Joan Wallace Papers

Joan Edair Scott Wallace was born in Chicago to William Edouard Scott and Esther Fulks Scott in 1930. She attended Englewood High School and graduated in 1948 as salutatorian. In 1952, Wallace graduated from Bradley University with a bachelor’s degree in Sociology and went on to earn her master’s in Social Work from Columbia University in 1954. In 1973, Wallace completed her doctorate at Northwestern University studying Experimental Social Psychology.



In 1954, Wallace married John H. Wallace, with whom she would have three sons. In 1979, she married pastor and activist Maurice Dawkins and the two remained married until his death in 2001. In 2003, Wallace remarried her first husband, John Wallace.



Wallace worked in several universities. From 1967 to 1973, Wallace held the position of Associate Professor of Psychology and Social Work and Director of Undergraduate School of Social Work and Department of Psychology at the University of Illinois, Chicago. While on leave from the University of Illinois Chicago in 1970, she was Director of Afro American Studies and Associate Professor of Sociology and Psychology at Barat College. In 1973, Wallace was made Dean of Howard University’s School of Social Work. From 1975 to 1976, she served as the Deputy Executive Director for Programs of the National Urban League. For the next year, Wallace was Vice President of Administration at Morgan State University before becoming Director of the Western Michigan School of Social Work in 1977.



In 1977, Wallace was appointed by President Carter to be Assistant Secretary for Administration of the Department of Agriculture, the first African American and the third woman to hold that position. She served until 1981, after which she represented the United States on the Board of Directors of International Cooperation and Development. In 1989, President George H. W. Bush appointed her the Inter-American Institute for Co-operation on Agriculture (IICA) Diplomatic Representative in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, which she held until 1993. Retiring from government work in 1995, Wallace then became Chairman of Americans for Democracy in Africa, an organization that monitored elections in countries in Africa. In 1999, Wallace went to Florida International University as Professor and Associate Director of the School of Social Work. In 2000, Wallace served as Commissioner of Volunteer Florida, the governor’s Commission of Community Service.



Joan Wallace has earned honorary degrees from University of Maryland, Eastern Shore, Bowie State College, and Alabama A&M University.



Sources:

The History Makers. “Joan Scott Wallace.” August 31, 2004.

Sun Sentinel. “Rev. Maurice A. Dawkins, 80, Black Activist.” September 28, 2001.