Margaret E. M. Tolbert was born in Suffolk, Virginia at a time when rural Virginia was still very segregated. She and her siblings were raised by their grandmother within a large extended family. Growing up, Tolbert took cleaning jobs in her community to make money. In this way, she met Mr. and Mrs. Cook, who, as educated and relatively well-off African Americans, encouraged her to get a good education. Her high school had limited resources, but she found excellent mentors and graduated class valedictorian. She decided to attend Tuskegee University for her undergraduate degree, with the intention of entering medicine.
At Tuskegee, she was drawn to chemistry and research, a career path she had not been exposed to before. Though she was the only female student in her class, Tolbert found a community of supportive professors and students with an interest in her well-being. She went on to complete her master’s degree in chemistry at Wayne State University, but immediately returned to Tuskegee as a technician to be with her husband. She was interested in becoming a chemistry professor, so at the Cooks’ urging she applied to a Ph.D. program at Brown University, which was recruiting minority students. By this time, Tolbert’s first marriage had ended, and the Cooks cared for Tolbert’s son while she earned her degree. At Brown, she met her second husband, Henry Hudson Tolbert. After completing her doctorate, Tolbert returned to Tuskegee as a faculty member, but soon took guest research and management positions at the University of Texas, Florida A&M University, and Brown University. She also completed a postdoctorate in Brussels, Belgium, where her Congolese colleagues were fascinated by her African-American heritage.
While Tolbert had intended to stay in research, she found herself drawn to management positions. In 1979, she took the opportunity to become the first woman director of the Carver Research Foundation at Tuskegee University. In this position, she oversaw institutional development in the university’s research programs, but she also traveled to affiliated institutions as far away as Liberia and Libya. After almost a decade at the Carver Research Foundation, she went to Standard Oil of Ohio on sabbatical. From that point onward, she transitioned permanently to science management positions, working for BP America, the National Science Foundation, Argonne National Laboratory, and the New Brunswick Laboratory. In these positions, her responsibilities included overseeing development, funding, and diversity-based initiatives.
Tolbert is currently at the National Science Foundation, funding programs and developing policy focused on increasing diversity in science and technology. During the interview she spoke repeatedly about the importance of mentoring, and the opportunities networking provides to develop mentors, colleagues, and future opportunities. She concludes the interview by giving young women the advice to get a strong math/science background, and to make informed decisions. She also speaks to the unique ability of minority-serving institutions to provide an education while still cultivating the whole student.
Tuskegee Institute, Tuskegee, Alabama
1969
Biomedical Research Technician
Tuskegee Institute, Tuskegee, Alabama
1969 - 1970
Instructor of Mathematics
Tuskegee Institute, Tuskegee, Alabama
1973 - 1976
Assistant Professor of Chemistry; Associate Professor of Chemistry; Professor of Chemistry
Tuskegee Institute, Tuskegee, Alabama
1980 - 1988
Professor of Chemistry
Opportunities Industrialization Center, Providence, Rhode Island
1971 - 1972
Instructor (Night Classes) of Mathematics and Science
Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island
1973
Instructor of Chemistry for Transitional Program
Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island
1978 - 1979
Associate Professor of Medical Science & MARC Faculty Fellow
in Research
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California
1974
Research Associate in the Biomedical Institute
Southern Vocational College, Tuskegee, Alabama
1974
Instructor of Biology and Mathematics
University of Texas Medical School at Houston, Houston, Texas
1977
Visiting Scientist
Florida A&M University, Tallahassee, Florida
1977
Researcher
Florida A&M University, Tallahassee, Florida
1977 - 1979
Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Florida A&M University, Tallahassee, Florida
1977 - 1979
Associate Dean of the School of Pharmacy
International Institute of Cellular & Molecular Pathology, Brussels, Belgium
1977 - 1978
Guest Research Scientist & MARC Faculty Fellow
Carver Research Foundation of Tuskegee Institute, Tuskegee, Alabama
1979 - 1988
Director and Associate Provost for Research and Outreach, later named Associate Provost for Research and Development
University of Alabama System, Tuscaloosa/Huntsville/Birmingham, Alabama
1982 - 1983
Member of the Board of Trustees of the University of Alabama System
Birmingham Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Birmingham, Alabama
1985 - 1987
Director of the Birmingham Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta; Chair of the Birmingham Branch
BP America, Inc, Research Center at Warrensville Heights, Ohio
1988 - 1990
Senior Budgets and Control Analyst
BP America, Inc, Research Center at Warrensville Heights, Ohio
1988 - 1990
Senior Planner
National Science Foundation, Washington, D.C.
1990 - 1993
Program Director; Special Assistant to the Vice Chair of the Committee on Education and Training of the Federal Coordinating Council for Science, Engineering, and Technology
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, Maryland
1994
Program Officer for International Programs
Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois
1994 - 1996
Director of the Division of Educational Programs
The New Brunswick Laboratory/U.S. Department of Energy, Argonne, Illinois
1996 - 2002
Director
Office of Laboratory Operations and Environment, Safety and Health (SC-80) in the Office of Science/U.S. Department of Energy
2001
Acting Associate Director
National Science Foundation, Arlington, Virginia
2002 - present
Senior Advisor (Senior Executive Service)
National Science Foundation, Arlington, Virginia
2002 - present
Director, Science and Technology Centers Integrative Partnerships Program, FY 2005/FY 2006 Cohort
National Science Foundation, Arlington, Virginia
2002 - present
Executive Liaison, Committee on equal Opportunities in Science and Engineering
Title and Description Page
Childhood 1
Born in rural Virginia. Segregation. Family background. Mother’s death. Living with grandmother. Household chores. Joining Girl Scouts. Earning money. “Momma” and “Daddy” Cook. Segregated schools. Limited scientific equipment. Strong mentors.
College Years 12
Tuskegee University. Scholarships. Lack of women in chemistry
department. Summer research internships. Strong student and faculty
mentoring. Decision to become a chemist.
Graduate Years 20
Master’s degree at Wayne State University. First marriage. Return to
Tuskegee. Technician job. Birth of son. Faculty position in math
department, but not chemistry. Brown University recruiter. Doctorate
degree at Brown University. Affirmative action. Second marriage.
Early Career 28
Chemistry faculty at Tuskegee. Visiting researcher in at Florida A&M
University and University of Texas. End of second marriage. Prioritizing her son’s education. Postdoctorate in Belgium. First woman director of Carver Research Foundation. Board of Trustees at University of Alabama and Federal Reserve Branch. Travel to Africa.
Later Career 44
Sabbatical at Standard Oil of Ohio. Highest-ranking African-American woman at BP America. Importance of family ties. Temporary positions at NSF. Power of networking. Argonne National Laboratory. New Brunswick Laboratory. Return to NSF.
Reflection and Advice to Young Women 68
Importance of strong math and science background. Taking informed risks. Importance of networking and mentors. Societal need for minority-serving institutions.
Index 70