I have been privileged ... "to sit on the edge of
tomorrow and contemplate the mysteries of time
and space, man and mind ..." hge

     Dr. Helen G. Edmonds was born in Lawrenceville, Virginia. She received her A.B. degree from Saint Paul's College and Morgan State University, her M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Ohio State University, and has done post-doctoral research and study at the University of Heidelberg, West Germany.

     She chose to give her talents, her education, and her energies to her native South. Although higher education has claimed her time and attention for over forty years, her outreach has extended to the ends of the world. Helen Edmonds has served her country as a representative of President Eisenhower at the dedication ceremonies of the Liberian Capitol. She was appointed an alternate delegate to the General Assembly of the United Nations by President Nixon, and she has served both the United States Department of State and the Department of Defense on special assignments.

     But her heart has always remained at North Carolina Central University where she has served since 1941 as Professor of History, Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, a member of the Interim Committee for the Administration of the University (1966-67), and as University Distinguished Professor of History (1971-77). She has authored numerous books and articles. In 1977-78 she served as a Distinguished Scholar at The Monton Center for Independent Studies to complete her manuscript on "The American Black Woman."

     Dr. Edmonds has been the recipient of many academic and civic honors and honorary degrees. She has been awarded fellowships and grants from the Rockefeller Foundation, the Carnegie Fund, and Ford Foundation, the Southern Fellowship Fund, and the National Foundation for the Humanities. Also, she has received singular recognition as the recipient of the Oliver Max Gardner Award in 1975 by the Board of Governors of the University of North Carolina for her dedicated work as a teacher and as a spokesperson for democracy.

     Dr. Helen Edmonds, a black woman of high achievement, is, like Percy Lavon Julian, a most "uncommon" person. Just as Percy Julian was much more than a chemist and a scientist, so also is Helen Edmonds much more than a teacher and a historian. In both of them their intellect, their spirit, their compassion, and their outreach merged and extended far beyond their chosen disciplines to enrich the world.

     Dr. Edmonds has said of students: "This generation of students will be able to master change. Young people today who have been around the world; worn their jeans, flowers, and beads; marched in demonstrations for causes in which they believed - these young people are not resistant to change, and rapid change is what they know best and can master best. The youth teach me significant lessons and bring me much joy." She has said of her life: "I have merely been a part of a goodly company. I have never traveled the high road alone."