Flemmie Kittrell: Pioneering Alumna
In 1936 at Cornell University, Flemmie Kittrell became the first African American in the United States to earn a Ph.D. in home economics. A pioneer in her field, Kittrell directed a State Department survey in Liberia, was awarded the Fulbright Fellowship in 1950, organized the College of Home Economics at Baroda University in India and designed the home economics doctoral program at Howard University, where she also taught and served as program chair from 1944 to 1973. Photos of Kittrell, her Cornell thesis and other related letters, articles and clippings are held in Cornell University Library’s Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections.