The Graduate School: Rebecca Evans Carroll: In Her Own Words
Monday, April 29, 2019
An article by the Graduate School highlights the life of Rebecca Evans Carroll, the first African-American women to earn a doctorate from UMD. In 1950, she was barred from pursuing graduate study at UMD—a white institution at the time—and instead earned a master’s degree in Human Development and Education at the University of Chicago, graduating summa cum laude. In 1962, she returned to UMD for her doctorate and graduated with an EdD in 1966.
Dr. Carroll passed away at the age of 81 and the article includes excerpts from her memoir, including her philosophy on educating today’s youth, thoughts on race, and the role of family in education:
“Today, anyone who is interested in the improvement of society must look to the survival and well-being of the family as a key societal unit. An individual’s social, physical, mental and emotional status is often traced to the family. Moreover, it is through the internal support existing in the family that the self-concept, the self-esteem index, the mental health status and the achievement motivation are conditioned. Asa Hilliard writes that the healthy African-American family is the family that has been able to maintain its connection to history and culture,” Dr. Carroll is quoted in the Graduate School article.
