Edmonds, Helen G. (Helen Grey), 1911-1995

African-American educator and historian; professor of history at N.C. Central University, Durham, N.C.

Helen Grey Edmonds was born in Lawrenceville, Va., on 3 December 1911 to John and Ann Edmonds. She attended Saint Paul's High School and Junior College. In 1933, Edmonds received a B.A. in history from Morgan State College in Baltimore, Md. In 1938, she received an M.A. in History at Ohio State University, and, in 1946, she became the first black woman to receive a Ph.D. from Ohio State University. Edmonds conducted postdoctoral research and studied at the University of Heidelberg in West Germany from 1954 to 1955.

Edmonds began her teaching career at Virginia Theological Seminary and College in Lynchburg, Va., in 1934, after receiving her bachelor's degree. One year later, she became the Dean of Women at Saint Paul's College, her alma mater. In the spring of 1941, James E. Shepard, president of North Carolina College for Negroes (later, North Carolina College at Durham, and then, North Carolina Central University), recruited her for the faculty at the College. From that time until her retirement in 1977, Edmonds served the College in many capacities: as a professor of history, chair of the Department of History, Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, member of the Interim Committee for the Administration of the University, and advisor to the Drama Club. After retiring, Edmonds served on the Board of Trustees at North Carolina Central University (NCCU), mentored chancellors who were appointed after her retirement, and participated in educational and cultural activities at NCCU until her death in 1995.

Over the course of her career, Edmonds served as visiting professor or lecturer at more than 100 institutions of higher learning in the United States and abroad, including Portland State University, Rochester University, Virginia State University, Ohio State University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, Radcliffe College, University of Stockholm, Free University of Berlin, University of Liberia, and the University of Monrovia. In recognition of her accomplishments in higher education, she received numerous honors and awards including the O. Max Gardner Award from UNC System of Higher Education and the William Hugh McEniry Award from Stetson University. In addition, she served on the Board of Trustees at Saint Paul's College, Voorhees College, Washington Technical Institute, and NCCU. She received eight honorary degrees in her lifetime from Morgan State, Shaw College at Detroit, Saint Paul's College, NCCU, Ohio State University, Duke University, Virginia Union, and MacMurray College.

Edmonds was involved at the local, national, and international levels in civic, government, and social organizations. She was active in the United States Republican Party, served as an alternate delegate to the General Assembly of the United Nations, and was a member of the Defense Advisory Council on Women in the United States Armed Services. In 1956, she seconded the presidential nomination of General Dwight D. Eisenhower at the Republican National Convention. She chaired the United States delegation to the Third Committee of the United Nations in 1970 and was appointed by President Nixon to serve on the National Advisory Council of the Peace Corps. She held appointments in the Department of State and Department of Defense and served on the Board of Directors for the International Women's Year Conference in Mexico City. She received three citations from President Nixon in recognition of her service.

Edmonds was a member of the Links, Inc. (a women's service organization with a predominantly African American membership), Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, 100 Black Women, National Council of Negro Women, Inc., and National Council of Negro Women of the U.S.A. She served on the board of directors of the Southern Fellowship Fund, Inc., United Negro College Fund, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Robert Moton Memorial Institute, and United Research and Development Corporation. Edmonds was the Fifth National President of Links, Inc., from 1970 to 1974, and while in office, she launched the Grants-In-Aid program.

Edmonds died in 1995 in Durham, N.C.

Helen G. Edmonds was active in the Republican Party, an alternative delegate to the General Assembly of the United Nations, served on the National Advisory Council of the Peace Corps, and was a member of the Defense Advisory Council on Women in the Armed Services.