- unitid
-
{"value"=>"188266", "type"=>"local_mss"}
{"value"=>"Sc Photo Jewel Plummer Cobb Collection", "type"=>"local_call"}
{"value"=>"b23734580", "type"=>"local_b"}
- unitdate
-
{"value"=>"1890-2019", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1890/2019"}
{"value"=>"1960-2000", "type"=>"bulk", "normal"=>"1960/2000"}
- unittitle
-
{"value"=>"Jewel Plummer Cobb photographs"}
- physdesc
-
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"22 boxes", "unit"=>"containers"}, {"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"5.13 linear feet", "unit"=>"linear_feet"}]}
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"Approximately 2,500 photographic prints", "unit"=>"photographic_prints"}]}
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"Approximately 500 photographs", "unit"=>"photographs"}, {"name"=>"physfacet", "value"=>"negatives (rolls of film)"}]}
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"Approximately 50 photographic slides", "unit"=>"photographic_slides"}]}
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"6 photograph albums", "unit"=>"Photograph Albums"}]}
- repository
-
{"value"=>"<span class=\"corpname\">Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division</span>"}
- abstract
-
{"value"=>"Jewel Plummer Cobb (1924-2017) was a Black scientist, educator, and advocate for Black women entering the scientific field. The collection holds prints, slides, negatives, and scrapbooks that illustrate her professional life, family, and friends. Images date from the 1890s to the 2010s, documenting Cobb's family history, research, educational career, and travel."}
- langmaterial
-
{"value"=>"English"}
- origination
-
{"value"=>"Cobb, Jewel Plummer, 1924-2017", "type"=>"persname"}
- bioghist
-
{"value"=>"<p>Jewel Isadora Cobb (later Jewel Plummer Cobb) was born in 1924 to Carriebel (Cole) and Frank V. Plummer in Chicago, Illinois. The family came from a line of medical and science professionals. Cobb's mother was a dancer and taught physical education, while her father was the first Black graduate of Cornell University to hold a doctorate in medicine. Frank Plummer's father graduated from Howard University in 1898, after being freed from enslavement, and later became a practicing pharmacist.</p> <p>During high school, Cobb's teachers encouraged her developing interest in biology. Cobb enrolled at the University of Michigan in 1942; however, segregated housing policies did not allow Black students to live on campus, and she transferred to Talladega College, a historically Black institution in Alabama. At Talladega, Cobb became a lifelong member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in biology in 1945. Cobb continued her studies, earning a Master of Science in 1947 and later a PhD in cellular biology in 1950 from New York University (NYU). While she was initially denied the fellowship at NYU, Cobb was admitted after her interview. Her dissertation, \"Mechanisms of Pigment Formation,\" examined melanin pigment granule formation in vitro using the enzyme tyrosinase. In 1949, Cobb was appointed to the role of independent investigator at Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory in Falmouth, Massachusetts.</p> <p>After earning her PhD, Cobb continued to teach at NYU and was appointed to a teaching fellowship in the Biology department. Cobb held postdoctoral positions at the Harlem Hospital Cancer Research Foundation, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, and the National Cancer Institute.</p> <p>In 1952, she was hired as an instructor in anatomy at the University of Illinois College of Medicine, a position she held until 1954. Cobb returned to New York, where she taught and lectured at Hunter College and NYU. A tenure as head of the biology laboratory at Sarah Lawrence College from 1960 to 1969 followed. While there, Cobb conducted undergraduate research for participants in the National Science Foundation.</p> <p>Cobb also taught at Connecticut College in New London, where she served as the institution's first Black Dean of Arts and Sciences. While serving in this role, Cobb established a scholarship program that provided financial assistance to Black students pursuing careers in the sciences.</p> <p>Due to her expanding role at Connecticut College, Cobb had less time to dedicate to her research. She decided to leave Connecticut College for Douglass College at Rutgers University, where she also served as the College's Dean. Cobb was recommended as a candidate for the President of Hunter College in 1979, but was not selected for the role. Several Black civic groups and women in science organized protests and petitions in support of Cobb's appointment. Had she been selected, Cobb would have been Hunter's first Black president.