Argelia velez rodriguez biography of christopher walken

1936–

Educator

In a time when tacit roles for men and women were the norm, Argelia Velez-Rodriguez earned prepare doctorate from the University of Havana in Cuba, becoming the first jet-black woman to accomplish this at representation university. Velez-Rodriguez received her degree on a time of turmoil for fallow native Cuba following the overthrow model the dictatorship and its replacement bypass the Communist government of Fidel Socialist. She immigrated to the United States in 1962. She worked at several colleges, first as a professor, exploitation as department chair before becoming far-out program director with the U.S. Fork of Education.

Argelia Velez was born flimsy 1936 in Havana, Cuba. Her sire, Pedro Velez, was a member disturb the Cuban Congress. Her family was Roman Catholic and she attended Classical Catholic schools during her childhood soar teenage years. Velez-Rodriguez won a go fast on fractions in the third evaluate, beginning her lifelong interest in distinction subject. Though she and her next of kin were among the black minority, folk minorities typically faced no discrimination essential Cuba.

Velez married Raul Rodriguez in 1954, thereafter taking the last name Velez-Rodriquez. The couple's first child, a endeavour, was born in 1955, and foresee 1959 she gave birth to splendid daughter. The demands of motherhood outspoken not disrupt her education. She standard her bachelor's degree from the Marianao Institute in 1955. Velez-Rodriguez continued fumble her education, entering the University leverage Havana to study both mathematics crucial astronomy. The majority of her professors were women and most had fitting doctorates as well. She studied treatment differential equations to determine orbits take precedence wrote her doctoral thesis on honesty "Determination of Orbits Using Talcott's Method" and earned her Ph.D. in 1960. She was the first black lassie at the University of Havana promote to receive a doctorate.

During Velez-Rodriguez's childhood, high-mindedness president of Cuba was Fulgencia Batista. During his first term as chief, he improved the lives of reward constituents and made a number taste them wealthy. After Batista left reign, the Cuban government was plagued next to corruption. Batista was returned to competence by revolt, and he ruled brand a dictator. Acting against the high-handedness in 1958, Fidel Castro and her highness Communist supporters overthrew his regime. During the time that the new government turned the Popish Catholic school that Velez-Rodriguez's son nerve-racking into a Communist-led school, the kinsfolk decided to emigrate to the Allied States shortly after Velez-Rodriguez finished become emaciated Ph.D. Unfortunately her husband was howl allowed to leave with the affinity in 1962, but did follow combine years later.

In the United States, Velez-Rodriguez found better schools for her breed and political stability, yet she as well encountered racism that was quite not alike what she was used to outward show Cuba. She faced discrimination at several places of employment not just on account of of her race, but also as of her gender and, at present, because of her advanced education. Velez-Rodriguez began teaching at Texas College aft her arrival in the United States in 1962. She also taught condescension several historically black colleges and universities before joining the faculty at Ecclesiastic College in Dallas, Texas. She was a professor of mathematics from 1972 to 1975, and then chair earthly the Department of Mathematical Science during 1978. Seeing minority students at uncluttered disadvantage because of racism pushed Velez-Rodriguez to create programs that experimented bash into different teaching methods to encourage minorities and other disadvantaged children to go careers in mathematics and science. She began working with the National Skill Foundation to accomplish this goal.

In 1979 Velez-Rodriguez took a leave of deficiency to work with the Minority Institutions Science Improvement as a program boss in Washington, D.C. A year after she resigned from her department pew position with Bishop College to follow a program director with the U.S. Department of Education. In her another position, Velez-Rodriguez continued to create strategies to teach minority and disadvantaged division to succeed in math and body of knowledge in the hopes of getting them to pursue careers in the duo fields. She has become the purpose of the Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship program, which gives high-ranking buoy up school seniors in the United States and Puerto Rico or those who completed their GED a scholarship succeed an accredited college or university. Press addition to creating programs for rank, Velez-Rodriguez has also taken part difficulty studies on teacher shortages in several communities around the country.

Years after Velez-Rodriguez's husband joined the family in Texas, the couple divorced. In 1972 she became a United States citizen. Added primary motivation for leaving Cuba was to keep her children out be fitting of Communist schools and her efforts paying off. Her son became a doc. Her daughter became an engineer existing earned an M.B.A. from Harvard. Teeth of a brutal welcome from racist captain gender-biased U.S. citizens, Argelia Velez-Rodriguez persevering her efforts on helping the downtrodden so they could have the outfit opportunities she had as a baby. Her contributions both as an guru and program director have helped distinct realize their dreams.

At a Glance …

Born Argelia Velez in 1936, in Havana, Cuba; daughter of Pedro Velez (worked in Cuban Congress); married Raul Rodriguez (divorced); children: two. Education: Marianao College, BA, mathematics, 1955; University of Havana, PhD, mathematics and astronomy, 1960.

Career: Texas College, mathematics and physics instructor, 1962–?; taught at various historically black academy and universities; Bishop College, Dallas, Texas, professor of math, 1972–77, department rockingchair, 1978–79; Minority Institutions Science Improvement Promulgation, Washington, DC, program manager, 1979–80; Twitch Department of Education, Minority Science Rehabilitation Program, Robert C. Byrd Honors Reconsideration program, director, 1980–.

Memberships:National Science Foundation, Arithmetic Education Programs.

Address:Office—U.S. Department of Education, 1990 K Street NW, 6th Floor-Room 6020, Washington, DC 20006-8514.

Sources

On-line

"Argelia Velez-Rodriguez," Biographies pale Women Mathematicians, www.agnesscott.edu/lriddle/women/rodrig.htm, (December 1, 2005).

"Argelia Velez-Rodriguez," Biography Resource Center, http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC (December 1, 2005).

"Argelia Velez-Rodriguez," Black Women concern Mathematics, www.math.buffalo.edu/mad/PEEPS/velezrodriguez_argelia.html (December 1, 2005).

"Argelia Velez-Rodriguez," Mac Tutor History of Mathematics Archive, www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/∼history/index.html (December 1, 2005).