Birth Date - Death Date

         (1894-1962)

Personal Data

Born: 1894, Saltsville, VA

Died: January 29, 1962

Married: Everly Rosalie Rucker

Education

1915     B.A. Knoxville College, Knoxville, TN

1920     M.A. University of Wisconsin

1930     PhD Columbia University’s Teachers College

Employment

1915         High School Principal, Knoxville, TN 

                Teacher, El Paso, TX

1917 - 27   Professor, Fisk University, Nashville, TN.
1927 - 30   Dean, Vocational Education, Fisk University, Nashville, TN.
1930 - 46   Senior Specialist in the Education of Negroes in the U.S. Office of Education, Washington, DC.
1946          Presidential Cabinet, Washington, DC.

1950          Assistant to United States Commissioner of Education, Washington, DC
1955          Chief of the Adult Education Section of Office of Education, Washington, DC

Awards and Honors

Honorary Degrees – Tuskegee Institute, Virginia State College, Morgan State University, Knoxville College

Superior Service Award – United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare

American Heritage Award – by Presidential Candidates

Membership-Professional Organizations

Adult Education Association of USA (AEA), President 1961

National Commison for Adult Literacy (part of AEA), Founder and Director 1955-1962

Franklin Roosevelt’s Presidential Cabinet

Publications

1938        Vocational Education and Guidance of Negroes. Greenwood Press.

1936        Availability of Education to Negroes in Rural Areas. Government Printing Office.

1950        Fifty years of progress in public education. The Courier

Professional Interest Areas

Raised national awareness about the disparities in education between blacks and whites, especially in the rural South

Showcased African American history and achievements

Measured adult illiteracy in the population, helped to create materials suitable for adult literacy education, and trained adult literacy teachers

Major Contributions to Adult Education

African American Education for Adults

Contributed to the Education of African American adults in the rural South who had been neglected formal education

Additional Resources

Articles

Photo Gallery

Video/Audio

Presentations

Books

Interesting Facts

Caliver was appointed in 1930 by President Herbert Hoover to the new position of Senior Specialist in the Education of Negroes in the U.S. Office of Education. He remained in the post when Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected President two years later and joined FDR’s “Black Cabinet.” 

Died while President of AEA

References

Daniel, W. G., & Holden, J. B. (1966). Ambrose Caliver: Adult educator and civil servant.  Washington, DC: Adult Education Association.

The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed.  http://www.blackpast.org/?q=aah/caliver-ambrose-1894-1962

 Accessed July 10, 2008.

Caliver, A. (1948). Negro higher and professional education in the United States. The Journal of Negro Education, 17(3), 240-248.

http://www.blackpast.org/?q=aah/caliver-ambrose-1894-1962