it was tough
but it never occurred to me that I wasn't supposed to do it she said. The nice thing during the time period at Ohio University several other women became administrators there.
When Hilda Richards came to Ohio University to serve as the first female and African-American dean in 1979, she didn't think that she was making history.
When I went to a university full time
it was tough
but it never occurred to me that I wasn't supposed to do it
she said. The nice thing during the time period at Ohio University
several other women became administrators there.
Richards served as the founding dean of the College of Health and Human Services at OU from 1979 to 1986, but was originally from St. Louis where she attended nurses' training.
She moved to New York City at the age of 20 and lived there for 23 years - earning a bachelor's degree, two master's degrees and a doctoral degree in that time.
This is an exciting time we're talking about - the 1960s and 1970s
Richards said. I was an African American and a woman in a time period that was difficult for both.
Once she finished school, Richards used her background in psychiatric nursing to help open the Harlem Rehabilitation Center for people released from state hospitals. Then she helped found Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn.
Richards then came to OU as the dean of the College of Health and Human Services where she instituted new programs like physical therapy.
Not only did Hilda break ground in establishing this college that has become the second largest college on campus
but back in 1979 as an African-American woman
she certainly served as a great role model for underrepresented people to see that there was a trajectory for them that could lead to their success
