Frost, Olivia P. (Olivia Pleasants), 1915-

Olivia Pleasants Frost was a sociologist, educator, administrator and research consultant for educational, social service and community-based organizations. She received her Bachelors degree in 1936 from Hunter College, her Master of Arts degree in 1951 in sociology from Columbia University, and her doctoral degree in education from New York University.

Dr. Frost held numerous positions with governmental, educational, social service and civil rights organizations, primarily in their research departments. Her research and program specialties were in the areas of housing discrimination, education and training of black youth, employment and labor, day care and multi-problem families. Her responsibilities often included program development and evaluation.

From 1945-1949 Frost served as the Research Secretary for the New York Urban League (NYUL) where she investigated and prepared reports on blacks in Queens and Harlem, as well as on day care facilities, housing and education. When she returned to the NYUL in 1965 as Director of Research she developed studies which were used as the basis for NYUL programs and coordinated research activities with program activities.

Between 1950 and 1956 Frost was the Director of Research for the Harlem Mortgage and Improvement Council. At HMIC one of her projects involved the investigation of the realty investment market in Harlem and the policies of savings banks towards making loans in that community, which was also the subject of her Master's thesis. During the 1950's Frost also worked for the volunteer organization, Committee on Civil Rights in East Manhattan, which focused on relieving discrimination in housing and restaurant services. Additionally from 1956-1962 she served as Supervising Research Assistant for the New York City Youth Board where her primary responsibility was the multi-problem family.

Among other agencies and organizations for whom Frost worked in the 1960's, she directed research projects for Harlem Youth Opportunities Unlimited (HARYOU), HARYOU-ACT, and Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant Youth in Action. From 1971-1977 Frost was associated with the City University of New York, primarily working with the SEEK (Search for Excellence in Education and Knowledge) Program, where she coordinated efforts for the development of procedures for assessing the SEEK program at the ten senior colleges. In the late 1960's Frost developed her own consulting firm, the Olivia Frost Research Associates. The firm provided technical assistance to community-based organizations serving minority groups and specialized in survey research, program planning and evaluation.

Frost has been an active member of the community, frequently serving on boards or committees of many New York City civic and professional organizations, principally those impacting on the lives of black people. Among the organization for which she served, are the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the Schomburg Corporation.

From the description of Olivia Pleasants Frost papers, 1937-1994. (New York Public Library). WorldCat record id: 122533714

Olivia Pleasants Frost, sociologist, educator, administrator and research consultant for educational, social service and community-based organizations, was born in 1915 in New Jersey and raised in Washington, D.C. and New York City. She received her bachelor's degree in 1936 from Hunter College, City University of New York, and in 1951 obtained her master of arts degree in sociology from Columbia University. She later undertook doctoral studies at the School of Education of New York University and was awarded the Ph.D. in 1972.

In her professional career, Dr. Frost held numerous positions with governmental, educational, social service and civil rights organizations primarily in their research departments. Her research and program specialities were in the areas of housing discrimination, education and training of black youth, employment and labor, day care, and multi-problem families. Her responsibililties often included program development and evaluation.

At the start of her career, during the late 1930s and early 1940s, Dr. Frost worked for several governmental agencies preparing reports on labor supply, national income, and wages for unionized workers. From 1945-1949, she served as the Research Secretary for the New York Urban League (NYUL), where she investigated and prepared reports on black life in Queens and Harlem for its black residents, as well as on day care facilities, housing and education. In 1965 she returned to the NYUL, this time as the Director of Research. Among her responsibilities in the latter position was the development of studies which were to be used as the basis for NYUL programs and to coordinate research activities with program activities.

From 1950 to 1956 Frost was the Director of Research for the Harlem Mortgage and Improvement Council and worked with the chairman/founder, George T. Davis, who was one of the forces behind the development of the residential complex at 345 West 145 Street built by the Bowery Bank. At HMIC one of her projects involved the investigation of the realty investment market in Harlem and the policies of savings banks towards making loans in that community, which was also the subject of her master's thesis. During the 1950s she also worked for the volunteer organization, Committee on Civil Rights in East Manhattan, which focussed on relieving discrimination in housing and restaurant services.

In 1962 through 1963, Dr. Frost was employed as a Research Associate for the Community Council of Greater New York, supervising a study of unmarried mothers who kept their first child. From there, Dr. Frost moved to HARYOU (Harlem Youth Opportunities Unlimited) where she was Senior Research Associate (1963-1964). Her responsibilities in that capacity included writing two chapters on demographic patterns and employment for the research document, “Youth in the Ghetto.” In addition, she worked for HARYOU-ACT as Associate Research Director for six months (June-December 1964). As the Director of Research and Program Evaluation for Bedford-Stuyvesant Youth in Action (1965-1968), Frost complied and analyzed data describing activities sponsored by the organization, including a training program entitled, “A Light is Shining in the Ghetto.”

Frost developed her own consulting business, the Olivia Frost Research Associates (OFRA), in the late 1960s. The firm provided technical assistance to community-based organizations serving minority groups, and specialized in survey research, program planning and evaluation. Among the firm's clients were the Council on Interracial Books, National Council of Negro Women, and the Young Men's Christian Association, Harlem Branch. Frost also worked as a consultant for two Columbia University programs: the Columbia University Center for Community Education at Teacher's College, 1971; and the Columbia University School of Library Science, where she evaluated the master's degree library media program, 1973-1974. As a research consultant from 1973 to 1974 for the Metropolitan Applied Research Center which was founded and directed by Kenneth and Mamie Clarke, Frost assisted in developing the research design which was submitted to the Manpower Administration of the Department of Labor under the title “Adolescent Minority Females in an Urban Labor Market,” 1973.

Although the head of her own consultant firm, Frost continued to hold staff positions with other organizations. In 1968, she became the Research Associate for the Development and Training Center for the Distributive Trades of District 65, the retail, wholesale and department store union. In this position, she administered psychological and other tests to trainees in the program. From 1971-1977, Dr. Frost was associated with the City University of New York, primarily working with the SEEK (Search for Excellence in Education and Knowledge) Program. She was hired as a consultant at City College in 1971 and developed plans for evaluative procedures for counselors in the SEEK Program. At SEEK Central, she was employed from 1972-1975 as Director of Program Development and coordinated efforts for the development of procedures for assessing the SEEK program at the ten senior colleges. In 1975 she assumed the position of Associate Professor at Medgar Evers College in the Office of Institutional Research. Her responsibilities were to coordinate all research efforts, college-wide. Frost was not reappointed to this position in 1977 and subsequently joined in a class action suit against the City University of New York (Melani et al v. the Board of Higher Education of the City University of New York) which charged the university with discrimination against women.

Frost has been an active member of the community most of her adult life. She has served on several boards, committees or been a member of many New York City civic and professional organizations, principally those impacting on the lives of black people. Some of the organizations to which she gave her support include the Coalition of 100 Black Women, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, National Urban League, New York City Association of Social Workers, National Association of Black Social Workers, Association of Black Women in Higher Education, Queensboro Tuberculosis and Health Association, and the Schomburg Corporation.

Olivia Frost was married to Charles Frost and has three children, Carolyn Olivia, James Williams and Charles S., Jr.

From the guide to the Olivia Pleasants Frost papers, 1937-1994, (The New York Public Library. Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division.)