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• 1 2015-12-30T14:03:39-08:00 Carrie Halsell, OSU's First African American Graduate 62 DeLana Wolfe and Chelsea Young image_header 2016-01-28T12:31:59-08:00 Carrie Beatrice Halsell Ward is Oregon State University’s first known African American graduate. In 2002 the university named a residence hall, Halsell Hall, in her honor. Halsell Hall took two years to complete; it has four stories, is L shaped, and houses about 210 students. (1) The university committee that proposed “Halsell” as the name for the hall was looking for a student from a traditionally under-represented group, specifically a “trail-blazer” that “had to overcome barriers to gain an education and who subsequently opened up opportunities for other students to achieve success.” (2) Carrie Halsell not only met this criteria, she exemplified it.
  
  Halsell was born in Boulder, Colorado, October 26, 1903, to William and Bessie Hall. In 1912, she and her family moved to Salem, Oregon, and in June 1921, she graduated from Salem High School. The next year the family relocated to Portland and in September of that year she enrolled at Oregon State University, then known as Oregon Agricultural College. (3) From 1922 until her graduation in 1926, Halsell averaged 15-19 credits per term and maintained a “B” average. She graduated with a B.A. of Science degree in Commerce. (4) After graduating, she moved to the East Coast and throughout her career worked in various positions at institutions of higher education. She first worked as an assistant to the registrar and later an instructor at Virginia State University (VSU). In 1932, she met and married Louis M. Ward and they moved to Oklahoma where she continued work as a teacher. The couple then moved to Orangeburg, South Carolina, and in 1945 she began a position as a faculty member in Business Administration at South Carolina State University (SCSU), where she worked until her retirement in 1968.
  
  Throughout her career Halsell both continued pursing her educationand gave back to her community. In 1949 she earned a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from New York University and worked with African-American sororities at both VSU and SCSU. Halsell outlived her husband and lived to the age of 85, passing away in July of 1989. (5) Because of her outstanding commitment to earn an education and share her knowledge, in 2011 President Ed Ray described Halsell as a role model for students when he said, “The challenge to each of us is to demonstrate the kind of courage and fortitude that Carrie Halsell surely did and for us to take up the dream, own it and do all we can to advance its realization.” (6)
  
  
  
  
  Photos and Sources Cited
   
• 1 2015-12-30T14:05:17-08:00 William Tebeau, OSU's First Male African American Graduate 12 William Tebeau Hall // 1351 SW Washington Ave image_header 2016-01-11T15:26:59-08:00 Life was not easy for African Americans in the 1940s, yet William “Bill”
  Tebeau (pronounced “tee-bow”) proved that one could overcome any odds
  with hard work and perseverance. Known to be the first African American
  male to graduate from OSU, then known as Oregon State College (OSC),
  Tebeau was well regarded for his unwavering dedication and kind spirit. (1)
  
  Born to Henry and Frances Tebeau of Baker City, Oregon, on November
  23, 1925, Tebeau worked hard throughout his early academic career
  in order to achieve his dream of attending OSC. After graduating high
  school in 1943, Tebeau was accepted to study Chemical Engineering.
  Unfortunately, Tebeau encountered difficulties his first day on campus
  when he was refused a dorm room due to the color of his skin. (2) Tebeau
  had not mentioned his ethnicity on his application and upon learning the
  truth, administrators suggested he try attending the University of Oregon
  instead. Tebeau was adamant, however, and refused to leave, and instead,
  found lodging and work at a nearby fraternity, where he was given a
  room in the basement. (3)
  
  Despite the housing issue, Tebeau found his time at OSC to be both educational and enjoyable. (4) An Eagle Scout, Tebeau, served as a member of the first ever Alpha Phi Omega chapter on campus, a fraternity for former and current Boy Scouts of America, belonged to the prestigious math organization on campus, Pi Mu Epsilon, and as an avid trumpet and violin player joined the OSC marching band and played for the KOAC radio station’s studio band. (5)
  
  Upon his graduation in 1948, Tebeau discovered that few jobs existed for
  Black chemical engineers in the western United States. Wanting to remain
  in Oregon, Tebeau earned his license as a civil engineer and went to work
  for the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), then known as the
  Oregon State Highway Department. (6) There, Tebeau would work for over
  30 years providing excellent expertise in construction, surveying, and city
  planning. In addition to his work at ODOT, Tebeau taught as a part-time
  engineering professor at Chemeketa Community College in Salem, Oregon. (7)
  
  Tebeau was a highly commended and appreciated member of his community,
  and received many accolades throughout his lifetime. For his dedicated
  work as a civil engineer and teacher, Tebeau was named Teacher of the Year
  at Chemeketa Community College in 1970 and the State of Oregon’s Employee
  of the Year in 1971. Prior to his death in 2013, Tebeau was awarded the first
  ever Oregon Northwest Black Pioneers Trailblazer Award and was inducted
  into the OSU Engineering Hall of Fame in 2010. (8)
  
  In October 2014, OSU hosted the dedication ceremony for its new residence
  hall, Tebeau Hall. Tebeau’s family shared stories of his hard work and love for
  OSU and encouraged others to apply Bill Tebeau’s motto to their own lives:
  “Make it a great day!” (9)