Willa Beatrice Player
Willa Beatrice Player (August 9, 1909 – August 29, 2003) was an American educator, college administrator, college president, civil rights activist, and federal appointee. Player was the first African-American woman to become president of a four-year, fully accredited liberal arts college when she took the position at Bennett College in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Willa Beatrice Player | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 9, 1909 Jackson, Mississippi, United States |
| Died | August 29, 2003 (aged 93) Greensboro, North Carolina, United States |
| Occupation(s) | Educator, college president, civil rights activist |
| Parent(s) | Clarence C. Player Beatrice Day Player |
| Relatives | Edith Player Brown (sister) Linda Beatrice Brown (niece) |
In her career at Bennett College, Player had served as a teacher and then in progressively responsible administrator positions. From 1955 to 1966, Player served as president of the historically black college, during a period of heightened civil rights activism in the South. She supported Bennett students who took part in the lengthy sit-ins started by the Greensboro Four to achieve integration of lunch counters in downtown stores.
Player had a strong education, earning a BA degree from Ohio Wesleyan College, a Master's from Oberlin College, a Certificat d'Études at University of Grenoble in France, and a PhD from Columbia University. After leaving the Bennett presidency, Player was appointed in 1966 by President Lyndon B. Johnson as the first female Director of the Division of College Support in the United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare, serving until 1986.