</p> <p>Cobb was appointed President of California State University, Fullerton (CSUF) in 1981, where she pursued both private and state financing to improve the campus's facilities. Cobb initiated numerous construction projects, including the completion of several science buildings and the University's first student housing. The residence building is named after Cobb. Enrollment at the college increased after Cobb implemented these measures. However, the University had a strict policy of not employing staff over the age of sixty-five, and Cobb was forced into retirement in 1990.</p> <p>After leaving CSUF, Cobb continued her work supporting Black students's access to science education. She established the Science Technology Engineering Program (STEP) Up for Youth through California State University, Los Angeles, and the Pueblo Science ASCEND Project.</p> <p>Cobb was the recipient of many awards, including the 1999 Achievement in Excellence Award from the Center for Excellence, in recognition of her contributions to science and education. She has also served as a board member of numerous organizations, including the National Science Board; Talladega College; and the National Committee on Women in Science and Engineering of the National Academy of Sciences.</p> <p>Later in life, Cobb became interested in writing her memoir, and through the encouragement of her son Jonathan, she began keeping journals to document remembrances and reflections. During this time, Cobb also developed a strong interest in her family history and conducted extensive genealogical research.</p> <p>Cobb died in 2017 at her home in New Jersey due to complications of Alzheimer's disease at the age of 92.</p>"}
- scopecontent
-
{"value"=>"<p>The Jewel Plummer Cobb photographs contain prints, scrapbooks, slides, and negatives related to Cobb's career, her family, and friends. The collection includes material dating from the 1890s to the 2010s. The nineteenth-century photographs are related to Cobb's genealogical research, and show promotional images of musician Bob Cole. The majority of photographs in the collection are of Cobb with family and friends throughout her life. Pictures include Cobb as a young woman with her parents; with friends at Talladega College; images of her son, Jonathan Cobb, and later her daughter-in-law and granddaughter.</p> <p>The photographs illustrate Cobb's childhood in the 1940s, early college days, her research into microphotography of cancer cells in the 1950s and 1960s, teaching and conference proceedings from the 1970s and 1990s, and her life post-retirement.</p> <p>Cobb's time at the California State University, Fullerton, is extensively represented. The collection spans her tenure at the university, from her investiture to her retirement, and includes photographs of award ceremonies and professional organizations within the college, as well as portraits of Cobb as dean.</p> <p>There are a group of headshots and professional portraits present that depict Cobb throughout her career, primarily the 1970s through the 1990s. Among these images are some group portraits of professional associations.</p> <p>Cobb received several honorary degrees and awards throughout her life for her research on the treatment of cancer and advocacy for Black women in scientific fields. These celebrations were often documented, and include pictures of Cobb with several United States presidents, including Barack Obama.</p> <p>Cobb traveled extensively, both professionally for conferences and research and recreationally. There are several tourist photographs of Cobb with family and friends on trips to Africa, Europe, Mexico, and more. There is also a collection of slides prepared for a lecture given about her research trip to Antartica.</p>"}
- arrangement
-
{"value"=>"<p>Photographs are arranged alphabetically by topic.</p>"}
- acqinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Gift of R. Jonathan Cobb in 2020.</p>"}
- separatedmaterial
-
{"value"=>"<p>See the Manuscripts, Archives, and Rare Books Division for the Jewel Plummer Cobb papers, Sc MG 298.</p> <p> See the Moving Image and Recorded Sound Division for the recordings.</p>"}
- processinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Processed by <span class=\"name\">Emily P. Dunne</span> in <span class=\"date\">2025</span>.</p>"}
- accessrestrict
-
{"value"=>"<p>Boxes 21 and 22 contain negatives and slides.</p>"}
- date_start
-
1890
- keydate
-
1890
- date_end
-
2019
- date_inclusive_start
-
1890
- date_inclusive_end
-
2019
- date_bulk_start
-
1960
- date_bulk_end
-
2000
- extent_statement
-
5.13 linear feet (22 boxes). Approximately 2,500 photographic prints. Approximately 500 photographs : negatives (rolls of film). Approximately 50 photographic slides. 6 photograph albums
- prefercite
-
{"value"=>"Jewel Plummer Cobb photographs, Photographs and Prints Division. Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, The New York Public Library"}