Connecticut College
Jewel Plummer Cobb was an employee for whom in Oct 1971?
Jewel Plummer Cobb Jewel Plummer Cobb ( January 17 , 1924 – January 1 , 2017 ) was an American biologist , cancer researcher , professor , dean , and academic administrator . She contributed to the field of cancer research by studying the cure for melanoma . Cobb was an advocate for increasing the representation of women and students of color in universities , and she created programs to support students interested in pursuing graduate school . Early life . Jewel Isadora Plummer was the only child of Frank V . Plummer , and Carriebel ( Cole ) Plummer . Both of her parents used to live in Washington D.C . Her mother , Carriebel , found employment as a physical education and dance teacher who graduated from college with a B.A in interpretive dancing . She had re-entered college the same time Jewell enrolled resulting in both mother and daughter getting degrees in the same year . Jewells father , Frank , was the first black person to graduate with a Doctor of Medicine from Cornell University , becoming a physician specializing in dermatology . Plummers paternal grandfather was a freed slave who graduated from Howard University in 1898 making a living as a pharmacist . Cobbs economically privileged upbringing offered her a childhood of intellectual exploration . From her fathers scientific library to her education at several multiracial institutions , Cobb developed an interest in learning from a young age . Although she anticipated becoming a physical education teacher , her interest in science solidified during her sophomore year of high school whilst looking through a microscope in biology class . This interest was encouraged by her biology teacher and she was fascinated by books on microorganisms like Paul DeKruifs The Microbe Hunters . Higher education . Cobb matriculated at the University of Michigan in 1942 , but , dissatisfied with segregated housing for African-American students at Michigan , she transferred to Talladega College in Alabama . Talladega College did not accept transfer credits forcing Cobb to start anew . In spite of this , she completed her course work in three years instead of the standard four . She graduated with a B.A . in biology in 1944 and became a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority . Cobb initially was denied a fellowship for graduate study in biology at New York University , allegedly due to her race , but was granted the fellowship after an interview . She earned her M.S . degree from New York University in 1947 , and her Ph.D . degree with a focus on cell physiology in 1950 Her dissertation , Mechanisms of Pigment Formation , examined melanin pigment granules formations in vitro using the enzyme tyrosinase . In 1949 , she was appointed an independent investigator at Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory . In 2021 , the town re-named a road near the Marine Biological Laboratory Jewel Cobb Road in honor of Cobb . Professional life . After receiving her Ph.D , Cobb became a biology teaching fellow at New York University while also working for the National Cancer Institute at Harlem Hospital ( 1950-1952 ) . University of Illinois College of Medicine . From 1952-1954 Cobb was an instructor in anatomy in Chicago at the University of Illinois College of Medicine where she taught histology . Hunter College . Shortly thereafter , Cobb returned to New York , serving as an assistant professor for NYUs post graduate medical school ( 1955–60 ) , while also working as a visiting lecturer at Hunter College ( 1956–57 ) . Sarah Lawrence College . From 1960-69 , Cobb was employed as head of the biology laboratory at Sarah Lawrence College . While there , she conducted research for participants in the National Science Foundation . Connecticut College . Cobb served as a professor of Zoology and as Dean of Arts and Sciences at Connecticut College from July 1969 until July 1976 . Cobb was the first black Dean in the Colleges history . Upon accepting the position at Connecticut College , she expressed : This is a college in transition , moving forward at an exciting pace . We need more black students and teachers to help us formulate and carry out our bold new plans . During her time at Connecticut College , she implemented a Black Scholarship program that provided financial assistance to at least 37 Black undergraduates at the college . The scholarship intended to increase financial assistance needs for students of color . This work inspired similar programs at other universities . Cobb also established a Fifth Year Post-Baccalaureate Pre-Medical Program , which provided financial assistance and educational opportunities for minority students at the College who wanted to pursue careers in medicine or dentistry . Students were provided with resources for tutoring and counseling . Just five years after this program was established , these students were accepted into graduate programs , which included , Yale , Georgetown , and the University of Connecticut . While in Connecticut , Dr . Cobb also served as a member of the Lawrence and Memorial Hospital in New London , in addition to being elected Director of the American Council on Education , ( 1973-1976 ) . Dr Cobb , as member of the National Science Board and advisor to the American Association for the Advancement of Science , chaired a conference of 30 minority women scientists to provide recommendations to schools , policy-makers and the US government on how to recruit more women