Year Honored: 1981
Birth: 1912 - 2010
Born in: North Carolina
Biography
Ruth Mitchell Laws began her career as a high school teacher in her home state of North Carolina. She moved to Delaware in 1936, and began working as the adult occupational educational supervisor with Wilmington Public Schools. In 1956 she became the first woman in the country to earn a Doctor of Administration and Supervision from New York University.
She worked throughout the Home Economics Education Department at Delaware State University, before moving to the Department of Public Instruction as the first minority to work in what is now the Delaware Department of Education, serving as State Director of Adult and Continuing Education. During her tenure in that role, she wrote the background study for legislation and funding for the community college system that enabled the creation of Delaware Technical and Community College.
In 1971, she began working at the newly established Del Tech as Assistant to the President, where she focused on Continuing Education and Federal Relations. Dr. Laws later became Vice President for Research and Development. She secured the first federal funds for Head Start and Migrant Education programs in the state, which would later gain her an invitation to the White House by First Lady, Lady Byrd Johnson, in recognition of her achievements.
Throughout her career, Dr. Laws earned several recognitions both locally and nationally. In 1974 she was the first woman, and first black person to receive the Diamond State Award for Excellence in Public Service, and in 1986 was the first minority to be awarded Delaware Mom of the Year. Additional honors include Delaware Outstanding Vocational Educator Award, National Outstanding Adult Education Service, National Freedom Association’s Freedom Day Award for distinguished service in education, and the Delaware Bar Association’s 1983 Liberty Bell Award.
Though Dr. Laws formally retired in 1978, she continued her activism through her work on the Commission on Children and Youth; Commission on Aging; and Goals for Delaware. She also served on numerous Methodist Church groups including as a board member of the Church Women United of Delaware and as board president for the Dover-Kent County YMCA – who named her Woman of the Year in 1980. In addition, Dr. Laws served as Secretary for the Delaware Division, U.S Commission on Civil Rights for more than 18 years.
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Sources and Additional Readings
About the office of head start. The Administration for Children and Families. (n.d.). Retrieved October 7, 2021, from https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ohs/about.
Dr. Ruth Mitchell laws obituary (2010) Delaware State News. Legacy.com. (n.d.). Retrieved October 7, 2021, from https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/newszapde/name/ruth-laws-obituary?pid=139830126.
Ruth Ann Mitchell Laws (1912-2010) - find a grave... Find a Grave. (n.d.). Retrieved October 7, 2021, from https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/24832582/ruth-ann-laws.
- Collections: 1981, Black History Month