Antioch
Where was Thyrsa Frazier Svager educated from 1950 to 1951?
Thyrsa Frazier Svager Thyrsa Anne Frazier Svager ( June 16 , 1930 – July 23 , 1999 ) was an American academic who was one of the first African-American woman to gain a PhD in mathematics . Born in Ohio , she graduated from high school at the age of 16 , going to Antioch College in Ohio and then doing her postgraduate degrees at Ohio State University . Frazier Svager was the head of the Department of Mathematics at Central State University ( CSU ) in Ohio for decades , ending her academic career as provost and dean for academic affairs . She and her husband , physics professor Aleksandar Svager , invested one of their salaries during their careers to build a legacy for scholarships . After her death , the Thyrsa Frazier Svager Fund was established to provide scholarships for African-American women majoring in mathematics . Early life and education . Frazier Svager was born Thyrsa Anne Frazier on June 16 , 1930 in Wilberforce , Ohio . Her mother , Elizabeth Anne Frazier , taught speech at Central State University ( CSU ) , a historically black university in Wilberforce , Ohio . Her father , G . Thurston Frazier , headed the Logistics Department at the Wright–Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton , Ohio . He was a member of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity , holding the position of Polemarch in the province . Frazier Svager had three sisters , Gail , Constance and Jane , and a brother , William Lafayette . Frazier Svager graduated from Wilberforce University Preparatory Academy in Ohio at the age of 16 in 1947 , as class valedictorian . She attended Antioch College , a private liberal arts college in Yellow Springs , Ohio , majoring in mathematics , with a minor in chemistry , and placed in the 99th percentile in the Princeton Senior Student Examination . Frazier Svager was one of only four black students at Antioch : one of the others was Coretta Scott King , with whom she was friends . She gained a bachelor of arts degree from Antioch in 1951 , going on to gain a masters ( 1952 ) and PhD from Ohio State University ( OSU ) in Columbus in 1965 , where Paul Reichelderfer was her doctoral advisor . Her dissertation was titled On the product of absolutely continuous transformations of measure spaces . Career . Frazier Svager worked for a year at Wright–Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton , before teaching at Texas Southern University in Houston . In 1954 , she joined the faculty of CSU in Wilberforce . In 1967 , Frazier Svager was appointed chairman of the department of mathematics . She was awarded tenure in 1970 . She spent a summer in DC in 1966 as a systems analyst at NASA , as visiting faculty at MIT in 1969 , and in 1985 , she undertook postdoctoral study at OSU during the summer . She was provost and vice president for academic affairs when she retired in 1993 . In March 1995 , she returned for a short time to CSU as Interim President . Frazier Svager was active on the issue of scholarships , serving as the president of the local chapter of MOLES , a national association that provided scholarships for college students . She was also a member of Beta Kappa Chi , the National Association of Mathematicians , and the Mathematical Association of America , and was involved with Jack and Jill of America . Frazier Svager participated in the meeting that founded the National Association of Mathematics in 1969 . She wrote two books , CSUs Modern Elementary Algebra Workbook ( 1969 ) , and Essential Mathematics for College Freshmen ( 1976 ) . Personal life . While on the CSU faculty , Frazier met Aleksandar Svager , a Holocaust survivor from Yugoslavia and physics professor at CSU . They married in June 1968 at her parents home . Thyrsa Frazier Svager died on July 23 , 1999 . Philanthropy . Both university professors with a strong commitment to furthering education opportunities , the Svagers lived on one income , investing the other to build a scholarship fund . After her death , her husband established the Thyrsa Frazier Svager Fund at the Dayton Foundation , for African-American women who major in mathematics at one of six universities , with a legacy contribution planned . As of February 2017 , 33 women had received support from the Fund . An annual contribution is also being made to the American Physical Societys Minority Scholarship . Honors . Frazier Svager was honored with an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters by CSU on her retirement , and she was inducted into the Hall of Fame in Greene County , Ohio . External links . - Tribute to Thyrsa Frazier Svager on YouTube ( Dayton Foundation ) . - Thyrsa Frazier Svager Scholarship Fund .