of color into the sciences . The highly influential report was published as The Double Bind : The Price of Being a Minority Woman in Science . Due to the many roles , Cobb worked long hours . She did laboratory work in the early morning followed by administrative work before teaching in the afternoons . Douglass Residential College . In July 1976 , Cobb decided to leave Connecticut College and become a dean and professor of Biological Sciences at Douglass Residential College at Rutgers University . Cobbs decision to leave was not premeditated , rather it centered on an interest in becoming a full-time administrator for the Womens division of Rutgers . Cobbs greatest hesitation in leaving the College concerned her inability to continue research to the same degree in her new role . While at Douglass , Cobb ( alongside nine other Americans ) was selected by the Rockefeller Foundation to participate in a global conference in Italy concerning the future of higher education for women . Additionally , in April 1978 , Cobb was nominated by President Carter as a member of the Board of Foreign Scholarships , best known as the organization responsible for determining Fulbright eligibility . California State University , Fullerton . Cobb was appointed President of California State University , Fullerton in 1981 where she began to improve campus facilities from the start of her term . Cobb was successful in obtaining funds for the construction of an Engineering and Computer Science Building which was constructed with state funds , as well as the Ruby Gerontology Center , which was the first building in the Colleges history to be funded through private donations . She also acquired financial capital for the construction of the first ever student residence on campus . The completion of this apartment complex was later named in her honor . Cobb also negotiated an agreement with the Marriott Corporation and the city of Fullerton for a lease to construct a hotel , allowing her to use available funds for the construction of a campus sports complex . The majority of the planning for the Science Laboratory Center , now called Dan Black Hall , was done while Cobb was president . At Fullerton , some faculty members did not share Cobbs interests in research and rebuilding , holding that the primary mission of the college was to teach . Her decision to enter into the agreement to build the hotel on campus and to add a satellite campus in the southern part of Orange County thus generated criticism on campus . Cobb brought both of these issues to the Faculty Senate for a vote . Both times , her decisions were upheld . In 1990 , aged 66 , she was forced to retire under a rule imposed by W . Ann Reynolds , the Chancellor of the California State University System , requiring all campus presidents aged 65 or older to retire . In response to her departure , Julian Foster , a campus leader and prominent political scientist , expressed Cobbs emphasis on research and scholarship to be her most important contribution to Cal State Fullerton . Shortly after retiring , Cobb was named California State University Trustee Professor for its Los Angeles division . In 1991 , she became the principal investigator at Southern California Science and Engineering ACCESS Center and Network , which assists middle school and high school students from disadvantaged backgrounds pursue a future in the fields of science and engineering . In 2001 , Cobb became the principal investigator for Science Technology Engineering Program ( STEP ) Up for Youth—ASCEND project at California State University , Los Angeles . She also was named and served as a member of the Caltech Board of Trustees . Research . Cobbs research included work on the relationship between melanin and skin damage , and on the effects of hormones , ultraviolet light , and chemotherapy agents on cell division . Cobb discovered that methotrexate was effective in the treatment of certain skin cancers , lung cancers , and childhood leukemia . This drug is still being used in chemotherapy today to give treatment to a variety of cancers and autoimmune diseases which includes : breast cancer , head and neck cancers , lung cancer , leukemia , and some types of lymphoma . Cobb was the first to publish data on actinomycin D and its ability to cause a reduction of nucleoli in the nucleus of normal and malignant human cells . She received a $5,000 grant from the American Cancer Society to continue her research inDirect Hormone Action to Human and Mouse Melanomas in Tissue Culture . This grant supported her research and a broader examination of pigment cell growth and differentiation in human and mouse melanomas . Other support for her cancer research came through her post-doctoral fellowship , research grants from the : Damon Runyon , National Science Foundation , National Cancer Institute , and Public Health Services . Cobb was part of the United States International Cancer congresses in London ( 1958 ) and Moscow ( 1962 ) and served on the advisory board to Mohegan Community College . She was awarded the National Institute of Health Fellowship for $68,000 , where she spent seven months in Naples , Italy continuing cell growth research at the International Laboratory of Genetics and Biophysics . Throughout her career , she collaborated with other notable researchers , including oncologist Jane C . Wright , Grace Antikajian , and Dorothy Walker Jones . Her most influential mentors were her bacteriology professor James R . Hayden and her biochemistry professor