Randolph Wilson ("Bill") Bromery (January 18, 1926 – February 26, 2013) was an American educator and

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...

, and a former Chancellor of the

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, it ...

(1971–79). While Chancellor, Bromery established the

W.E.B. Du Bois William Edward Burghardt Du Bois ( ; February 23, 1868 – August 27, 1963) was an American-Ghanaian sociologist, socialist, historian, and Pan-Africanist civil rights activist. Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Du Bois grew up in ...

Archives at the University of Massachusetts, and was one of the initiators of the

Five College Consortium The Five College Consortium (often referred to as simply the Five Colleges) comprises four liberal arts colleges and one university in the Connecticut River Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts: Amherst College, Hampshire College, Mount Holy ...

. He was also President of the

Geological Society of America The Geological Society of America (GSA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of the geosciences. History The society was founded in Ithaca, New York, in 1888 by Alexander Winchell, John J. Stevenson, Charles H. Hitchco ...

, and has made numerous contributions as a geologist and academic. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he was a member of the

Tuskegee Airmen The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of primarily African American military pilots (fighter and bomber) and airmen who fought in World War II. They formed the 332d Fighter Group and the 477th Fighter Group, 477th Bombardment Group (Medium) of the ...

,"Randolph Bromery"
Western Maryland Historical Library (accessed February 25, 2013). flying missions in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

."Randolph W. Bromery"
''National Visionary Leadership Project'' (accessed February 25, 2013).

Biography

Bromery was born in

Cumberland, Maryland Cumberland is a U.S. city in and the county seat of Allegany County, Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its s ...

, on January 18, 1926, to Edith Edmonson and Lawrence Randolph Bromery.Todd Feathers
"Former UMass Amherst Chancellor Randolph Bromery Dead at 87"
''Boston Globe'', February 27, 2013. As a young adult, he took machine shop training from the

National Youth Administration The National Youth Administration (NYA) was a New Deal agency sponsored by Franklin D. Roosevelt during his presidency. It focused on providing work and education for Americans between the ages of 16 and 25. It operated from June 26, 1935 to ...

, and began working as a machinist in Detroit. He then enlisted in the

U.S. Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...

, and was assigned to the

, flying missions in Italy during World War II. After his 1945 discharge from the Army, Bromery studied at

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commissi ...

, working full-time at the

U.S. Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and ...

as an airborne exploration geophysicist—the first black professional geophysicist with the USGS.Keith M. Bromery
"Black Women Contributed Much to the Fight for Equality in the United States"
''MassLive.com''. He ultimately earned his B.S. in 1956. Although his initial bachelor's degree was in Mathematics, his graduate work was in geology: he earned an M.S. in 1962 from

American University The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was charte ...

, and a Ph.D. from

Johns Hopkins Johns Hopkins (May 19, 1795 – December 24, 1873) was an American merchant, investor, and philanthropist. Born on a plantation, he left his home to start a career at the age of 17, and settled in Baltimore, Maryland where he remained for most ...

in 1968, where his advisor was Ernst Cloos. His doctoral thesis was entitled ''Geological Interpretation of Aeromagnetic and Gravity Surveys of the Northeastern End of the Baltimore-Washington Anticlinorium, Harford, Baltimore, and Part of Carroll County, Maryland''. By the time he completed his Master's, Bromery was already a well-published author, with more than 80 scientific publications in geology and geophysics under his name. He was noted in particular for his studies on the Earth's

magnetic field A magnetic field is a vector field that describes the magnetic influence on moving electric charges, electric currents, and magnetic materials. A moving charge in a magnetic field experiences a force perpendicular to its own velocity and to ...

, and use of that data to identify minerals. His graduate work at Johns Hopkins earned an award from the

United States Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the mana ...

