Alfreda Johnson Webb (born February 21, 1923 in Mobile, Alabama) was a professor of biology and a doctor of veterinary medicine. She was the first Black woman licensed to practice veterinary medicine in the United States.

Early life and education

Webb was born February 21, 1923 in Mobile, Alabama, to Cattie Lee Avant Johnson, and Bibb Garden Johnson. She earned a BS from Tuskegee Institute in 1943 and her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) in 1949 from the

Tuskegee Institute Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU), formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute, is a private, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama. It was founded on Independence Day in 1881 by the state legislature. The campus was de ...

(now University) School of Veterinary Medicine.American Men & Women of Science: A biographical directory of today's leaders in physical, biological and related sciences. 19th edition. New Providence, NJ: R.R. Bowker, 1994. p. 579. Webb was the first of two African American women to graduate from a school of veterinary medicine in the United States in 1949.
Nolen, R. Scott. Tuskegee's diversity legacy continues today. JAVMA News, February 15, 2010. https://www.avma.org/News/JAVMANews/Pages/100215b.aspxAdams, E. W. The Legacy: A History of The Tuskegee University School of Veterinary Medicine. Tuskegee, AL: Tuskegee University Media Center Press, 1995. Pg. 29 She then took Faculty Study Leave from Tuskegee to earn a master's degree (M.S. in Anatomy) from

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

in 1950.Adams, E. W. The Legacy: A History of The Tuskegee University School of Veterinary Medicine. Tuskegee, AL: Tuskegee University Media Center Press, 1995. Pg. 39

Professional veterinary positions

She began her career as an instructor in anatomy at Tuskegee in 1950 and remained there until 1959 rising to the rank of associate professor. She then moved to Greensboro, North Carolina, and became a professor of biology at

North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (also known as North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina A&T, N.C. A&T, or simply A&T) is a public, historically black land-grant research university in Greensboro, North Caro ...

(NC A&T) from 1959-1978 and professor/coordinator of Laboratory Animal Science from 1977 until her retirement. Her research areas included histology, cytology, and embryology. During her time at NC A&T in the late 1970s, Webb served on the planning committee for the school of veterinary medicine for North Carolina which was founded at North Carolina State University in 1981.
Curtin, T. The College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University: a personal perspective of its founding. Raleigh, N.C. : North Carolina Veterinary Medical Foundation, 2010. http://d.lib.ncsu.edu/collections/catalog/ua145_001-curtin-cvm-history

Political and government positions

Webb served in several positions in the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party in

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

. Webb was the first

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

woman in the North Carolina General Assembly in 1972 after her appointment in 1971 by Governor Robert W. Scott.Hairston, Otis L. Greensboro North Carolina. Arcadia Publishing, 2003. She lost a bid for a full term in the Assembly in 1972. In the Who’s Who in American Politics (17th ed, 1999)Who's Who in American Politics. 17th edition, 1999-2000. New Providence, NJ: Marquis Who's Who, 1999. p. 1667. she is listed as Member at Large, Democratic National Committee, North Carolina on which she served from 1972-1980. Formerly she served as Chairman of Minority Affairs for the North Carolina State Democratic Executive Committee, delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1976, and president of Democratic Women of North Carolina. She also served on the North Carolina Council on Sickle Cell Syndrome.Women in Public Office. A biographical directory and statistical analysis. First edition. Compiled by Center for the American Woman and Politics. New York: R.R. Bowker, 1976. p. 259. and the Board of the NC Center for Public Policy Research. She retired from the position of state minority representative in 1978 to run for the state House in Guilford County.
Associated Press. Democrats to recruit minorities. The Dispatch (Lexington, NC), Feb. 22, 1978. V. 96, n. 252, p. 1. The General Assembly of North Carolina ratified a Senate joint resolution on March 4, 2013 to honor the life and memory of Webb and other African American legislators.

Family life

Alfreda Webb was married to agronomist Dr. Burleigh Webb and they had three children, two sons and one daughter.Adams, E. W. The Legacy: A History of The Tuskegee University School of Veterinary Medicine. Tuskegee, AL: Tuskegee University Media Center Press, 1995. Pg. 237. (see also information on p. 29 and 39) She died at Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital, Moses Cone Memorial Hospital after a battle with breast cancer on October 14, 1992.

Honors and awards

In 1949, Webb became the first black member of the Women's Veterinary Association. Webb was a member of the American Association of Veterinary Anatomists, Sigma Xi, the Hayes-Taylor

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, and the

Gamma Sigma Delta Gamma Sigma Delta (), or more fully, the Honor Society of Agriculture, Gamma Sigma Delta, is an honor society for Agriculture students and those in related fields. Founded in 1913, it is the oldest and largest such society for its academic discipl ...

Honorary Society. She received the

Alpha Kappa Alpha Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. () is the first intercollegiate historically African American sorority. The sorority was founded on January 15, 1908, at the historically black Howard University in Washington, D.C., by a group of sixteen stud ...

Award for Political Excellence and the Distinguished Alumni Award from

Tuskegee University Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU), formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute, is a private, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama. It was founded on Independence Day in 1881 by the state legislature. The campus was d ...

in 1972. She was inducted into the NC A&T Agriculture Hall of Fame in 1999. In 2016, the North Carolina State College of Veterinary Medicine established a $50,000 endowed Dr. Alfreda Johnson Webb Scholarship Award to cover educational expenses for two students from under-represented groups. The endowment was established by gifts from the North Carolina Minority Veterinarians Association and matched funds from the R.B. Terry Charitable Foundation. The North Carolina State College of Veterinary Medicine, which sorts its faculty, staff, and students into four houses to support college well-being, has a house named after Webb. House Webb has a dog on its crest to emphasize Webb's commitment to companion and lab animals and has the motto fairness, equity, and justice.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Webb, Alfreda Johnson 1923 births 1992 deaths Politicians from Mobile, Alabama Tuskegee University alumni Michigan State University alumni American veterinarians African-American academics African-American women academics African-American women scientists American women academics African-American women in politics 20th-century American biologists Tuskegee University faculty 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American scientists 20th-century American women scientists