Ruby Pernell

Ruby Pernell
A middle-aged Black woman, smiling, wearing a dark top with a light collar, and button earrings
Ruby Pernell, from a 1963 publication of the US Department of State
Born1917 (1917)
Birmingham, Alabama
Died2001 (aged 83–84)
Cleveland, Ohio
OccupationsSocial worker, college professor, foreign service attaché

Ruby Beatrice Pernell (1917 – February 4, 2001) was a professor of social work who served as a faculty member at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities and Case Western Reserve University. In 1963, she was appointed social work attaché at the US Embassy in India.

Early life and education

Pernell was born in Birmingham, Alabama and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She graduated from Schenley High School. She earned a BS in biology from the University of Pittsburgh in 1939, and stayed to earn a Master of Social Work degree in 1944. She completed doctoral studies in social administration at the University of London in 1959, with a dissertation titled "A Study of Interpersonal Relationships Between Adolescent Members of a Youth Club and Their Leaders, with Special Reference to the Nature of the Factors Determining Such Relationships".

Career

Pernell directed the James Weldon Johnson Camp Association in 1945, for the Urban League of Pittsburgh. She was the first African American faculty member when she was hired by the University of Minnesota as an instructor of social work in 1948; she became associate professor in 1953, and was promoted to professor rank in 1960. Pernell was the first African-American to earn tenure at the University of Minnesota. In 1963, Pernell was appointed social welfare attaché to the American embassy in New Delhi.

In 1968, Pernell was named the Grace Longwell Coyle Professor in Social Work at Case Western Reserve University. From 1973 to 1974, she was acting dean of the School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western. She retired as professor emerita from Case Western in 1983.

Publications

Personal life and legacy

Pernell died in Cleveland in 2001. Her papers are housed in the University of Minnesota's Social Welfare History Archives.

References

  1. ↑ "NASW Social Work Pioneers". NASW Foundation. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
  2. ↑ "Charles P. Pernell, Operated Hill District Print Shop 50 Years". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 1978-04-25. p. 22. Retrieved 2022-01-11 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ "Girls Assist Needy Folks". The Pittsburgh Courier. 1932-01-09. p. 16. Retrieved 2022-01-11 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. 1 2 3 Janice Andrews (2001), "A Life Fully Lived: A Narrative Interview with Social Group Worker Ruby Pernell" Reflections: Narratives of Professional Helping 7(3): 34-48.
  5. 1 2 Johnson, Toki Schalk (1964-01-18). "Dr. Ruby B. Pernell Becomes Attache in Indian Embassy". The Pittsburgh Courier. p. 7. Retrieved 2022-01-11 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ Pernell, Ruby Beatrice. "A Study of Interpersonal Relationships Between Adolescent Members of a Youth Club and Their Leaders, with Special Reference to the Nature of the Factors Determining Such Relationships." PhD diss., University of London (London School of Economics), 1959.
  7. ↑ "Urban Camp". California Eagle. 1945-06-07. p. 11. Retrieved 2022-01-11 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. 1 2 "The First Black Faculty Members at the Nation's 50 Flagship State Universities". Journal of Blacks in Higher Education: 123–124. 2003. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  9. ↑ "2 Deans Head Promotions Listed by 'U'". The Minneapolis Star. 1953-06-16. p. 21. Retrieved 2022-01-11 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "Key Events in Black Higher Education: JBHE Chronology of Major Landmarks in the Progress of African Americans in Higher Education". The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
  11. 1 2 Holschlag, Judith (1963-10-09). "'U' Professor Will be U.S. Embassy Attache in India". Star Tribune. p. 12. Retrieved 2022-01-11 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "Social Welfare Attaché". Department of State News Letter: 60. September 1963 – via Internet Archive.
  13. ↑ "Did You Know: Ruby B. Pernell". The Daily. 2019-03-19. Retrieved 2022-01-11.
  14. ↑ Joe, Richard (July 25, 2020). "Ruby Pernell". Women's Activism NYC. Retrieved 2022-01-11.
  15. ↑ Pernell, Ruby B. (1957-01-01). "Professional and Volunteer Workers in Traditional Youth-Serving Agencies". Social Work. 2 (1): 63–67. doi:10.1093/sw/2.1.63. ISSN 0037-8046.
  16. ↑ Pernell, Ruby B. (April 1977). "Mediation of Differences Among Groups". International Social Work. 20 (2): 22–29. doi:10.1177/002087287702000205. ISSN 0020-8728. S2CID 143770494.
  17. ↑ Glasser, Paul H.; Mayadas, Nazneen Sada (1986). Group Workers at Work: Theory and Practice in the '80s. Government Institutes. ISBN 978-0-86598-160-7.
  18. ↑ Pernell, Ruby (1991), "Maximizing the Potential of the Social Group Work Method", Theory and Practice in Social Group Work: Creative Connections, Routledge, pp. 39–52, doi:10.4324/9781315792835-4, ISBN 978-1-315-79283-5, S2CID 199156531, retrieved 2022-01-11
  19. ↑ "NASW Social Work Pioneers". NASW Foundation. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
  20. ↑ Bailey, Darlyne (2013-06-11). "Pernell, Ruby B." Encyclopedia of Social Work. doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780199975839.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-997583-9. Retrieved 2022-01-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: periodical has ISBN (link)
  21. ↑ "Collection: Ruby Pernell papers". University of Minnesota Archival Collections Guides. Retrieved 2022-01-11.