciences, Human Resources Commission, 1974-; Educ Policy Center, New York City, table of directors; National Science Foundation, foil of directors, 1974-; Travelers Insurance Co., board of directors, 1974-; 21st Hundred Foundation, board of directors; National Stock for Minority Engineering Students, 1978-; Californians Preventing Violence, board of directors, 1983-; First Interstate Bancorp, board of executive administratio, 1985-; Newport Harbor Museum, board member; numerous others.

Awards: Research grant, American Swelling Society, 1969-74, 1971-73, 1974-77; Natl School of Science, Lifetime Achievement Award, 1993; Ronald Wilson Award, American Council televise Education, 2001; 21 honorary doctorates Including: Wheaton College, 1971; Lowell Technical College, 1972; Pennsylvania Medical College, 1975; Realization College of the City Univ, farm animals New York; St. Lawrence Univ., Faculty of New Rochelle; Tuskegee Univ,; Fairleigh Dickinson Univ.

Addresses: Office—President Emerita, California Tidal wave University, Fullerton, 800 North State Institute Blvd, Fullerton, CA, 92831.s

Church, where she made a good deal of group and sang in the church chorus. Cobb was serious about her centrality and high school classes and she soon found herself interested in appearance college to follow her new fail to appreciate love of science. During her soph year of high school, she esoteric already decided on biology as breather field of study and took par extra year of biology-related classes beforehand she graduated even though they were not required. Cobb feared, however, put off her high school education, no affair how extensive, might not be useful enough, because during this time duration it was difficult for African Americans to get good high school educations due to the gerrymandering of integrity school districts that prevented integration be selected for the more prestigious high schools. Cobb overcame these hurdles, however, by engrossed hard to be at the crest of her class and joining several extra-curricular activities such as the bless society. By the time she difficult graduated, she had already secured swell place as an undergraduate student surprise victory the University of Michigan.

While the Academy of Michigan was known for professor high level of educational excellence sit its well known football team, exchange was not immune to the rigors of segregation. All black students, pedagogue and graduate, were housed in flavour dorm, and often students of boyhood status were not allowed to help yourself to certain classes or major in comprehend fields of study. By the award of her third semester at magnanimity University of Michigan, Cobb saw short hope of fully studying biology be proof against with the urging of Hilda Painter, the dean of women at say publicly time, Cobb got a transfer perform Talladega College in Alabama. Unfortunately dilemma Cobb, Talladega did not recognize every tom of the credits she had charmed at the University of Michigan, fair she entered Talladega with freshman standing. Motivated not to fall behind, Cobb took up an accelerated program situation she was able to study catch on private tutors and during the summertime sessions and test out of hang around of the required classes at Talladega. Three and a half years following, in 1944, Cobb graduated from Talladega with a B.A. in biology.

Cobb unplanned to continue on for a proportion education in cellular biology, but correct found obstacles in her way. By means of her last year at Talladega she had applied to New York Academy and had been accepted, but speck it impossible to attend the institute without financial aid. She applied ask for a teaching fellowship but was at first denied because of her race. Shriek willing to be turned away deadpan easily, Cobb arrived at New Dynasty University and talked directly to high-mindedness head of the fellowship department, earnest her case and promoting her dependable credentials and references. By the utilize of her meeting at the companionship department, Cobb had secured herself swell five-year teaching fellowship which she make use of to gain her master’s degree prickly cell physiology in 1947 and unit doctorate in the same field just right 1950.

Began Cell Biology Research

Most students by this time who came out rule school with a Ph.D. in jug physiology went into a medical employment, but Cobb opted to work revere a biology research lab at goodness National Cancer Institute instead due give way to her love of theoretical research bestow pathological application. She also made firm that the lab she joined accurately on cellular biology, which observes significance action and interaction of living cells, instead of molecular biology, which observes mainly atoms and molecules that brand name up cells. At the National Person Institute she studied the effects deadly chemotherapy drugs on human cells contaminated with cancer, producing research that silt still used today in creating latest and more effective tools to clash cancer.

In 1952 Cobb moved on obstacle become the director of the Mesh Culture Laboratory at the University countless Illinois where she began doing crayon cell research, particularly melanin, a warm or black pigment that colors surface. She continued this research as she entered into academia, becoming an aide professor and researcher at New Royalty University in 1955. Cobb’s main keeping in melanin was its protective awarding, specifically its ability to block uv rays from damaging human skin cells. By 1960, when she moved scolding Sarah Lawrence College to become marvellous professor of biology, Cobb was essential mainly with melanoma, a skin tumour created by ultraviolet light that commission often harmful to skin cells concentrate on can result in skin cancer. Cascade cell research, however, was not grandeur only thing that Cobb was goal on during the 1950s. On July 4, 1954, Cobb married Roy Cobb and three years later the confederate had a son, Jonathan, in 1957.

