Geraldine Pittman Woods

Geraldine Pittman Woods (January 29, 1921 – December 27, 1999) was an American science administrator. She is known for her lifelong dedication to community service and for establishing programs that promote minorities in STEM fields, scientific research, and basic research.

Early life and education Woods was born January 29, 1921, in West Palm Beach, Florida, to Susie (King) and Oscar Pittman. In the fourth grade, Woods transferred from a private Episcopalian school to Industrial High School, the only public school in the area that allowed African-American students. She graduated from high school in 1938 and attended Talladega College, a historically black college in Talladega, Alabama.

Neither of her parents had higher than an eighth grade education, and Woods's father died when she was a teenager,

Career

1940s–1950s After earning her doctorate, Woods briefly took a position as an instructor at Howard University, her alma mater, until 1946. She then took a 25-year hiatus from science to focus on her family. In this position, she addressed the need to improve science education and research opportunities at minority institutions. Under her leadership, in 1967 Delta Sigma Theta founded The Delta Research and Educational Foundation (DREF), a nonprofit that aids organizations with foundations in community service.

1980s–1990s By 1980, the MARC and MBRS had increased in popularity and hundreds of students were benefitting from the programs across the country.

In 1978, the sixth annual NIGMS Minority Biomedical Support (MBS) symposium held at the Atlanta University Center in Georgia was dedicated to Woods. At the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS) in 2003, NIGMS unveiled the Geraldine Woods Award because of her pivotal role in the development of the MBRS and MARC, two NIH minority programs. This award recognizes individuals who have had a significant impact in promoting the advancement of underrepresented minorities in biomedical science.

A fellowship in biology at Howard University and one in chemistry at Atlanta University have both been established in her name.

Woods once said, "I was so busy 'driving' that I couldn't find time to research and write. But I think I made a lasting contribution to science nevertheless."

After a long illness Woods died on December 27, 1999, in her Aliso Viejo home.