M.J . Kopac . In recognition of her research achievements , Cobb was elected to the Institute of Medicine in the National Academy of Sciences in 1974 . She was also a member of the National Science Board from 1974 to 1980 . Additional societal contributions . Cobb was named Vice President of the Board for the 21st Century Foundation , dedicated to supporting the development of Black institutions that addressed issues in the Black community . Programs established by the organization included : economic , educational , and community development with the purpose of creating opportunities for people of color . She was also a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science , which supported both women and people of color in the field . Cobb was one of seven recognized by the Oakland Museum Associations Cultural and Ethnic Affairs for her contributions to science and/or technology . The museums exhibition hoped to increase minority representation in the sciences by showcasing the accomplishments of people of color , including several of Cobbs findings . As the keynote speaker at the 1971 Wheaton College commencement , Cobb called for an alliance between the Womens Liberation Movement and the Black Liberation Movement . She called for the equality of women , the abolition of abortion laws , and the demand for public child care in particular . Final years and legacy . Many of the policies and programs Cobb initiated during her administrative careers take form in her 1979 paper , Filters for Women in Science , where she expressed concerns about female representation in science and engineering . Through an analogy connecting her passion for science and demand for equity , Cobb claimed that the characteristics of the filtrate passing through a filter are primarily determined by the size of the pores , which she connected with the limitations of female employment in science . Cobbs insistence on providing resources and programs to increase minority representation at her colleges of employment define her legacy outside of the laboratory . A former student , Timothy Yarboro , stated , I would not have become a doctor . Because of her , I knew it was possible . Cobb resided in Maplewood , New Jersey , until her death on January 1 , 2017 at the age of 92 . She was survived by her only child , Jonathan , a radiologist specializing in magnetic resonance imaging . Honors , awards , and memberships . - Honorary doctorates - Medical College of Pennsylvania - Northern University - Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute - Rutgers University - Tuskegee University - Awards - Reginald Wilson Award - Candace Award , National Coalition of 100 Black Women , 1982 - 1999 Achievement in Excellence Award from the Center for Excellence in Education - Memberships - Human Resource Commission - Sigma Xi - National Academy of Sciences ( Institute of Medicine ) - National Science Foundation . - Allied Corporations board of directors - Tissue Culture Association of the Education Committee ( 1972-1974 ) - Marine Biological Laboratory - Board of Trustees for the Institute of Education Management Publications . - Cobb , Jewel Plummer , Dorothy G . Walker , and Jane C . Wright . Comparative chemotherapy studies on primary short-term cultures of human normal , benign , and malignant tumor tissues—a five-year study . Cancer research 21.5 ( 1961 ) : 583 . - Cobb , Jewel Plummer , and Dorothy G . Walker . Studies on Human Melanoma Cells in Tissue Culture I . Growth Characteristics and Cytology . Cancer research 20.6 ( 1960 ) : 858-867 . - Cobb , Jewel Plummer , and Dorothy G . Walker . Effect of Actinomycin D on Tissue Cultures of Normal and Neoplastic Cells23 . ( 1958 ) . - A National Assessment of Performance and Participation of Women in Mathematics , 1979 - A Study of the Learning Environment at Womens Colleges , 1981 - A Survey of Black American Doctorates , 1968 - A Survey of the Current Status and Plans of Colleges Traditionally for Women Only , 1972 - A Survey of Research Concerns on Womens Issues , 1975 - Academic Challenges , 1990 - Access and Power for Blacks in Higher Education , 1972 - Advancing Womens Leadership in Science , 1995 - An Assessment of Factors Affecting Female Participation in Advanced Placement Programs in Mathematics , Chemistry , and Physics , 1975 - An Impact Analysis of Sponsored Projects to Increase the Participation of Women in Careers in Science and Technology , 1977 - And Pleasantly Ignore my Sex , 1974 - Annual Report of the National Science Foundation Committee on Equal Opportunities in Science and Technology , 1982 - Black Initiative and Governmental Responsibility , 1987 - Campus 1970 , Where do Women Stand ? Research Report of a Survey on Women in Academe , 1970 - Careers in Science and Engineering for Black Americans , 1972 - Catalyst Annual Report , 1978-1979 - Changing America : The New Face of Science and Engineering , 1989 - College Resource Council—Study on Seniors and Freshman of a Number of Colleges Within the Member Group , u.d . - Committee on the Education and Employment of Women in Science and Engineering ( CEEWISE ) , 1977-1979 - Data on Women in Scientific Research , 1977 - Degree Awards to Women : An Update , 1979 - Degrees Granted and Enrollment Trends in Historically Black Colleges : An Eight-Year Study , 1965 - Department of Health , Education and Welfare- Statement by the Director , National Cancer Program , National Cancer Institute , 1975 External links . - Profile , Fullerton.edu ; accessed January 13 , 2018 .