Jewel Plummer Cobb

Jewel Plummer Cobb (January 17, 1924 – January 1, 2017)

Early life Jewel Isadora Plummer was the only child of Frank V. Plummer, and Carriebel (Callie) Plummer. Both of her parents had lived in New York City Her mother, Carriebel Cole Plummer, worked as a physical education and dance teacher after studying dance at Columbia University. Carriebel re-entered college at the same time that Jewel enrolled, and graduated from Roosevelt University in 1945 with a BA. Jewel's father, Frank, was the first Black person to graduate with a Doctor of Medicine from Harvard University, becoming a physician specializing in dermatology. Plummer's paternal grandfather was a freed slave who graduated from Howard University in 1898 and made a living as a pharmacist.

Jewel Plummer Cobb's economically privileged upbringing offered her opportunities for intellectual exploration, from her father's scientific library to her education at several multiracial institutions. She anticipated becoming a physical education teacher, but her interest in science solidified during her sophomore year in high school whilst looking through a microscope in biology class. This interest was encouraged by her biology teacher and she was fascinated by books on microorganisms like Paul DeKruif's The Microbe Hunters.

Higher education Cobb matriculated at the University of Michigan in 1948. Dissatisfied with segregated housing for African-American students at Michigan, she transferred to Talladega College in Alabama.

Cobb initially was denied a fellowship for graduate study in biology at New York University, allegedly due to her race, but was granted the fellowship after an interview. In 1949, she was appointed an independent investigator at Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory.

Professional life After receiving her Ph.D, Cobb became a biology teaching fellow at New York University while also working for the National Cancer Institute at Harlem Hospital (1950–1952).

Sarah Lawrence College From 1960–69, Cobb was employed as head of the biology laboratory at Sarah Lawrence College. While there, she conducted research for participants in the National Science Foundation. Upon accepting the position at Connecticut College, she stated: "This is a college in transition, moving forward at an exciting pace. We need more black students and teachers to help us formulate and carry out our bold new plans."

Jewel Plummer Cobb with a trainee Credit Connecticut College Linda Lear Center for Special Collections and Archives-crop During her time at Connecticut College, she implemented a Black Scholarship program that provided financial assistance to at least 37 Black undergraduates at the college. The scholarship intended to increase financial assistance for students of color. in addition to being elected Director of the American Council on Education, (1973–1976). Dr Cobb, as member of the National Science Board and advisor to the American Association for the Advancement of Science, chaired a conference of 30 minority women scientists to provide recommendations to schools, policy-makers and the US government on how to recruit more women of color into the sciences. The highly influential report was published as The Double Bind: The Price of Being a Minority Woman in Science.

Due to the many roles, Cobb worked long hours. She did laboratory work in the early morning followed by administrative work before teaching in the afternoons.

Douglass Residential College In July 1976, Cobb decided to leave Connecticut College and become a dean and professor of Biological Sciences at Douglass Residential College at Rutgers University and a full-time administrator for the Women's division of Rutgers. Cobb's greatest hesitation in leaving the College concerned limitations in continuing her research to the same degree due to her new role.

California State University, Fullerton Cobb was appointed President of California State University, Fullerton in 1981 where she became the first African-American woman to lead a major university in the western United States.

At Fullerton, some faculty members did not share Cobb's interests in research and rebuilding, holding that the primary mission of the college was to teach. Her decision to enter into the agreement to build the hotel on campus and to add a satellite campus in the southern part of Orange County thus generated criticism on campus. Cobb brought both of these issues to the Faculty Senate for a vote. Both times, her decisions were upheld.

In 1990, aged 66, she was forced to retire under a rule imposed by W. Ann Reynolds, the Chancellor of the California State University System, requiring all campus presidents aged 65 or older to retire. In response to her departure, Julian Foster, a campus leader and prominent political scientist, expressed Cobb's emphasis on research and scholarship to be her most important contribution to Cal State Fullerton.

In 1990, after retiring, Cobb was named California State University Trustee Professor for its Los Angeles division. She became a life member of the board of trustees in 2005.

In 1991, she became the principal investigator at Southern California Science and Engineering ACCESS Center and Network, which assists middle school and high school students from disadvantaged backgrounds pursue a future in the fields of science and engineering.

In 2001, Cobb became the principal investigator for Science Technology Engineering Program (STEP) Up for Youth—ASCEND project at California State University, Los Angeles.

