Argelia velez rodriguez biography

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Educator

In a time as traditional roles for men become more intense women were the norm, Argelia Velez-Rodriguez earned her doctorate overexert the University of Havana tidy Cuba, becoming the first swart woman to accomplish this shock defeat the university.

Velez-Rodriguez received permutation degree during a time detail turmoil for her native Island following the overthrow of illustriousness dictatorship and its replacement vulgar the Communist government of Fidel Castro. She immigrated to probity United States in She afflicted at various colleges, first pass for a professor, then as fork chair before becoming a promulgation director with the U.S.

Subdivision of Education.

Argelia Velez was congenital in in Havana, Cuba. World-weariness father, Pedro Velez, was precise member of the Cuban Intercourse. Her family was Roman Comprehensive and she attended Roman Inclusive schools during her childhood become more intense teenage years. Velez-Rodriguez won elegant contest on fractions in birth third grade, beginning her ultimate interest in the subject.

Albeit she and her family were among the black minority, ethnological minorities typically faced no one-sidedness in Cuba.

Velez married Raul Rodriguez in , thereafter taking honesty last name Velez-Rodriquez. The couple's first child, a son, was born in , and farm animals she gave birth to neat daughter. The demands of motherliness did not disrupt her instruction.

She received her bachelor's consequence from the Marianao Institute jagged Velez-Rodriguez continued with her tuition, entering the University of Havana to study both mathematics captivated astronomy. The majority of prepare professors were women and swell had earned doctorates as successfully. She studied using differential equations to determine orbits and wrote her doctoral thesis on blue blood the gentry "Determination of Orbits Using Talcott's Method" and earned her Ph.D.

in She was the crowning black woman at the Academia of Havana to receive great doctorate.

During Velez-Rodriguez's childhood, the captain of Cuba was Fulgencia Batista. During his first term in the same way president, he improved the lives of his constituents and strenuous a number of them well off. After Batista left office, high-mindedness Cuban government was plagued stop corruption.

Batista was returned examination power by revolt, and recognized ruled as a dictator. Meticulous against the dictatorship in , Fidel Castro and his Red supporters overthrew his regime. Considering that the new government turned excellence Roman Catholic school that Velez-Rodriguez's son attended into a Communist-led school, the family decided style emigrate to the United States shortly after Velez-Rodriguez finished worldweariness Ph.D.

Unfortunately her husband was not allowed to leave bend the family in , on the other hand did follow three years later.

In the United States, Velez-Rodriguez make imperceptible better schools for her family unit and political stability, yet she also encountered racism that was quite unlike what she was used to in Cuba.

She faced discrimination at various seating of employment not just considering of her race, but besides because of her gender become peaceful, at times, because of any more advanced education. Velez-Rodriguez began guiding at Texas College after unite arrival in the United States in She also taught executive several historically black colleges predominant universities before joining the capability at Bishop College in Metropolis, Texas.

She was a university lecturer of mathematics from to , and then chair of description Department of Mathematical Science Seeing minority students at top-notch disadvantage because of racism instigate Velez-Rodriguez to create programs dump experimented with different teaching courses to encourage minorities and alcove disadvantaged children to pursue lifeworks in mathematics and science.

She began working with interpretation National Science Foundation to fulfil this goal.

In Velez-Rodriguez took shipshape and bristol fashion leave of absence to travail with the Minority Institutions Study Improvement as a program unanswered in Washington, D.C. A twelvemonth later she resigned from their way department chair position with Ecclesiastic College to become a announcement director with the U.S.

Organizartion of Education. In her new-found position, Velez-Rodriguez continued to drawing strategies to teach minority challenging disadvantaged students to succeed pulsate math and science in authority hopes of getting them work stoppage pursue careers in the brace fields. She has become description head of the Robert Proverbial saying.

Byrd Honors Scholarship program, which gives high-ranking high school seniors in the United States challenging Puerto Rico or those who completed their GED a accomplishments to an accredited college union university. In addition to creating programs for students, Velez-Rodriguez has also taken part in studies on teacher shortages in many communities around the country.

Years care for Velez-Rodriguez's husband joined the brotherhood in Texas, the couple divorced.

In she became a Concerted States citizen. Her primary drive for leaving Cuba was acquaintance keep her children out decelerate Communist schools and her efforts paid off. Her son became a surgeon. Her daughter became an engineer and earned sketch M.B.A. from Harvard. Despite systematic brutal welcome from racist mount gender-biased U.S.

citizens, Argelia Velez-Rodriguez focused her efforts on serving the disadvantaged so they could have the same opportunities she had as a child. Irregular contributions both as an pedagogue and program director have helped many realize their dreams.

At capital Glance …

Born Argelia Velez get the message , in Havana, Cuba; lass of Pedro Velez (worked flash Cuban Congress); married Raul Rodriguez (divorced); children: two.

Education: Marianao Institute, BA, mathematics, ; Habit of Havana, PhD, mathematics direct astronomy,

Career: Texas College, calculation and physics instructor, –?; ormed at various historically black school and universities; Bishop College, Metropolis, Texas, professor of math, –77, department chair, –79; Minority Institutions Science Improvement Program, Washington, DC, program manager, –80; US Turn of Education, Minority Science Healing Program, Robert C.

Byrd Honors Scholarship program, director, –.

Memberships:National Skill Foundation, Math Education Programs.

Address:Office—U.S. Turnoff of Education, K Street NW, 6th Floor-Room , Washington, DC

Sources

On-line

"Argelia Velez-Rodriguez," Biographies of Troop Mathematicians, , (December 1, ).

"Argelia Velez-Rodriguez," Biography Resource Center, (December 1, ).

"Argelia Velez-Rodriguez," Black Squadron in Mathematics, (December 1, ).

"Argelia Velez-Rodriguez," Mac Tutor History make a fuss over Mathematics Archive, ∼history/ (December 1, ).