Dr. Vivienne Malone-Mayes Bronze Bust Unveiled
Long overdue recognition for Dr. Vivienne Malone-Mayes, Baylor University’s first African American professor, culminated in the unveiling of a 50-pound, two-foot bronze bust in her honor on Feb. 28 in the third-floor lobby of the Sid Richardson Building.
A relationship between Malone-Mayes and Baylor began in 1961 with a graduate admissions rejection letter based on her race. She would instead attend the University of Texas at Austin, becoming the fifth black woman in the United States to receive a doctorate in mathematics.
Five years after being denied admission, she became Baylor’s first African American faculty member, going on to become a tenured professor in mathematics. The dedication ceremony was packed with family, coworkers, friends and faculty, with the beyond-capacity crowd spilling over from the third-floor lobby to fill an overflow area on the second-floor with a live video stream of the event.
Guest speakers included Dr. Lance Littlejohn, current chair of Baylor’s mathematics department, President Linda A. Livingstone, Ph.D., Dr. Howard Rolf, former chair of the mathematics department, Robert Darden, Baylor journalism professor, Dr. Edray Goins, president of the National Association of Mathematicians, and Patsyanne Wheeler, Malone Mayes’ daughter.
The effort to solidify the historic legacy of Dr. Malone-Mayes was headed by Darden after he discovered that her gravestone in Waco’s historically black Greenwood Cemetery was one of several that had been defaced.
The occasion reflects a commitment of the University to cultivate a more diverse Baylor faculty.
“More than the things that she did, was the person that she was and the values that she represented,” said President Livingstone. “I’m especially touched by her bravery and her courage through extremely challenging times to stand up for what she believed in, to do it with pride and grace and to stand up for justice in the midst of extreme persecution at not an easy time to do that.”
For Wheeler, the overwhelming response of the Baylor Family in honoring her trailblazing mother gives a much-needed exclamation point to her historic career.
“For years, people have asked me ‘What has Baylor done to honor your mom?’ And because she had such a humble spirit, I would always say, ‘Oh they’ve been pretty good to her.’ But now I can say Baylor University has stepped up, showed out and made us proud. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”