Willie Lee Dorothy Campbell was born in Nacogdoches, Texas, on 24 August 1910, to Edward John Campbell, the principal of the local Black high school, and Mary Gertrude Kennedy Campbell, a teacher, in Nacogdoches. During her college years, Willie Lee was known by her maiden name, “Campbell,” but later in life, she became well known by her married name, “Glass.” Glass received her Bachelor of Science degree in 1931 in home economics from Prairie View Normal & Industrial College (now Prairie View A & M University) in Texas. She was a soror in the Gamma Omicron Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha. Like most women of her time, Glass had little choice in fields of study. Home Economics was open to her and she chose to follow that path, coming to Iowa State College to complete her Master’s Degree in Home Economics Education.
Glass told the story of her arrival at ISC to researchers Rebecca W. Greer and Janice O. Kenner, who recount that Willie Lee, was dismayed by what she found when “arriving at Iowa State College, where she was not allowed to live on campus but had to reside with African American families in town” (Greer and Kenner, 2008, p. 141). Glass reported that “‘though Black students were admitted to the college, most of them were sent home in disgrace'” (Greer and Kenner, 2008, p. 141). She soon was writing home with the following message: “‘The clouds are white; the ground is white; and all the people are white. Can I come home?'” (quoted in Greer and Kenner, 2008, p. 141). Although her father was supportive of her returning home immediately, her mother wrote, “‘Look in the mirror and you will see another black face'” (quoted in Greer and Kenner, 2008, p. 141). And so, Glass continued her education at ISC, acquiring her Master’s Degree in 1933, when she was only 21 years old, making her one of the youngest students ever to graduate from ISC.
After graduation, she was employed as the head of the Department of Food and Nutrition at Virginia State College, Petersburg, VA, in 1933, where she was named acting head of the Department of Home Economics in 1934. In the 1935-36 school year, she returned to Nacogdoches to teach home economics in the high school. On 27 August 1936, Willie Lee married Dominion Robert Glass, who served as president of Texas College from 1931 to 1961.
Glass established the Texas College Department of Home Economics and for 14 years, from 1936 through 1950, headed the department. She later became Texas Education Agency’s first Black state homemaking education consultant. During those years, from time to time, she taught White students at the local White school, Tyler Junior College, and in 1949 and 1950, taught summer classes as a visiting professor of home economics at Prairie View A&M College (Greer and Kenner, 2008). She even used her home as a classroom to teach students etiquette and table manners.
As a pioneer, Glass received many awards and recognitions. She was inducted into the Negro Hall of Fame by the city of Dallas, the Nacogdoches Heritage Festival Hall of Fame, and the Texas Future Homemakers of America Hall of Fame. In 1985, she was inducted into the Texas Hall of Fame by Mark White, the governor of the state (Greer and Kenner, 2008), and she was the first Black woman inducted into the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame. Further afield, the City of Los Angeles recognized her with its Meritorious Community Service Award and she was named one of 11 Grande Dames of Texas by Texas Monthly Magazine (Greer and Kenner, 2008).
Glass received many awards and honors from the colleges she attended too. In 1961, she received the Distinguished Alumna Award from Prairie View A&M College, and in 1970, she received the Home Economics Alumni Centennial Award from Iowa State University. Beyond Iowa State, Glass further studied at Columbia University, Union Theological Seminary in New York, and the University of Wisconsin, Madison. In 1988, Glass received an honorary doctorate in humane letters by Texas College in 1988 and was placed in the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame in 1995 (Texas Senate Resolution 286, 1995). The home economics building at Texas College, the Willie Lee Glass Building, is named for her.
Biography available at HBCU Connections at Iowa State University : Willie L. D. Campbell Glass
Sources
Photo source: HBCU Connections at Iowa State University : Willie L. D. Campbell Glass
Greer, R. W., and Kenner, J.O. (2008, December 1). Willie Lee Glass: A lady of remarkable influence. Family and consumer sciences research journal. 37.2. pp. 140-148.
