Dr. Mary Frances Berry to Deliver Feller Lecture

Join us for the Feller Lecture featuring Dr. Mary Frances Berry, who will discuss her service as a Commissioner and Chair of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights; as Assistant Secretary of Education in the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare; and her time as a leader in higher education at the University of Maryland and as Chancellor of the University of Colorado, Boulder. Dr. Berry also served as interim chair of UMD's Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences, what is now the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences.

About Dr. Berry

A world-renowned activist and pioneer in championing racial and gender equality and rights, Dr. Mary Frances Berry joined the University of Maryland (UMD) in 1970, where she served as  Director of Afro-American Studies from 1970 to 1974. In 1974, Dr. Berry was appointed to lead the Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences (1974-1976), becoming the first African-American woman at the University of Maryland to hold such a senior executive position. Subsequently, her appointment in 1976 as Chancellor of the University of Colorado at Boulder distinguished her as the first woman at the head of a major research university.

Dr. Berry’s exceptional record of achievement continued at the US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW), where she was Assistant Secretary (1977-1980).  In 1980, she joined the US Civil Rights Commission where she was appointed Chairwoman (1993-2004).  In 1984, Dr. Berry co-founded the Free South Africa Movement (FSAM), cited as one of the determining factors in bringing an end to apartheid.  For her contributions to the realization of this historic achievement, she was named one of the recipients of the Nelson Mandela Award from the South African Government in 2013.

The scale of Dr. Berry's contributions in the public and academic spheres are amply evident as she is the recipient of an array of honors and awards; among them, the John Lewis Award for History and Social Justice from the American Historical Association, 37 honorary degrees; the Ebony Magazine Black Achievement Award; the NAACP Roy Wilkins Award; the Rosa Parks Award of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference; the Roy Rosenzweig Distinguished Service Award of the Organization of American Historians; and the distinction of being named one of "America's Women of the Century" by Sienna College Research Institute and the Women's Hall of Fame.

In addition to her efforts to combat injustice and inequality through her work in public service, Dr. Berry has authored and co-authored publications on these subjects, with a specific focus on civil rights, democracy, and the black experience, highlighting further the urgency required in addressing these crucial issues.

Since 1987, Dr. Berry has been the Geraldine R. Segal Professor of American Social Thought and Professor History at the University of Pennsylvania, where she is advisor to students in African American History and Legal History, and teaches courses on US Legal History; History of Law and Social and Policy; and Law and Social Change in Modern America.

About the Feller Lecture

The Feller Lecture was established via a generous donation from alumni Joel J. Feller, GVPT ’90, and Kim A. Feller, ’89, longtime supporters of the University of Maryland and of the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences. 

Published on Tue, Feb 14, 2023 - 1:39PM