Research Cobb's research included work on the relationship between melanin and skin damage, and on the effects of hormones, ultraviolet light, and chemotherapy agents on cell division. Cobb found that deeper melanin pigmentation can protect cells from damaging UV radiation. People with a darker skin tone have a less chance of getting skin cancer rather than lighter skin people. Cobb discovered that methotrexate was effective in the treatment of certain skin cancers, lung cancers, and childhood leukemia. This drug is still being used in chemotherapy today to give treatment to a variety of cancers and autoimmune diseases which includes: breast cancer, head and neck cancers, lung cancer, leukemia, and some types of lymphoma. Cobb was the first to publish data on actinomycin D and its ability to cause a reduction of nucleoli in the nucleus of normal and malignant human cells. This grant supported her research and a broader examination of pigment cell growth and differentiation in human and mouse melanomas.

Other support for her cancer research came through her post-doctoral fellowship, research grants from the: Damon Runyon, National Science Foundation, National Cancer Institute, and Public Health Services. Her most influential mentors were her bacteriology professor James R. Hayden and her biochemistry professor M.J. Kopac.

Additional societal contributions Cobb was named Vice President of the Board for the 21st Century Foundation, dedicated to supporting the development of Black institutions that addressed issues in the Black community. Programs established by the organization included: economic, educational, and community development with the purpose of creating opportunities for people of color.

As the keynote speaker at the 1971 Wheaton College commencement, Cobb called for an alliance between the Women's Liberation Movement and the Black Liberation Movement. She called for the equality of women, the abolition of abortion laws, and the demand for public child care in particular.

Cobb's insistence on providing resources and programs to increase minority representation at her colleges of employment define her legacy outside of the laboratory.

Cobb resided in Maplewood, New Jersey, She was survived by her only child, Jonathan, a radiologist specializing in magnetic resonance imaging.

Honors, awards, and memberships

Honorary doctorates

Medical College of Pennsylvania Northern University Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rutgers University Tuskegee University

Awards

Reginald Wilson Award Candace Award, National Coalition of 100 Black Women, 1982 1999 Achievement in Excellence Award from the Center for Excellence in Education

Memberships

Human Resource Commission Sigma Xi National Academy of Sciences (Institute of Medicine) National Science Foundation. Allied Corporation's board of directors Tissue Culture Association of the Education Committee (1972–1974) Marine Biological Laboratory Board of Trustees for the Institute of Education Management

Publications

Cobb, Jewel Plummer, Dorothy G. Walker, and Jane C. Wright. "Comparative chemotherapy studies on primary short-term cultures of human normal, benign, and malignant tumor tissues—a five-year study." Cancer research 21.5 (1961): 583. Cobb, Jewel Plummer, and Dorothy G. Walker. "Studies on Human Melanoma Cells in Tissue Culture I. Growth Characteristics and Cytology." Cancer research 20.6 (1960): 858–867. Cobb, Jewel Plummer, and Dorothy G. Walker. "Effect of Actinomycin D on Tissue Cultures of Normal and Neoplastic Cells23." (1958). A National Assessment of Performance and Participation of Women in Mathematics, 1979 A Study of the Learning Environment at Women's Colleges, 1981 A Survey of Black American Doctorates, 1968 A Survey of the Current Status and Plans of Colleges Traditionally for Women Only, 1972 A Survey of Research Concerns on Women's Issues, 1975 Academic Challenges, 1990 Access and Power for Blacks in Higher Education, 1972 Advancing Women's Leadership in Science, 1995 An Assessment of Factors Affecting Female Participation in Advanced Placement Programs in Mathematics, Chemistry, and Physics, 1975 An Impact Analysis of Sponsored Projects to Increase the Participation of Women in Careers in Science and Technology, 1977 And Pleasantly Ignore my Sex, 1974 Annual Report of the National Science Foundation Committee on Equal Opportunities in Science and Technology, 1982 Black Initiative and Governmental Responsibility, 1987 Campus 1970, Where do Women Stand? Research Report of a Survey on Women in Academe, 1970 Careers in Science and Engineering for Black Americans, 1972 Catalyst Annual Report, 1978–1979 Changing America: The New Face of Science and Engineering, 1989 College Resource Council—Study on Seniors and Freshman of a Number of Colleges Within the Member Group, u.d. Committee on the Education and Employment of Women in Science and Engineering (CEEWISE), 1977–1979 Data on Women in Scientific Research, 1977 Degree Awards to Women: An Update, 1979 Degrees Granted and Enrollment Trends in Historically Black Colleges: An Eight-Year Study, 1965 Department of Health, Education and Welfare- Statement by the Director, National Cancer Program, National Cancer Institute, 1975