Dr. Rose Butler Browne Award

Rose Butler Browne was born in Boston, Mass. In 1897. She moved with her family to Newport, Rhode Island where she grew up. While working as a live-in domestic she earned a bachelor's degree at Rhode Island College, now the University of Rhode Island. She went on to earn her master's degree at Rhode Island College and then to Harvard University where, in 1939, she became the first black woman to earn a doctoral degree in education. In 1950, she received an honorary degree from Rhode Island College, and in 1969 a seven-story Rhode Island College residence hall was named in her honor.

Doctorates in hand, Dr. Browne went south and served on the faculties of Virginia State College, West Virginia State College and Instituted, and Bluefield State College in West Virginia. She then transferred to the faculty of North Carolina where she served as chairman of the Education Department.

A crusader for black rights, Dr. Browne once refused to send students into teaching jobs in West Virginia as long as State's Board of Education continued paying black teachers less than white teachers. The publicity and subsequent shortage of teachers forced the board to its discrimination.

After retiring in 1963, Dr. Browne operated a day care center for children at the Mt. Vernon Baptist Church in Durham where her husband was the pastor. Returning to Rhode Island, she operated a summer school aimed at the culture gap faced by black children, and later worked with senior citizens.

In her 1969 autobiography, Love My Children, Dr. Browne attributed most of her motivation to the influence of her great-grandmother, Charlett Ann Lindsay, named the "high Priestess" by her family. The daughter of an American Indian chief, she married a southern slave, worked six years to buy his freedom and later, in hope of bettering her children, migrated to a Boston ghetto.

The "High Priestess" convinced Dr. Browne as a child that she, too, must overcome obstacles to better herself and her family.

Rose Butler Browne passed away in 1986 at the age of 89.

The Rose Butler Browne Award was established in 1976 by friends and admirers of Dr. Browne. The Award is funded by an endowment within the Rhode Island College Foundation.

About The Award

The Rose Butler Browne was established in 1976 by friends and admirers of Dr. Browne, a 1919 graduate of Rhode Island College, who during her lifetime demonstrated outstanding leadership in professional and community affairs. The $250 Award is funded by an endowment within the Rhode Island College Foundation.

Criteria For Nominations

The recipient must be a graduating senior enrolled at Rhode Island College and who has a grade point average of 2.5 or better. Nominees are expected to have completed at least 100 hours of voluntary or paid service to a disadvantaged population during the preceding year in a community agency or activity; for example, the Urban League, a rehabilitation center, or community recreation center. They are expected to have demonstrated their leadership potential through effective, current performance in a leadership role and through recognition of leadership skills by their peers or supervisors. Most importantly, recipients are expected to have a commitment to developing their leadership potential. The award will be presented at the Cap and Gown Convocation on Wednesday, April 30th of 2008.

As part of the selection process, applications are required to have a letter of reference from their immediate supervisor in order to be considered. They also are expected to complete a personal statement.

Click here for online application

Further Information

Contact the Unity Center, Rhode Island College, 401-456-8255
Aaron Bruce, Chairperson, Dr. Rose Butler Browne Award
abruce@ric.edu