Sadie Gasaway

Sadie Catherine Gasaway (October 6, 1916 – June 23, 1976) was an American mathematician. She was the fifth African American woman to receive a PhD in Mathematics from an American university.^[1][2] She received her degree in 1961 from Cornell University, dedicating her life to researching mathematics education.^[3]

Gasaway was born in Memphis, Tennessee, to Benjamin Toliver and Elnora Bias Gasaway. Her father, a railway mail clerk, died early in her childhood, leaving her mother to take on a teaching position in the Memphis City School System and assume full responsibility for Gasaway and her siblings. Gasaway attended private high school in Memphis, studying and growing an interest in mathematics.^[3]

After graduating, Gasaway attended Lemoyne-Owen College (formerly Lemoyne College), a private historically black college and university in Memphis, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics in 1937. At Lemoyne-Owen, Gasaway joined the Beta Epsilon Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha, maintaining her membership throughout her time in academia at different institutions. In 1942, Gasaway received a Masters of Arts in Mathematics from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (formerly University of Illinois), and in 1961, Gasaway received her Doctor of Philosophy degree in Mathematics from Cornell University. Her dissertation focused on "The Effectiveness Of Continued Testing In Mathematics Of Freshman Of Varying Proficiencies At Tennessee Agricultural And Industrial State University."^[3] Dr. L. B. Hixon, the Chairman of the Cornell Graduate Committee helped assist Gasaway as she conducted her dissertation, as did Dr. D. J. McCarthy, Dr. R. P. Agnew, and Dr. H. A. Geiselmann, who were members of the committee.

For eight years after obtaining her undergraduate degree, Gasaway worked alongside her mother in the Memphis Area City and County School System as a teacher and later becoming an administrator for secondary schooling of mathematics and science.^[3] She then transitioned into higher education in 1945, taking a teaching position at Tennessee State University (formerly Agricultural and Industrial State College), where she spent the remainder of her career.

At Tennessee State University, Gasaway held multiple titles. She held the title of an Associate Professor for eighteen years, served as the coordinator of the curriculum for the mathematics and physics department for brief periods, and was noted as an honorary faculty member on numerous occasions.^[4][5] In 1963, two years after earning her doctorate degree, Gasaway was promoted to Professor.^[6] In 1971, she became the head of the mathematics and physics department, an incredible achievement at the time as an African American woman working in higher education. She was very involved in student life and planned freshman orientation week as a committee member for the program.^[7]

Gasaway's research throughout her career focused primarily on mathematical curriculums and understanding the teaching of mathematics. Her dissertation incorporated research done as an associate professor, which focused on finding a solution to a growing pattern she noticed of an increasing mathematic deficiency in adolescents.^[3]

Gasaway worked to create a more imaginative approach to mathematics that adapted to a new age of education and technology. In 1972, she co-authored a chapter on business mathematics titled "Changing Methods of Teaching Business Subjects".^[8] The research focused on student output, arguing teachers need to train students for the future and to search for the "why" in every answer, not just the answer itself. The research made note that learning is an adaptive process shared between a student and teacher. Continuing her interest in advancing education, Gasaway also attended a national conference that same year that worked to improve curriculums in Historically Black College and Universities.^[9]

Gasaway wrote the original mathematics curriculum of Tennessee State University's Upward Bound, a federally funded program for underprivileged high school students to help their STEM educational development and realize their potential in these fields.^[10] This program is still active today as one of over 800 throughout the country.

As a professor, she was a member of the Mathematical Association of America, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, and in the Tennessee Association of University Women.^[11]

After Gasaway's death, the Sadie C. Gasaway Memorial Award was named in her honor. This award is given annually to a graduating student at Tennessee State University majoring in Math that has shown great scholarship.^[10]

Gasaway was a devout Christian and an active member of the St. John A.M.E Church in Nashville. She had a very close relationship with her mother and sister, working alongside her mother as a secondary school teacher and alongside her sister as a professor.^[12] As a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, she received a sorority award during the April 1968 founders day.^[13] She was also a member of the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA), and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Nashville chapter, of which she was chairman of the 1976 freedom fund banquet.

Gasaway died unexpectedly on June 23, 1976, from pneumonia.^[10]