Anna E. Cooper

Anna E. Cooper (July 22, 1897 – 1988) was a Liberian educator, she was the first female dean of the University of Liberia.

This article is about the Liberian educator. For the American educator and activist, see Anna J. Cooper.
Anna E. Cooper
A yearbook portrait of a young black woman, from 1921.
Anna E. Cooper, from the 1921 Howard University yearbook.
Born(1897-08-22)August 22, 1897
Monrovia, Liberia
Died1988 (aged 90–91)
Liberia
NationalityLiberian
OccupationEducator
Known forDean of the University of Liberia
ChildrenJames T. Phillips Jr
HonoursHumane Order of African Redemption (1978)

Early life and education

Cooper was born in Monrovia, Liberia, into a large and influential Americo-Liberian family.[1] Her father was Jesse Randolph Cooper; her mother was Sarah Braxton Cooper Barclay; one sister was Magdalene L. Cooper Dennis, Liberia's first university trained nurse; another sister was Cecelia Adeline Cooper who married ambassador Charles D. B. King, who was Liberia's president from 1920 to 1930. Her brothers Henry R. Cooper and Charles E. Cooper were also in government.[2]

Cooper studied at the College of West Africa in Monrovia. She went to the United States in 1914, and attended Central Alabama Institute, Morgan State College,[3] and finally Howard University, where she played basketball, was a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha and earned a bachelor's degree in 1921.[4] She returned to the United States in 1931, earning a master's degree at Teachers College, Columbia University.[5] She also studied in London.[6]

Career

Cooper taught at the College of West Africa from 1922 to 1928, and then as a science professor at Liberia College from 1929 to 1931, teaching chemistry and physics.[7] In 1933, she organized the college's science department.[5] Cooper became Dean of Administration at Liberia College,[8] the first woman to be a dean at the school. She led the school's transformation into the University of Liberia in 1951.[5] She retired in 1956.[9]

She was a founder of the first overseas chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha, when she and others petitioned for a chapter in Monrovia in 1954.[10][11] She was also active with the YWCA in Liberia.[8][12] In 1978, she was honored by President William Tolbert, installed as a Knight Official in the Humane Order of African Redemption.[5]

Personal life

Cooper's son, James T. Phillips Jr., was a soil scientist and cabinet minister, executed during a military coup in 1980.[13] Cooper died in 1988, aged 91 years.[5]

References
  1. "James Cooper, Richest Man in Liberia, Dies". The Pittsburgh Courier. 1949-01-29. p. 6. Retrieved 2020-02-11 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. "Mrs. C. D. B. King Dies; Wife of Ambassador from Liberia was 58". Washington Evening Star. December 11, 1950. p. 39. Retrieved February 11, 2020 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  3. Morgan State College (1917). Bulletin. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Baltimore. pp. 46–47 – via Internet Archive.
  4. "Anna Elizabeth Cooper" The Enopron (Howard University yearbook 1921): 27.
  5. Peabody, Stanton (2006). "Women Who Made a Difference: A Special Record". Liberian Studies Journal. 31: 76–79.
  6. "Negro Woman Heads Liberia University". The Weekly Review. 1944-09-09. p. 6. Retrieved 2020-02-11 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. Manly, A. Nanuh. "Liberia College: The University of Liberia. A descriptive history, 1851–1963" (Masters thesis, Chapman University, 1965): Table III, page 46. via ProQuest; UMI number EP25906.
  8. "Dean of College Entertained Here". The Courier-News. 1947-02-04. p. 5. Retrieved 2020-02-11 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Liberia Educator Here on Vacation". Kingston Gleaner. December 3, 1956. p. 9. Retrieved February 11, 2020 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  10. "Chapter History, Eta Beta Omega Chapter - Liberia". Alpha Kappa Alpha, Inc. Archived from the original on 2019-05-05. Retrieved 2020-02-11.
  11. "First International Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Reactivated". TLC Africa. Archived from the original on January 22, 2013. Retrieved 2020-02-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  12. "Interracial Group Sponsors Service". The Courier-News. 1947-02-03. p. 3. Retrieved 2020-02-11 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. Admin, Webmaster (2015-10-12). "The Need for Strategic Agricultural Training". Liberian Observer. Archived from the original on 2020-03-11. Retrieved 2020-02-11.
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