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Grace Alele-Williams

From Wikipedia
Grace Alele-Williams
human
Ein sex anaa genderfemale Edit
Ein country of citizenshipNigeria Edit
Name in native languageGrace Alele-Williams Edit
Birth nameGrace Awani Alele Edit
Name wey dem give amGrace Edit
Family nameWilliams Edit
Ein date of birth16 December 1932 Edit
Place dem born amWarri Edit
Date wey edie25 March 2022 Edit
Place wey edieLagos Edit
SpouseBabatunde A. Williams Edit
Languages edey speak, rep anaa signEnglish Edit
Ein occupationmathematician, university teacher, vice-chancellor Edit
Ein field of workacademy, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics Edit
EmployerUniversity of Lagos, University of Vermont, Hussey College Warri, University of Ibadan, University of Benin (Nigeria) Edit
Position eholdvice-chancellor Edit
Educate forUniversity of Chicago, University of Vermont, University of Ibadan, University of London, Queen's College, Lagos Edit
Academic degreeDoctor of Philosophy, master's degree Edit
Academic thesisDynamics of Education in the Birth of a New Nation: Case Study Of Nigeria Edit
Award e receiveOfficer of the Order of the Niger, Civil Division Edit
Personal pronounL484 Edit

Grace Awani Alele-Williams OON, FMAN, FNAE (16 December 1932 – 25 March 2022) be Nigerian professor wey know mathematics education.[1][2] She make history as de first Nigerian woman wey get doctorate,[3][4] wey she be de first female vice-chancellor for any Nigerian university,[5][6] for University of Benin.[7][8][9]

Early life den education

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DEm born Grace Awani Alele to Itsekiri parents wey dey Warri, Western Region (wey today be Delta State), Nigeria on 16 December 1932.[10][11] She go Government School for Warri, later Queen's College for Lagos, den University College of Ibadan (wey dem dey call University of Ibadan now).[12] She get master’s degree for mathematics while she dey teach Queen’s School, Ede for Osun State around 1957. Later, she bag ein PhD degree for mathematics education from University of Chicago for U.S. insyd 1963.[13] Na so she cam be de first Nigerian woman wey collect doctorate.[14] Grace Alele marry later dat same year wey people begin know am as Grace Alele-Williams.[15] After dat, she return Nigeria do sam postdoctoral work for University of Ibadan before she join University of Lagos insyd 1965.[16]

Career

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Alele-Williams teaching career start for Queen’s School, Ede, Osun State, wer she teach mathematics from 1954 reach 1957.[17] After dat, she go University of Vermont to work as graduate assistant, wey later she cam be assistant professor.[18] From 1963 reach 1965, Alele-Williams do postdoctoral research fellowship for Department and Institute of Education, University of Ibadan. Na from der dem later appoint am as professor of mathematics for University of Lagos insyd 1976.[19]

She get special interest for women education.[20] As she spend ten years directing de Institute of Education, she introduce new non-degree programmes wey allow older women wey dey work as elementary school teachers to collect certificate. Alele-Williams always show concern make female African students fit get chance for science den technology subjects.[21] Ein interest for mathematics education start wen she dey stay for US, around de time wey Sputnik matter dey happen.[22] As she dey work plus African Mathematics Program for Newton, Massachusetts, under MIT professor Ted Martins, she join mathematics workshops wey dem hold for different African cities from 1963 reach 1975.[23] Highlights include writing textbooks den correspondence courses wey cover basic mathematics concepts, as she work together plus top mathematicians den educators.[24] One example be de book Modern Mathematics Handbook for Teachers wey dem publish insyd 1974.[25] She teach for University of Lagos from 1965 till 1985, wey she spend ten years directing de Institute of Education. For der she introduce new non-degree programmes, wey chaw of de people wey collect certificate be older women wey dey work as elementary school teachers.[26] By serving on different committees den boards, Alele-Williams contribute well to development of education for Nigeria.[27] She be chairman for curriculum review committee for former Bendel State from 1973 to 1979.[28][29] From 1979 till 1985, she serve as chairman for Lagos State curriculum review committee den sanso Lagos State examinations boards.[30]

Alele-Williams cam be vice-chancellor for University of Benin insyd 1985, wey make am de first female vice-chancellor for any Nigerian university.[31] She believe say ein appointment, wey end insyd 1992, be “test case to show say woman fit get executive capability”.[32]

Alele-Williams be strong force for reform during de Dark Age of Nigeria higher education for 1980s.[33] Dat time, secret cults, confraternities den societies spread insyd Nigerian universities, especially University of Benin.[34] She still manage make notable contributions to tackle de matter.

