Alumni and civil rights trailblazers turn past struggles into lifelines for students
Getting an education never came easy for Patricia Newby ‘70 — not as a high schooler in deeply segregated Little Rock, Arkansas, nor as an undergraduate in Southern California, struggling to make ends meet.
“When I was doing my student teaching, I didn’t have the money to pay rent, buy food, pay for transportation — and I was taking classes,” she said. “I got ill, and I had to stop something. I didn’t want to give up my education.”
Newby received an emergency grant, which helped her graduate with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Cal State LA. She then received a master’s degree in education from Cal State Long Beach. Over the next four decades, she built an accomplished career in education, including serving as the first female superintendent of Grand Rapids Public Schools in Michigan.
“The emergency money made a difference, because I didn’t know whether I would graduate or not,” she said. “I don’t think any student should have to go through that.”
Inspired by their struggles of paying for college and wanting to keep the achievements of the Civil Rights Movement alive, Patricia and her husband James ‘70 are giving back to . Their gift has created an endowment that will help fund the Teachers for Urban Schools Initiative in the College of Education and the Student Emergency Fund.
“There are those who just can’t get over the line, because of finances,” Patricia said. “And we want students to see their value in working in inner city programs and with the underserved.”
‘A step up’
When she was in 11th grade in 1956, Patricia Evans (now Newby) tried to enroll in Central High School in Little Rock. However, she and a handful of other African American students were denied admission — a clear instance of school segregation when times were changing. Only one year later, the “Little Rock Nine” gained admission to the school, and Evans helped pave the way.
“The whole action of trying to go to Central High School taught me not to accept no,” she said.
Evans came to The Beach in the late 1960s, where she obtained a master’s degree in instructional media and school administration. “The coursework there was excellent in preparing for a leadership role, in the administration of school districts,” she said.
She also credits her professors for encouraging her to explore instructional media, which included audio visual materials and, at the time, the latest in educational technology.
“I thought I wanted to be a school librarian,” she said. “But as an instructional media specialist, I became familiar with more than just books in the library. I learned all about audio visual materials, like overhead projectors, tape recorders, films in the classrooms — which were not very widely used. Computers came around at that time as well. I had a step up on most of my colleagues.”
Newby spent over four decades in education, including 14 years in the Los Angeles Unified School District and leadership roles in Maryland and Michigan.
Another living example
Patricia met James Newby ‘70 in 1957. They got married on the day they were supposed to participate in a graduation ceremony at in July 1970.
James obtained associate’s and bachelor’s degrees in Los Angeles, plus a master’s degree in social foundations of education from .
He was also involved in the Civil Rights Movement, chairing a campus chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality, and supporting the 1964 Freedom Summer with boycotts, petitions and voter drives. Newby established a career as a scholar, writing articles and books and compiling bibliographies of Black authors. He taught at from 1970-75 and at Howard University from 1975-2000.
“He knows what it is to have to work and try to improve yourself through education,” Patricia said on his behalf. “We are very pleased that we were able to work out an agreement that met what we felt was a need at the university.”
The Newbys’ Teachers for Urban Schools funds will be funneled into the Mary Jane Patterson Scholarship, which supports underrepresented students who are interested in teaching in urban classrooms.
Chanel Lee ’24, a recipient of that scholarship, said the Newbys’ contribution “is amazing.”
“I love they were able to do that, because they’re helping a lot of students who may have that financial anxiety I had,” said Lee, who’s now getting her teaching credential at The Beach. “As a transfer student from LBCC, my worry was tuition. I didn’t want to ask my family to help pay for tuition. It helped relieve my financial burden. It’s been a blessing for sure.”
