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Inventory to the Percy Lavon Julian Family Papers
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Percy Lavon Julian
Family Papers |
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Dr. Thomas W. Cole, Jr., is a native of Texas and received his B.A. degree from Wiley College in Marshall, Texas, where his father, Thomas W. Cole, Sr., served as President. His Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry was earned at the University of Chicago in 1966. Here he studied with Dr. P.E. Eaton, and they became the first chemists to synthesize the cubane carbon skeleton system. Dr. Cole began his academic career in 1966 when he joined the staff at Atlanta University in Atlanta, Georgia, as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry. During the next thirteen years his creative talents as a chemical researcher and teacher made him a leader on the staff of Atlanta University and resulted in his appointment as Vice President for Academic Affairs in 1979. In 1982 he became President of West Virginia State College, where Percy Julian had taught in the early 1920's. Dr. Cole subsequently became the Chancellor of the West Virginia Board of Regents, one of only two black administrators to head a state system of public higher education at that time. In 1988 he returned to Atlanta, Georgia, to become President of Clark University. During the past twenty-four years he has won recognition as a leading black educator and scientist. He has held visiting professorships at Jackson State University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the University of Illinois. Among his many professional activities and his commitments are his service as a member of the following organizations: the Council of Presidents of the Atlanta University Center; the Resource Group, Quality Education for Minorities Project (QEM) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; the Commission for Educational Quality, Southern Regional Education Board (SHEO); and the Commission on State Relations, National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. His professional memberships include the American Chemical Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Sigma Xi, the National Institute of Sciences, and the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Engineers. Dr. Cole has authored a number or articles concerning the synthesis and chemistry of cubane and its precursors. Also, he has been recognized nationally as a leader in improving the opportunities of minority students in higher education. In this capacity he has served the National Academy of Science. In Atlanta, among his many commitments, he serves on various boards for the Martin Luther King Center for Nonviolent Social Change, the Oak Ridge Associated Universities, the University Center in Georgia, and the Fernbank Museum of Natural History. His honors include having been a Southern Regional Fellow, summer 1961; a Woodrow Wilson Fellow, 1961-1962; a Danforth Associate and a member of its National Advisory Council, and membership in Beta Kappa Chi and Alpha Kappa Mu National Honor Societies. Dr. Cole has received honorary doctorates from West Virginia State College and the University of Charleston. He is listed in Outstanding Young Men in American, Who's Who in the South and Southeast, and in American Men and Women of Science. Dr. Cole is married to Brenda hill Cole, who is a graduate of Spelman College and holds the J.D. degree from Emory University Las School. She is Assistant Attorney General of the State of Georgia. They are the parents of two children, Kelly and Susann and Thomas III. Dr. Percy L. Julian left a legacy of excellence not only in science but in many areas of human endeavor. Dr. Cole continues this tradition in his outstanding contributions to science, research, education, community concerns, and minority activities. We are proud to welcome him to the campus of DePauw University.
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