. Bromery joined the faculty at the University of Massachusetts Amherst Geology Department in 1969, earning tenure quickly, and becoming Chancellor in 1971. He was only the second African American to lead a predominantly (historically) white campus, after

Clifton R. Wharton Jr. Clifton Reginald Wharton Jr. (born September 13, 1926) is an American university president, corporate executive and former United States Deputy Secretary of State. In his multiple careers, he has been an African American pioneer. Biography Born ...

at Michigan State University, and the first in the Northeast. While Chancellor of the University, Bromery led a number of significant ventures. He was instrumental in establishing the

Five Colleges Consortium The Five College Consortium (often referred to as simply the Five Colleges) comprises four liberal arts colleges and one university in the Connecticut River Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts: Amherst College, Hampshire College, Mount ...

. Also under his leadership, the University of Massachusetts became an early center for the emerging discipline of African-American studies. He secured the papers of

W. E. B. Du Bois William Edward Burghardt Du Bois ( ; February 23, 1868 – August 27, 1963) was an American-Ghanaian sociologist, socialist, historian, and Pan-Africanist civil rights activist. Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Du Bois grew up in ...

and

Horace Mann Bond Horace Mann Bond (November 8, 1904 – December 21, 1972) was an American historian, college administrator, social science researcher and the father of civil-rights leader Julian Bond. He earned a master's and doctorate from University of Ch ...

for the University's Special Collections Department. The Library has since been named the

W. E. B. Du Bois Library The W. E. B. Du Bois Library is one of the three libraries of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts, the others being the Science and Engineering Library, and the Wadsworth Library at the Mount Ida Campus. The W. E. B. D ...

. Bromery, a saxophonist himself, recruited several well-known jazz figures to the faculty, including

Max Roach Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 10, 1924 – August 16, 2007) was an American jazz Jazz drumming, drummer and composer. A pioneer of bebop, he worked in many other styles of music, and is generally considered one of the most important drummers in h ...

Archie Shepp Archie Shepp (born May 24, 1937) is an American jazz saxophonist, educator and playwright who since the 1960s has played a central part in the development of avant-garde jazz. Biography Early life Shepp was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but ...

, and

Fred Tillis Frederick Charles Tillis (January 5, 1930 – May 3, 2020) was an American composer, jazz saxophonist, poet, and music educator at the collegiate level. Early life Growing up Born in Galveston, Texas on January 5, 1930, Frederick Tillis was ra ...

.University of Massachusetts
"Randolph W. Bromery, Champion of Diversity, Du Bois and Jazz as UMass Amherst Chancellor, Dead at 87"
February 27, 2013. Shortly after joining the faculty, Bromery and the other six African-American faculty members established the Committee for the Collegiate Education of Black Students, CCEBS (now Committee for the Collegiate Education of Black and Other Minority Students) at the university, to "recruit and support black students",. His former black graduate students include John T. Leftwich. While Bromery was Chancellor, the university significantly increased the numbers of minorities and women both on the faculty and in student enrollment. Throughout his career, Bromery worked to advance minorities and women in the sciences. Among other contributions, he was a member of the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

' Special Presidential Advisory Panel on Minority Participation in Science,. Bromery and his wife have funded several fellowships or awards for minorities, including establishing a fund with the

for an annual Bromery Award for the Minorities, the Bromery Fellowship for minorities at

, and a fund to support historically underserved students in the geosciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Bromery was recognized in 2007 as an "Honoree of Distinction" by the National Association of Black Geologists and Geophysicists. After stepping down as Chancellor in 1979, Bromery remained on the faculty at the University, but also maintained an involvement in numerous other professional and academic associations. He was president of the

in 1989, and served on the board of directors of numerous large corporations, including

Exxon ExxonMobil Corporation (commonly shortened to Exxon) is an American multinational oil and gas corporation headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is the largest direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, and was formed on November 30, ...

and

John Hancock Insurance John Hancock Life Insurance Company, U.S.A. is a Boston-based insurance company. Established April 21, 1862, it was named in honor of John Hancock, a prominent American Patriot. In 2004, John Hancock was acquired by the Canadian multinational li ...