After she fini dey serve as vice-chancellor for University of Benin, Alele-Williams join board of directors for Chevron-Texaco Nigeria. She sanso dey board of HIP Asset Management Company Limited, wey be asset management company for Lagos, Nigeria.[35]

Alele-Williams be member of governing council for UNESCO Institute of Education.[1] She sanso work as consultant for UNESCO den Institute of International Education Planning.[36] For ten years (1963–1973), she dey part of African Mathematics Programme wey dey Newton, Massachusetts, United States. She be vice-president for World Organisation for Early Childhood Education, den later she cam be president for Nigeria chapter.[29] She sanso be first president for African Mathematical Union Commission on Women in Mathematics.

She sanso serve ten years (1993–2004) as regional vice-president for Africa for de Third World Organization for Women in Science.[37]

Personal life den death

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Alele-Williams marry Babatunde Abraham Williams (1932–2010) for December 1963, just small time after she return from United States come Nigeria.[38] Williams be political scientist wey, for de time wey dem marry, dey work as senior lecturer for University of Ife, Osun State.[39]

Alele-Williams get five kiddies, den by 2017 she get ten grandkiddies.[40] She go meet ein Maker on 25 March 2022 wen she be 89 years old. De next day, University of Benin lower dema flag half-mast to show respect wey dem mourn ein death.[41]

Awards

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Alele-Williams collect plenty awards den honours. For 1987 she receive Order of the Niger. Dem sanso elect am as Fellow for Mathematical Association of Nigeria den Fellow for Nigerian Academy of Education.[42]

On 28 February 2014, she be among de 100 people wey collect Centenary Award, wey dem call “special recognition” for Nigerians wey make unique contribution to de socio-cultural, economic den political development of de country for de last 100 years.[43]

She dey insyd one deck of playing cards wey show notable women mathematicians, wey Association of Women in Mathematics publish.[44]

Publications

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  • "Dynamics of Curriculum Change in Mathematics" – Lagos State Modern Mathematics Project[45]
  • "Education of Women for National Development"[46]
  • "Report: The Entebbe Mathematics Project"[47]
  • "The development of a modern mathematics curriculum in Africa"[48]
  • "Education and Government in Northern Nigeria"[49]
  • "Education and Status of Nigerian Women"[50]
  • "Major Constraints to Women's Access to Higher Education in Africa"[51]
  • "The Politics of Administering a Nigerian University"[52]
  • "The Political Dilemma of Popular Education: An African Case"[53]

