Mary Frances Early (born June 14, 1936) 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 ...

to earn a degree from the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

Early years and education

Early was born on June 14, 1936, in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. She attended Turner High School there and went on to graduate from Clark College (later

Clark Atlanta University Clark Atlanta University (CAU or Clark Atlanta) is a private, Methodist, historically black research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Clark Atlanta is the first Historically Black College or University (HBCU) in the Southern United States. Found ...

) with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in music education in 1957. She began her postgraduate work at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

to pursue a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in music education then enrolled at the University of Georgia in 1961, receiving her master's degree (MMEd) in music education on August 16, 1962. She also earned an Ed.S. degree in music education in 1967 from Georgia.

Career

During Early's career, she spent time as a music teacher, a planning and development co-ordinator, an elementary division curriculum specialist and a music resource teacher at various schools, including John Hope Elementary, Wesley Avenue Elementary Schools and Coan Middle School. In addition, she was an

adjunct professor An adjunct professor is a type of academic appointment in higher education who does not work at the establishment full-time. The terms of this appointment and the job security of the tenure vary in different parts of the world, however the genera ...

at Morehouse and

Spelman College Spelman College is a private, historically black, women's liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia. It is part of the Atlanta University Center academic consortium in Atlanta. Founded in 1881 as the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary, Spelman re ...

s a music co-ordinator and supervisor of

Atlanta Public Schools Atlanta Public Schools (APS) is a school district based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It is run by the Atlanta Board of Education with superintendent Dr. Lisa Herring. The system has an active enrollment of 54,956 students, attending a t ...

. She was the first

president of the Georgia Music Educators Association in 1981. In 2003, Early was the head of the music department at

Recognition

Early's awards include the STAR Teacher Award from Coan Middle School (1972), the Benjamin E. Mays Black Music Heritage Award (1995), the University of Georgia Outstanding Alumna Award (2000) and the Foot Soldier for Equal Justice (University of Georgia) Award. In light of this attention, she said, "It wasn't in our vocabulary to think that people were good or bad because of their skin color, so I was just sort of taken aback that it became a big issue later in my life." On May 10, 2013, at the Spring Commencement Ceremony, Early was honored by the University of Georgia when President

Michael F. Adams Michael Fred Adams (born March 25, 1948) is president emeritus of the University of Georgia in the Georgia (U.S. state), U.S. state of Georgia. Adams began his career in education as a faculty member at Ohio State University from 1973 to 1975. H ...

presented her with an honorary doctorate of laws degree. Early's honorary doctorate is only the 79th honorary doctoral degree conferred in UGA's history. In 2019, the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia approved changing the name of the UGA School of Education in her honor. In the fall 2005 issue of the ''Graduate School Magazine'', Early was profiledby Cynthia Adams as a "They Were First" subject under the title, "Mary Frances Early Speaks: on a public education and the dynamics of change". She was also included as a profile (pp 65–70) in the 2010 commemorative book, ''Centennial: Graduate Education at the University of Georgia 1910-2010'', which was published by the University of Georgia Graduate School (2010) and written by Cynthia Adams. UGA President

Jere Morehead Jere Wade Morehead (born November 25, 1956) is the 22nd and current President of the University of Georgia. He continues as the Josiah Meigs Professor of Legal Studies at the University of Georgia's Terry College of Business, and was previously Se ...

presented Early with a presidential medal in 2018.

References

External links

"A Look Back - A Brief History of UGA’s Desegregation"
University of Georgia. Retrieved April 23, 2016.

University of Georgia. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
"Mary Frances Early (b. 1936)"
''New Georgia Encyclopedia''. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
"The first time"
''Athens Banner Herald''. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
"More than 5,000 eligible for UGA commencement"
''Athens Banner Herald''. Retrieved April 23, 2016. {{DEFAULTSORT:Early, Mary Frances 1936 births Living people University of Georgia alumni People from Atlanta University of Michigan School of Education alumni Schoolteachers from Georgia (U.S. state) Clark Atlanta University faculty Clark Atlanta University alumni American women academics