. He served in executive roles at several other institutions, including

Westfield State College Westfield State University (Westfield State) is a public university in Westfield, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1839 by Horace Mann as the first public co-educational college in America without barrier to race, gender, or economic class. Ran ...

and

Springfield College Springfield College is a private college in Springfield, Massachusetts. It confers undergraduate and graduate degrees. It is known as the birthplace of basketball because the sport was invented there in 1891 by Canadian-American instructor J ...

(1992–98), and on the Board of Trustees at numerous colleges, including Johns Hopkins. He also served on the President's Committee on the

National Medal of Science The National Medal of Science is an honor bestowed by the President of the United States to individuals in science and engineering who have made important contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the fields of behavioral and social scienc ...

from 2003 to 2007.Geological Society of America Member News
(accessed February 25, 2013). Bromery married fellow

student Cecile Trescott in 1947, and the couple had five children: Keith M. Bromery, Dennis R. Bromery, David T. Bromery, Christopher J. Bromery, and Carol Ann Bromery Thompson.

Awards

Outstanding Black Scientist Award (1997) * Honorary doctorates: Frostburg State University (1972), Bentley College (1993), UMass Amherst (1979), University of Hokkaido (1976), Western New England College, Westfield State College, North Adams State College, and numerous others * Honorary President, Soodo Women's University, Seoul, Korea (1976) * Fellow, African Scientific Institute and Geological Society of America * Honoree of Distinction, National Association of Black Geologists and Geophysicists (2007) * Distinguished Service Award, Geological Society of America (1999) * Distinguished Alumnus Awards: Howard University, University of Massachusetts, Johns Hopkins University * William Pynchon Award (1992), established in 1915 to recognize individuals from the Western Massachusetts region "who have demonstrated exceptional community and civic service" * Numerous awards named after Dr. Bromery, including the Dr. Randolph W. Bromery STEM Scholars Program (

Roxbury College Roxbury may refer to: Places ;Canada * Roxbury, Nova Scotia * Roxbury, Prince Edward Island ;United States * Roxbury, Connecticut * Roxbury, Kansas * Roxbury, Maine * Roxbury, Boston, a municipality that was later integrated into the city of Boston ...

) and the

's Randolph W. "Bill" and Cecile T Bormery Award.

Additional sources

* H. Cary (1962), ''The University of Massachusetts: A History of 100 Years'' * James H. Kessler (1996), ''Distinguished African American Scientists of the 20th Century'' * "A Story of American Courage", ''The Republican'' (Springfield, Massachusetts), February 24, 2004.
"Randolph W. Bromery"
''National Visionary Leadership Project'' (archived in the NVLP Collection of African American Oral Histories, at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

American Folklife Center The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. was created by Congress in 1976 "to preserve and present American Folklife". The center includes the Archive of Folk Culture, established at the library in 1928 as a repos ...

) * , from the National Visionary Leadership Project. * Alexander E. Gates (2009), ''A to Z of Earth Scientists'', "Bromery, Randolph W. (Bill)", pp. 37–38.
Images of Randolph W. Bromery
at the University of Massachusetts Amherst Library ; Obituaries * Diane Lederman

''The Republican'' (MassLive), February 27, 2013 * Brian Kowalenko
"Randolph Bromery, former head of 3 local colleges, dies at 87"
WSHM, February 27, 2013. * Todd Feathers

''Boston Globe'', February 27, 2013. * University of Massachusetts
"Randolph W. Bromery, Champion of Diversity, Du Bois, and Jazz as UMass Amherst Chancellor, Dead at 87"
February 27, 2013.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bromery, Randolph 1926 births 2013 deaths African-American scientists American geologists Tuskegee Airmen Leaders of the University of Massachusetts Amherst Howard University alumni American University alumni Johns Hopkins University alumni People from Amherst, Massachusetts Fellows of the Geological Society of America African-American aviators Presidents of the Geological Society of America United States Geological Survey personnel 21st-century African-American people People from Cumberland, Maryland