Vivienne Malone-Mayes

Vivienne Lucille Malone-Mayes (1932–1995) was an African American mathematician and professor.^[1]

Personal

Vivienne Lucille Malone was born in Waco, Texas, to Pizarro and Vera Estelle Allen Malone. Vivienne married James Mayes in 1952.^[1]

Education and career

Vivienne encountered educational challenges associated with growing up in an African-American community in the South, including racially segregated schools, but the encouragement of her parents, both educators, led her to avidly pursue her own education. She graduated from A. J. Moore High School in 1948. She entered Fisk University at age 16 where she earned a bachelor's degree (1952) and a master's degree (1954). Vivienne switched from medicine to mathematics after she began studying under Evelyn Boyd Granville and Lee Lorch. Granville was one of the first of two African-American women to earn her Ph.D. in mathematics.^[1]

After earning her master's she chaired the Mathematics department at Paul Quinn College for seven years and then at Bishop College for one year before deciding to take further graduate mathematics course. She was refused admission at Baylor University due to segregation and instead attend summer courses at the University of Texas. After another year of teaching she decided to attend the University of Texas full-time as a graduate student. She graduated in 1966 and became the fifth African-American woman in the nation to earn a Ph.D. in mathematics.

Dr. Malone-Mayes's research was in the field of functional analysis, specifically the properties of functions. She also worked on methods of teaching mathematics including a program using self-paced audio-tutorials. Following graduation, Dr. Malone-Mayes was hired as a full-time professor in the mathematics department at Baylor University. She had a successful, lengthy career and served on several boards and committees of note, retiring in 1994 due to ill health.^[1]

Memberships

She was a member of the board of directors of the National Association of Mathematics. She was elected Director-at-large for the Texas section of Mathematical Association of America and served as director of the High School Lecture Program for the Texas section.

She was also active in her local community as a lifetime member of New Hope Baptist Church. She served on boards of directors for Cerebral Palsy, Goodwill Industries, and Family Counseling and Children. She was on the Texas State Advisory Council for Construction of Community Mental Health Centers and served on the board of the Heart of Texas Region Mental Health and Mental Retardation Center.^[1]

Legacy and awards

Dr. Malone-Mayes was the first African-American woman (and second African-American person) to receive a PhD in Mathematics from University of Texas (and fifth African-American woman in the United States.) She was the first African-American member of the faculty at Baylor University. First African-American person elected to Executive Committee of the Association of Women in Mathematics.

Student congress of Baylor voted her the "Outstanding Faculty Member of the Year" in 1971.

Dr. Malone-Mayes died in 1995 at the age of 63.^[1]

References

1. Vivienne Malone-Mayes Papers #2072, The Texas Collection.

• Notable Women in Mathematics, a Biographical Dictionary, edited by Charlene Morrow and Teri Perl, Greenwood Press, 1998. pp 133–137