Dr. Janice A. Lumpkin Educator of the Year
Mary W. Stroud
Senior Laboratory Instructor in Chemistry, Xavier University, Ohio
As a young chemistry instructor teaching undergraduates at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio, earning the trust and respect of her students was a turning point for Mary Stroud.
“Many of my students had never had a black teacher by the time they arrived at Xavier,” she says.
Stroud grew up during the era of national civil rights upheaval, in the community of historically black Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University). Her parents were both educators.
“It was an environment where I realized black people had accomplished a lot. I understood there were no limitations because of your ethnic background,” she says.
Reality in the world outside of Tuskegee was different. She earned her bachelor’s degree in chemistry and biology at Converse College, a women’s institution in South Carolina.
“I arrived at the University of Cincinnati in 1979 (to get my graduate degree), and it was an overwhelmingly white male world,” she says. “That’s when I realized that the two advantages I thought I had were disadvantages.”
But she persevered. Teaching chemistry to undergraduates while earning her master’s degree in chemistry gave her both an academic focus and a lifelong calling.
At Xavier, Stroud goes beyond the basic introduction to chemistry for freshman or nursing students. Instead, she focuses on the applications of chemistry on the body and the environment, as well as the ethics of using chemicals.
“As a teacher, I want my influence to be longer lasting that just a single semester. I want their discussions and consideration of issues to continue,” she says.
Roger Witherspoon is a journalist and author based in New York.