Dolores E. Cross (Finding Aid)

Dolores E. Cross

1937 -

Favorite Color: Blue

Favorite Food: Fish

Favorite Time of Year: Fall

Favorite Vacation Spot: Rio Caliente, Mexico

Interview Length: 126 minutes

Interview Date(s): March 14, 2002

Interview Location(s): Atlanta, Georgia

Abstract

Educator and college president Dolores Cross details her family background and her childhood in Newark, New Jersey. Cross talks about her parents personalities and explains the effects of their divorce on her and her sister. Cross talks about growing up in the projects, recalling harrowing experiences that shaped her whole life. Cross also describes her own personality as a child, talking about her difficulty with stuttering and her interest in reading. Educator and college president Dolores Cross discusses her aspirations for her post-high school career and explains how she overcame her stuttering problem. Cross talks about the challenge of attending college and raising her famliy after she got married. She explains that she strived to put her family's needs equal with her own educational and professional goals. Cross then describes her actvist efforts during the 1960s, when she led a movement for school integrations on Long Island. Dolores Cross details her career development throughout the 1960s and 1970s, and the challenges of balancing her career with her family. Cross first discusses her doctoral work at the University of Michigan and how it led to a professorship at Northwestern University. Cross describes her research of multiculturalism at Northwestern and explains her adjustments to an all-white environment. Cross then talks about her move to Claremont Graduate School as a professor, and her subsequent appointment as Vice Chancellor of the City University of New York, the first African American woman to be appointed to the position. Educator and college president Dolores Cross details her time as Vice Chancellor of the City University of New York and as President of Chicago State University. Cross explains how she changed the image of Chicago State and improved the lives of her students, as well as sharing how the students changed her. Cross talks about her marathon running and explains why she left her post at Chicago State. Cross then shares her opinions on the state of education as it relates to African Americans and her concerns for historically black colleges and universities. Educator and college president Dolores Cross continues to discuss the importance of historically black colleges and universities. Cross then discusses the importance of the public school system and its need for equity. Cross comments on the role of multiculturalism in America and discusses the future of black history. Cross then considers her legacy and how she would like to be remembered.

41 Stories (See Ordered Story Set)