Martha Lucas Pate

Martha Bob Lucas Pate (November 27, 1912 - May 16, 1983) was a Kentucky-born administrator of colleges and organizations dedicated to international affairs, education, humanitarian aid, and religion. She was best known for her tenure as the fourth president of Sweet Briar College from 1946 to 1950. After the Board of the college refused to integrate the school in 1949, she left to become active in the United Negro College Fund, the Foreign Policy Association, the Council on Religion and International Affairs, the Fund for Theological Education, the Institute for International Education, the Fund for Peace, and the New York Medical College, to name a few. She spent the last few years of her life lobbying against nuclear weapons. Early life Martha Lucas was born in Louisville, Kentucky, on November 27, 1912. Her father, Robert H. Lucas, was a lawyer who briefly served as the United States Commissioner of Internal Revenue (1929–1930). He was also an executive director of the Republican National Committee, and unsuccessful candidate for the U.S. Senate in 1936. Lucas spoke of highly of her father in interviews and in writing over the years, referring to him as "a political leader." Her mother was Gertrude Lasch Lucas. Lucas attended J.M. Atherton High School - a high school for women - in Louisville, graduating in 1929. Lucas began her college studies at Vassar College in 1931, but transferred to Goucher College, graduating from there in 1933 with honors and a degree in English. She earned her master's degree in Philosophy in 1935 from George Washington University. From 1935 to 1939 Lucas traveled extensively in Europe, studying at the Alliance Francaise and at Sorbonne University in Paris. In 1940 she received her Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of London, having enjoyed studying with students from all over the world. Her years abroad and the friendships she made there significantly influenced her devotion to global issues for the rest of her life. Career In 1941, at age 28, Lucas landed her first professional employment as dean of students and associate professor of philosophy and religion at Westhampton College, which was a part of the University of Richmond in Richmond, Virginia. Westhampton was dedicated to the education of women, as was Sweet Briar College where Lucas would continue her administrative career. Lucas was hired during the tenure of Dean May Keller, who like Lucas had also graduated from Goucher and earned her Ph.D. abroad.