References

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  1. 1 2 Taire, Morenike (14 April 2018). "Grace Alele-Williams: Mathematician who dealt with cultism at UNIBEN". Vanguard. Lagos, Nigeria. Archived from the original on 23 May 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
  2. ↑ "Grace Alele, Role Model, Teacher, Professor, Doctor, Vice-chancellor, Warrior, Prominent Nigerian, Nigeria Personality Profiles". www.nigeriagalleria.com. Archived from the original on 29 April 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  3. ↑ Riddle, Larry (16 February 2022). "Grace Alele Williams". Biographies of Women Mathematicians. Agnes Scott College. Archived from the original on 22 February 2022. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  4. ↑ "5 women who have made their marks in education". www.pulse.ng. 8 March 2018. Archived from the original on 1 July 2022. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
  5. ↑ Quadri, Opeyemi (2024-06-30). "Full List of Female VC In Nigeria's Universities From 1985 To Date »" (in American English). Retrieved 2026-03-27.
  6. ↑ "First Female Vice Chancellor in Nigeria". Hintnaija. 12 April 2018. Archived from the original on 27 April 2021. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  7. ↑ Nkechi Nwankwo (2006), Women Leadership in Nigeria: Stories of Four Women Role Models, Lagos: Deutchetz Publishers. Review Archived 26 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine by Theresa Onwughalu in the Daily Sun, 25 July 2006.
  8. ↑ "Biographical sketches of famous African mathematicians: Grace Alele Williams", AMUCHMA Newsletter #12, African Mathematical Union, Commission on the History of Mathematics in Africa, 27 March 1994, archived from the original on 24 February 2020, retrieved 23 January 2010.
  9. ↑ "Prof. Mrs Grace Alele Williams OFR, HLR". Hallmarks of Labour Foundation. 28 November 2011. Archived from the original on 16 December 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  10. ↑ "UNIBEN flies flag at half-mast to mourn Alele-Williams". Vanguard. Lagos, Nigeria. 26 March 2022. Archived from the original on 26 March 2022. Retrieved 27 March 2022. The University of Benin (UNIBEN) on Saturday ordered the flying of the institution's flag at half-mast to mourn the death of the first female vice-chancellor in Nigeria, Prof. Grace Alele-Williams. Alele-Williams, who was appointed vice-chancellor of the University of Benin in 1985 died on Friday in Lagos at the age of 89 years. ... Prof. Alele-Williams, Nigeria's first female professor of Mathematics Education was born on Dec. 16, 1932 in Delta to an Itsekiri mother and Owan father from Sobe, Edo.
  11. ↑ Howell, Karin-Therese; Neudauer, Nancy Ann (2022). "Grace Alele-Williams Nigerian Mathematician of Many Firsts - Breaking Down Barriers and Opening Paths" (PDF). Notices of the American Mathematical Society. 69: 439–455.
  12. ↑ "Personality of The Week – Grace Alele williams". SilverbirdTV. 20 November 2014. Archived from the original on 1 July 2022. Retrieved 9 May 2019
  13. ↑ "Personality of The Week – Grace Alele williams". SilverbirdTV. 20 November 2014. Archived from the original on 1 July 2022. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  14. ↑ "Grace Alele-Williams – Rest in peace – OMEP". omepworld.org. Retrieved 2026-03-27.
  15. ↑ O'Connor, J. J.; Robertson, E. F. "Grace Alele-Williams – Biography". MacTutor History of Mathematics archive. Archived from the original on 27 April 2021. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  16. ↑ "Grace Alele Williams - Black Women in Mathematics". www.math.buffalo.edu. Archived from the original on 4 March 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  17. ↑ Riddle, Larry (16 February 2022). "Grace Alele Williams". Biographies of Women Mathematicians. Agnes Scott College. Archived from the original on 22 February 2022. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  18. ↑ Rapheal (2022-04-08). "Grace Alele-Williams (1932-2022)". The Sun Nigeria. Retrieved 2026-03-27.
  19. ↑ "Biographical sketches of famous African mathematicians: Grace Alele Williams", AMUCHMA Newsletter #12, African Mathematical Union, Commission on the History of Mathematics in Africa, 27 March 1994, archived from the original on 24 February 2020, retrieved 23 January 2010.
  20. ↑ Odunewu, Olusegun (2022-03-26). "Life, times of Nigeria's first female Vice chancellor, Alele-Williams". National Daily Newspaper (in American English). Retrieved 2026-03-27.
  21. ↑ Taire, Morenike (14 April 2018). "Grace Alele-Williams: Mathematician who dealt with cultism at UNIBEN". Vanguard. Lagos, Nigeria. Archived from the original on 23 May 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
  22. ↑ Jeremiah, Urowayino (14 April 2018). "Grace Alele-Williams: Mathematician who dealt with cultism at UNIBEN". Vanguard. Lagos, Nigeria. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
  23. ↑ "Grace Alele Williams - Black Women in Mathematics". www.math.buffalo.edu. Archived from the original on 4 March 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  24. ↑ Croom, Fred H. (1978), "Covering Spaces", Undergraduate Texts in Mathematics, New York, NY: Springer New York, pp. 83–104, ISBN 978-0-387-90288-3, retrieved 1 February 2025
  25. ↑ "GRACE ALELE-WILLIAMS: Nigerian Professor and Mathematician". www.penglobalinc.com (in English). Retrieved 2026-03-27.
  26. ↑ "Biographical sketches of famous African mathematicians: Grace Alele Williams", AMUCHMA Newsletter #12, African Mathematical Union, Commission on the History of Mathematics in Africa, 27 March 1994, archived from the original on 24 February 2020, retrieved 23 January 2010.
  27. ↑ Williams, Grace Alele (1 September 1973). "Education and Government in Northern Nigeria". Présence Africaine. 87 (3): 156–177. doi:10.3917/presa.087.0156. ISSN 0032-7638.
