People, Locations, Episodes

Genevieve Knight, Math Educator born

Genevieve Knight

*Genevieve Knight was born on this date in 1939. She is a Black mathematician and teacher.

Genevieve Madeline Knight grew up in Brunswick, Georgia, where her sisters became math and science teachers.  After the Russians orbited the first satellite (1956), Sputnik, the government spent vast amounts of money on science and mathematics education.  Knight chose mathematics "because it had fewer labs than any of the sciences." Upon graduation from Fort Valley College, Knight became an NSF Fellow.

At an NSF Lecture, Knight talked with a woman who had earned a Ph.D. in mathematics and decided that she would like to have one too!  At Atlanta University, she had Adulalim Shabazz as a thesis adviser. From 1963 to 1966 and from 1970 to 1985, she taught mathematics at Hampton Institute. In 1985, Dr. Knight went to Coppin State University in Baltimore as a Full Professor.

Her many awards include: 1968-1969 Ford Foundation Faculty Grant, University of Maryland, UMCP, 1974-1975 Junior Chamber of Commerce Outstanding Young Educator Award, Hampton Roads, Virginia 1976-1977 Mary F. and Christian R. Lindback Distinguished Teaching Award, Hampton Institute, Virginia, 1980 Virginia College Mathematics Teacher of the Year, 1980 Fort Valley Outstanding Mathematics Alumnus Award, 1983 United Way Of Virginia Peninsula Service Award, 1984 Fort Valley State College Mathematics-Physics Alumni Achievement Award, 1987 Fort Valley State College Distinguished Alumni Award, 1987 Outstanding Faculty Award for Mathematics and Mentoring to Minority Youth, White House Initiative 1990 Louise Kerr Hines Distinguished Faculty Award, Division of Arts & Sciences, Coppin State College, 1993 Mathematics Association of America Distinguished Teaching Award for College/University Faculty, MD/DC/VA Section, 1993 Maryland College Mathematics Teacher of The Year, 1996 Wilson H. Elkins Distinguished Professor and more.

Dr. Knight feels that students should take all the courses they can. Their selection should include languages, management, and technology. They should attend professional meetings, speak with professors, and make contact for graduate and post-graduate opportunities. They should complete the sentence "I can be anything I want to be..." with the phrase "if I prepare and work hard." Students should grow and extend their horizons but remember to give back -- "Service is the rent we pay for living." She still loves to read, think, and dream.

To become a High School Teacher