THE VFA PIONEER HISTORIES PROJECT

Dr. Jewel Plummer Cobb

January 17, 1924 – January 1, 2017

“I’d like to be remembered as a Black woman scientist who cared very much about what happens to young folks, particularly women going into science.”

A ground-breaking researcher, distinguished professor, biologist, dean and top university administrator. Contributed to the field of cancer research by studying the cure for melanoma. An advocate for increasing the representation of women and students of color in universities. Directed the Tissue Culture Laboratory at the University of Illinois, 1952-1954. Dean and Professor of Zoology at Connecticut College, 1967. Dean at Douglass College, the women’s division within Rutgers University, 1975. Created and funded programs to encourage women and minority students to enter traditionally white male-dominated fields and published “Filters for Women in Science” in 1979, exposing how educational institutions systematically put barriers to women pursuing careers in STEM. B.A. in Biology, Talladega College. M.S. in cell physiology, 1947 and PhD, 1950, New York University.