ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Sondra Barber Akins was one of very few African Americans and women who pursued science studies in the 1960s. Having come of age during the Civil Rights Era in Winston-Salem, NC, she received her B.S. in chemistry from the University of California at Berkeley in 1967. She earned graduate degrees at Florida State University (M.S., 1968) and at Columbia University (Ed. D., 1993). She had a long career in diverse regions of the country (forty-two years in schools, colleges, and universities, a short stint in industry, and first job as a technician at Berkeley.). She has published in science education literature and her life story is archived in the HistoryMakers videotaped collection in the Library of Congress. Married since her undergraduate years to a fellow chemist and professor, Dr. Daniel Akins, she has had the rewarding experience of integrating her studies and career with her family life in many interesting ways.