Mary Evelyn V. Edwards Hunter was possibly the first woman of African descent to receive a Master’s degree at Iowa State University. Prior to enrolling at Iowa State, the 1926 edition of The Prairie lists Hunter as a State Supervisor Home Demonstration Agent. After graduating with a masters degree in Home Economics in 1931, Hunter founded and directed the Division of Home Economics for the Virginia State College for Negroes (now Virginia State University), where she established a home economics graduate program for African American students.
Like a number of other Black graduates of Iowa State, she attended the banquet held by the Iowa State Alumni Association for Frederick D. Patterson’s inauguration as President of Tuskegee in 1935.
Iowa State College Thesis Title: Some effects of home economics training upon the home practices of Negro families in Texas, 1931
Iowa State University Library Digital Repository Link: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd/17671
Sources
Photo Credit: Prairie View A&M University (1926)
1926 The Prairie(p.35)
https://digitalcommons.pvamu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1033&context=yearbooks
Biography available at HBCU Connections at Iowa State University : Mary E. V. Edwards Hunter ( http://hbcuconnections.iastatedigital.org/Mary_E._V._Edwards_Hunter )
