William Henry Tebeau (November 23, 1925 – July 5, 2013) in 1948 became the first African-American man to graduate from

Oregon State College Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering col ...

. He was an engineer for ODOT for 36 years. A residence hall at OSU and Highway 126 between Eugene and

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

are both named after him.

Early life

William Tebeau was born in Baker, Oregon, United States, to Henry William Tebeau and Frances (née Binor) Tebeau. At age 12, he joined the

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded i ...

, earning the

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and eventually becoming an

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest achievement or rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle Sc ...

. In 1943 he graduated from Baker High School.

Education

Tebeau was admitted to

Oregon State Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering col ...

, but he was not offered a housing assignment because of his race, nearly a decade prior to Oregon's fair housing laws. He found a job at a fraternity house tending the furnace, in exchange for a room in the basement. He graduated with a degree in chemical engineering in 1948. When he was unable to find work as a chemical engineer, he studied on his own to become a civil engineer.

Engineering career

Tebeau earned his civil engineering license and joined the

Oregon State Highway Department The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is a department of the state government of the U.S. state of Oregon responsible for systems of transportation. It was first established in 1969. It had been preceded by the Oregon State Highway Depart ...

, where he worked for 36 years. He also taught at

Chemeketa Community College Chemeketa Community College is a public community college in Salem, Oregon, with a campus in McMinnville, and education centers in Dallas, Brooks, and Woodburn. In addition, the college has a Center for Business and Industry in downtown Salem ...

, where he was named 1970 Teacher of the Year.

Honors

In May 2014, Oregon State University announced that its new residence hall east of the Kerr Administration Building on Washington Way would be named after Tebeau, the first African-American male to earn a degree from the university. In January 2016, the Oregon Legislature passed SB 5, designating State Highway 126 between Florence and Eugene as "William Tebeau Memorial Highway".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tebeau, William 1925 births 2013 deaths African-American engineers American civil engineers Educators from Oregon Oregon State University alumni People from Baker City, Oregon African-American history of Oregon 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people