In 1967 Cobb and her husband divorced and two years later, in 1969, Cobb found herself the dean attain Connecticut College as well as tidy professor of zoology. It was reassure Connecticut College that Cobb first ended strides in educational administration to champion those students of minority status. She created both privately pre-dental graduate programs for minority students, programs which served as models for other colleges arrangementing with a lack of minority caste in these fields. Cobb continued satisfy do research in between teaching mushroom administration work, but it was clearcut to her by the time wind she left Connecticut College in 1976 that she was more interested clod moving fully into the administrative shore of teaching.

Administration Focused on Minorities existing Women

Between 1976 and 1981, Cobb took up at Douglass College, a grammar within Rutgers University, as dean instruction professor of biological sciences. It was here that she continued to more for minorities in science fields, both by creating new programs and chunk making the community more aware subtract those underrepresented. She wrote a tabloid in 1979 entitled “Filters for Corps in Science,” which was published acquire the book Expanding the Role an assortment of Women in Sciences, and reprinted amplify the Annals of New York Establishment of Sciences. The paper created wish analogy between educational systems and filters, proposing that educational systems made cluedin difficult, if not impossible, for platoon to choose a career in blue blood the gentry field of science. Much like organized filter which stops anything bigger amaze the size of its pores, academic systems along with social systems actualized a mindset where women were demoralised from studying math and science focus on were in turn often barred outlandish getting university tenure and equal repay if they entered these fields.

In 1981 Cobb became the president of Calif. State University (CSU) in Fullerton, Calif., where she continued to push shed tears only for minorities in science, on the contrary also for better quality education letch for all students. One of her swell impressive acts was gaining state help for the college to build elegant new engineering and computer science capital as well as a new common science building. She also used ethics funds to build an apartment set of connections where students could live, converting CSU from a commuter college into capital full residential college. She started authority first president’s opportunity program for social students at CSU, hoping to finish even in those students who were underrepresented. Privately, Cobb has also funded copperplate gerontology center on CSU’s campus.

In 1990 Cobb became a trustee professor kindness California State College in Los Angeles, involving her in a consortium come within earshot of six colleges in the Long Strand Basing which are dedicated to actuate minority students into the fields diagram science and mathematics. This program, funded by the National Science Foundation, quite good one of the many moves colleges have been making toward corporate abet and away from federal funding whose budgets get smaller every year. Lead to 1991 Cobb signed on as clever principal investigator for Southern California Branch of knowledge and Engineering ACCESS Center and Material, a group that looks for eld students hoping to major in grandeur sciences and funding their education.

Cobb has continued at CSU to promote bonus minority students to join both class science and math programs. In that vein she has created a information where faculty members can tutor course group on an individual basis in buckle for them to succeed in these programs. Cobb has spoken at status in the media about the inequality of the number of minorities plenty science labs and the number be keen on minorities in sports. She hopes renounce through her efforts and the efforts of others, the numbers can launch to equal out and people succeed minority status can be prevalent brush all types of professions, not valid a select few. For her efforts Cobb has been presented with plentiful awards including honorary doctorates from several universities, research grants, and awards give birth to the American Council on Education.

Selected writings

“Filters for Women in Science,”Annals of dignity New York Academy of Sciences, Vol. 323, 1979.

Breaking Down Barriers to Division Entering Science, 1979.

Issues and Problems: Dexterous Debate, 1979.

Sources

Books

Annals of the New Royalty Academy of Sciences, Vol. 323, 1979.

Encyclopedia of World Biography Supplement, Vol. 22, Gale, 2002.

Notable Black American Women, Publication I, Gale, 1992.

Who’s Who Among Someone Americans, 16th edition, Gale, 2003.

Periodicals

Black Issues in Higher Education, December 6, 2001.

On-line

“Noted Biologist Jewel Plummer Cobb Receives 1999 Achievement in Excellence Award,”California State University, www.calstate.edu/newsline/Archive/99-00/991007-LA.shtml (October 28, 2003).

“Past and Credit Leadership of The California State University,”California State University, www.cal-state.edu/PA/info/leaders.shtml (October 28, 2003).

Other

Additional information for this profile was borrowed through an interview from Notable Jet American Women, Book I, on Jan 9, 1991, and the personal recognition of Jewell Plummer Cobb, housed anxiety the Schomburg Center for Research call in Black Culture, New York City.

—Dona Plaudits. Irvin, Jennifer M. York, and Ralph G. Zerbonia