Wendell L. Wray
Wendell L. Wray | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | January 30, 1926 |
| Died | August 24, 2003 (aged 77) |
| Education | |
| Occupation(s) | Librarian, educator |
Wendell L. Wray (January 30, 1926 – August 24, 2003) was an American librarian and educator who was dedicated to preserving African-American history through oral history. He was a professor at the University of Pittsburgh from 1973 to 1988, with a break from 1981 to 1983 while he served as the director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.
Early life and education
[edit]Wendell Leonard Wray was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on January 30, 1926.[1] He grew up in the Beltzhoover neighborhood of Pittsburgh and attended South Hills High School.[2] He served in the U.S. Army and received an honorable discharge in 1946.[2] Receiving a scholarship under the G.I. Bill, he attended Bates College in Lewiston, Maine.[3] At Bates he was the poet laureate of his class; he graduated with a Bachelor's degree in psychology in 1950.[2]
He returned to Pittsburgh to attend the Carnegie Institute of Technology and became the first African-American man to graduate from that library school, earning his Master of Library Science in 1952.[3]
Work in libraries and education
[edit]Wray was the first African-American man to be hired by the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, where he worked for seven years, first in Adult Circulation and later in Public Affairs.[3][2]
In 1959 he moved to New York City.[3] Wray worked for fourteen years at branch libraries of the New York Public Library.[4] He directed the NYPL North Manhattan Library Project when it began in 1965 until 1973; the program provided financial support for additional staff and programming to better serve disadvantaged communities.[4][2][5]
Alex Haley, author of Roots, encouraged and financially supported Wray to study at the Columbia University's new oral history course in the summer of 1973.[6][2]
In 1973 Wray became a professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Library and Information Science.[4] That same year he received the school's Distinguished Alumnus Award.[3] Wray taught courses on library and information science basics like reference and collection development, as well as more specific areas like library services to the underserved, African-American bibliography, and oral history.[3] He retired from the University of Pittsburgh in 1988.[3]
Work at the Schomburg Center
[edit]From 1964 to 1965, Wray was the acting director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture during chief Jean Blackwell Hutson's leave of absence.[4] In that role, he planned the Schomburg archival conservation and restoration program and worked to establish an oral history program within the research center.[4]
In 1981 Wray was named chief of the Schomburg Center.[4] During his time as director of the Schomburg, the research center began displaying exhibits in a new gallery space and started The Schomburg Collection of Black Children's Literature and Materials.[7] Wray was criticized for hiring Robert C. Morris to be the head of the Center's rare books, manuscripts and archives;[8] activists protested the hiring of a white man to be the head archivist.[9] He resigned in March 1983.[8]
Later life and death
[edit]After retirement, he moved to Oakland, California, where he was an active member of two Episcopal parishes.[3][10] He lived in Oakland until his death on August 24, 2003, in San Francisco.[10]
References
[edit]- ^ Bleier, Carol (2001). Tradition in transition : a history of the School of Information Sciences, University of Pittsburgh. Scarecrow Press. p. 96. ISBN 9780810840881.
- ^ a b c d e f "Guide to the Wendell L. Wray Papers, 1885-2003 UA.90.F88". University of Pittsburgh University Library System. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Hart, Peter (11 September 2003). "Obituary: Wendell Leonard Wray". University Times. University of Pittsburgh. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f Fraser, C. Gerald (4 April 1981). "Schomburg Black Culture Center Names Wendell Wray as Chief". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
- ^ Young, Arthur P. (1988). American Library History: A Bibliography of Dissertations and Theses. Scarecrow Press. p. 105. ISBN 9780810821385.
- ^ "Vital Stats". Bates Magazine. Summer 2004.
- ^ The legacy of Arthur A. Schomburg : a celebration of the past, a vision for the future ; an exhibition at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture October 23, 1986-March 28, 1987. Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. 1986. p. 15. ISBN 0871042991.
- ^ a b "The City: Schomburg Center Loses Its Chief". The New York Times. 10 March 1983. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
- ^ "The City: 2 Black Activists Seized in Protest". The New York Times. 19 November 1982. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
- ^ a b "Wendell Leonard Wray". East Bay Times. 31 August 2003. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
- African-American librarians
- American librarians
- 20th-century African-American academics
- 20th-century American academics
- 20th-century American educators
- 1926 births
- 2003 deaths
- Bates College alumni
- University of Pittsburgh alumni
- Carnegie Mellon University alumni
- People from Pittsburgh
- Academics from Oakland, California
- Educators from New York City
- Educators from California
- Educators from Pennsylvania
- United States Army personnel of World War II
- African Americans in World War II
- African-American United States Army personnel