  28. ↑ "Grace Alele-Williams". Heels of Influence. Archived from the original on 30 October 2020. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  29. 1 2 admin. "Grace awani ALELE-WILLIAMS – Legacy Way". Archived from the original on 28 November 2020. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  30. ↑ "Grace Alele Williams - Black Women in Mathematics". www.math.buffalo.edu. Archived from the original on 4 March 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  31. ↑ Quadri, Opeyemi (2024-06-30). "Full List of Female VC In Nigeria's Universities From 1985 To Date »" (in American English). Retrieved 2026-03-27.
  32. ↑ "Biographical sketches of famous African mathematicians: Grace Alele Williams", AMUCHMA Newsletter #12, African Mathematical Union, Commission on the History of Mathematics in Africa, 27 March 1994, archived from the original on 24 February 2020, retrieved 23 January 2010.
  33. ↑ Oyedibu, Enoch (3 April 2022). "Grace Alele Williams, first Female Vice Chancellor is dead at 89". PIJAlance Magazine — Patriot Institute of Journalism and Arts. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
  34. ↑ Jeremiah, Urowayino (14 April 2018). "Grace Alele-Williams: Mathematician who dealt with cultism at UNIBEN". Vanguard. Lagos, Nigeria. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
  35. ↑ O'Connor, J. J.; Robertson, E. F. "Grace Alele-Williams – Biography". MacTutor History of Mathematics archive. Archived from the original on 27 April 2021. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  36. ↑ "Women in Higher Education Management" (PDF). Unesco. p. 7. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 March 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2014.
  37. ↑ "Executive Board". owsd.net. OWSD. 6 February 2015. Archived from the original on 20 June 2020. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  38. ↑ Ajumobi, Kemi (2022-03-26). "In memoriam: Grace Alele-Williams in five quotes". Businessday NG (in American English). Retrieved 2026-03-27.
  39. ↑ O'Connor, J. J.; Robertson, E. F. "Grace Alele-Williams – Biography". MacTutor History of Mathematics archive. Archived from the original on 27 April 2021. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  40. ↑ "Grace Alele, Role Model, Teacher, Professor, Doctor, Vice-chancellor, Warrior, Prominent Nigerian, Nigeria Personality Profiles". www.nigeriagalleria.com. Archived from the original on 29 April 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  41. ↑ Ahon, Festus; Ojiego, Nnamdi; Aliu, Ozioruva (27 March 2022). "ALELE – WILLIAMS: More tributes as Okowa, Obaseki mourn". Vanguard. Lagos, Nigeria. Archived from the original on 27 March 2022. Retrieved 27 March 2022. the UNIBEN have ordered that the institution's flag be mounted at half-mast to mourn the death of the late professor. Alele-Williams, who passed on Friday evening in Lagos at the age of 89 years, was born in Warri, Delta State.
  42. ↑ "Buhari felicitates first woman Nigerian Professor, Alele-Willaims, at 89". The Nation. Lagos, Nigeria. 15 December 2021. Archived from the original on 7 March 2022. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  43. ↑ Akpan, Mike (24 March 2014). "Demeaning Centenary Awards". Realnews Magazine. Archived from the original on 17 January 2022. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  44. ↑ "Mathematicians of EvenQuads Deck 1". awm-math.org. Archived from the original on 19 June 2022. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  45. ↑ Williams, Grace Alele (1974). "Dynamics of Curriculum Change in Mathematics—Lagos State Modern Mathematics Project". West African Journal of Education (in English). Archived from the original on 7 May 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  46. ↑ Alele-Williams, G. (1986). "Education of Women for National Development". Archived from the original on 19 March 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  47. ↑ Williams, Grace Alele (1 June 1971). "Report: The Entebbe mathematics project". International Review of Education (in English). 17 (2): 210–214. Bibcode:1971IREdu..17..210W. doi:10.1007/BF01421114. ISSN 1573-0638. S2CID 144062711.
  48. ↑ WILLIAMS, GRACE A. ALELE (1976). "The development of a modern mathematics curriculum in Africa". The Arithmetic Teacher. 23 (4): 254–261. doi:10.5951/AT.23.4.0254. ISSN 0004-136X. JSTOR 41188955.
  49. ↑ Williams, Grace Alele (1973). "Education and Government in Northern Nigeria". Présence Africaine. 87 (3): 156–177. doi:10.3917/presa.087.0156.. In: Lema, Anza A; Williams, Grace Alele; Simiyu, Vincent G. (1973). Presence Africaine. Revue Culturelle du Monde Noir / Cultural Review of the Negro World. Nouvelle Serie Bilingual / New Bilingual Series. No. 87, 3e Trimestre / 3rd Quarterly, 1973 (in English). Archived from the original on 16 April 2021. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  50. ↑ In Nigerian women and development (1988), edited by Ogunṣhẹyẹ, F. Adetowun; Domenico, Catherine D.; Dennis, Carolyne; Awosika, Keziah; Akinkoye, Olu. Ibadan, Nigeria: Ibadan University Press. ISBN 9789781212192, pages 171–179
  51. ↑ Alele-Williams, G. (1992). "Major Constraints to Women's Access to Higher Education". Higher Education in Africa: Trends and Challenges for the 21st Century (in English). UNESCO. pp. 71–76.
  52. ↑ "Celebrating Prof Grace Alele Williams, Nigeria's first female Vice Chancellor". TheDailyNG (in American English). 11 February 2020. Archived from the original on 31 January 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  53. ↑ Chukunta, N. K. Onuoha (1978). "Education and National Integration in Africa: A Case Study of Nigeria". African Studies Review. 21 (2): 67–76. doi:10.2307/523662. ISSN 0002-0206. JSTOR 523662. S2CID 143632871. Archived from the original on 30 January 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
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