Inez Beverly Prosser - Education and Work Experience

Education and Work Experience

All the Beverly children were encouraged by their parents, and aided by Prosser, who helped fund the education of several of them, Prosser’s siblings all graduated high school and six of them, including Prosser, eventually received college degrees. Her academic achievements were impressive. Prosser graduated at the top of her class from both her high school and from Prairie View Normal College. Then, Prosser became an assistant principal at Clayton Industrial School in Manor, Texas, before accepting a more long-term position at Anderson High School. Throughout her time at Anderson, she taught English and coached for the Interscholastic League, an organization that sponsored events for Black high school students throughout the state.

After receiving her bachelor’s degree in 1924 and receiving top honors and several awards for her accomplishments, she transferred to the University of Colorado to get her master’s degree in psychology and went on to the University of Cincinnati, where she made history when she became one of the first African-American women to receive a PhD in psychology in 1933. Prosser went on to finish her master’s degree at the University of Colorado because during the 1920s, graduate school for African-Americans in Texas was unlikely. Nonetheless this time the University’s attitude towards students of color was described as a "passive egalitarianism in a racially segregated society". At the University, Prosser took several courses that were particularly relevant to her master’s thesis whose subject areas include mental tests, tests and measurement, and research methods. Her thesis, "The Comparative Reliability of Objective Tests in English Grammar", was to "investigate the reliability" of four kinds of English grammar test (using the standards proposed by the National Education Association) Her four test types included true-false, multiple choice, completion, and matching questions. All test covered the same subject areas and difficulty levels as well as comparable numbers of factual and reasoning questions.

Upon receiving her master’s degree, Prosser left Anderson High School in 1927 to accept a position as a faculty member at Tillotson College, a Black college in Austin. At Tillotson, she not only displayed her teaching and leadership skills but truly dedicated herself to the educational and psychological development of Black students. At Tillotson, she was given the opportunity to organize a series of lectures from 1929 to 1930, which even featured a lecture by George Washington Carver. Overall, Prosser was at Tillotson College from 1921 to 1930, serving as "Dean, Registrar and Professor of Education. pg. 10 Her influences extended well beyond the classroom walls or administrative offices. Prosser was eventually transferred to another dual teaching and administrative position at Tougaloo College in Tougaloo, Mississippi. Even as Dean and Registrar of Tougaloo College, Prosser accepted the position as Principal of Tougaloo High School. Her career took an important turn when she applied for and was awarded aid from the General Education Board (established by John D. Rockefeller in 1902). In her application, she noted, "I am interested in that type of research which will lead to better teaching in elementary and high schools". She received $1,000 to apply towards another year of graduate studies.

Because of lack of records on Prosser it was hard to find any mentors who she may have had at the time. But Warren states that, “Prosser was mentored closely by her Doctoral adviser and developed a close friendship with them”

Prosser worked professionally throughout her pursuit of higher education. She held positions at many schools, and not only taught, but also became assistant principal. Although racial discrimination was rampant, Prosser continued to accept minimal wages for work that rivaled or exceeded that of her white colleagues. In Prosser’s case, according to Warren, “ Although, her dissertation research was in psychology, her doctoral mentor and other members of her committee were psychologists, and much of her coursework was in psychology, she is often denied her well-deserved title of psychologist” Prosser’s life was ended tragically by a car accident in 1934. If her life had not ended so soon, it is hard telling how many more contributions to Psychology she would have made.