By David L. Snelling

Miami– Dorothy Jean Phillips accomplished many firsts in her life.

She was the first African American woman to complete a bachelor’s degree at Vanderbilt University, the first Black woman to earn a PhD at the University of Cincinnati, and the first Black to join the American Chemical Society in 1973.

Fifty-two years later, she made history again.

Phillips, 80, is the first Black female American Chemical Society president, overseeing one of the largest scientific societies and home to premier chemistry professionals in the world.

The 155,000-member organization, headquartered in Washington D.C. with offices in the U.S. and beyond, is chartered by the U.S. Congress.

Phillips said she had to debunk stereotypes most of her life to reach the highest point in her career. Along the way she encouraged young people to explore opportunities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). She will continue that role as the new president of the society.

“For my era, this was something that was not achievable,” she said.

Phillips grew up during segregation in Alabama, and said discrimination almost derailed her ambition for a career in law and science.

Her parents, the Rev. Robert Cam Wingfield, and Rebecca Cooper Wingfield, a domestic worker, joined the Civil Rights Movement after civil rights icon Rosa Park was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a white person.

Phillips’ brother was part of the Nashville sit-ins and her family was one of the first to integrate into Nashville.

Phillips attended a National Science Foundation summer school for African-American students, which inspired her to study chemistry.

She and her boyfriend took part in a statewide mathematics competition “for colored students,” and she eventually majored in chemistry at Tennessee State University, but transferred to Vanderbilt University in 1966.

There, she encountered isolation from white students and was the target racial slurs.

But Phillips didn’t let them deter her from becoming the first Black woman to graduate from Vanderbilt.

“When I walked into a room, I often felt like I had to be twice as good just to be seen as equal,” she said.

After graduating, Phillips worked in psycho-pharmaceutical research and later completed her doctoral studies at the University of Cincinnati in 1974.

In 1973 she joined the American Chemical Society, working on the R17 virus by using circular dichroism and electron paramagnetic resonance to understand the conformation of the viral protein.

While researching the R17 virus, Phillips read about the work of Patrick Oriel at Dow Chemical Company, and decided to apply.

After graduating, she joined the Dow Chemical Company as a bench scientist, developed circular dichroism and began to work on antibiotics and herbicides.

Phillips helped students from Michigan State University to analyze the antibiotics in animal feed and the impact of animal growth.

She was responsible for several patents in the area, including one to improve lactation and another to improve feed utilization.

Phillips worked at Dow Chemical before moving on to the Waters Corporation, where she retired as director of Strategic Marketing.

After retiring from Waters in 2013, Phillips was elected as a director-at-large to the American Chemical Society Board of Directors.

One of her favorite aspects of her board position, she said, is representing

ACS on the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s Science and Human Rights Coalition since 2014.

She spearheaded Project Seed, an initiative which allows high school students from disadvantaged backgrounds to complete summer placements in research laboratories.

Phillips has long advocated for STEM diversity. “It’s harder to be what you can’t see,” she said.

Phillips has won myriad awards, including the Percy L. Julian Award and Vanderbilt University Trailblazer title, for her contributions to science and leadership.