Stanford University Plans Tribute to Legendary Scientist Percy Julian '20

January 10, 2007

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[Download Video: "Film Clip of the Ceremony" - 2914kb]

January 10, 2007, Greencastle, Ind. - "After years of struggling for respect as a scientist, African-American chemist Percy Julian eventually became recognized as both a genius and a pioneer. In honor of his legacy, the medical school and the chemistry department are co-sponsoring an event as part of Martin Luther King week celebration," notes an announcement from Stanford University, which is planning a January 18 examination of the life and work of Dr. Julian, a 1920 graduate of DePauw University.

"His grandfather was a slave and he grew up in the Deep South," says William Clusin, associate professor of medicine at Stanford and an event organizer. "This was at a time when it was unheard of for someone from his background to even go to college." As the announcement states, "Julian went on to graduate as valedictorian from DePauw University, receive a master's degree in chemistry from Harvard and a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Vienna."

Speakers at Stanford's event will include Kathy Julian, M.D., an associate professor of medicine at the University of California - San Francisco and Percy Julian's granddaughter; and Arnold Hirsch, a chemist from Chicago who worked with Julian.

The acclaimed PBS program NOVA will honor Percy Lavon Julian's legacy with a two-hour documentary, "Forgotten Genius," which will air February 6 at 8 p.m.

"In an era when African-Americans faced prejudice in virtually all aspects of life, Julian worked to achieve an active role in the synthesis of natural steroids and their large-scale production," Stanford's announcement states. "He founded his own company and was the first African-American chemist to become a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 1973. He was active in a variety of civil rights organizations some of which worked with King."

Read the complete text here.

To view an extended clip of the PBS program and to learn more about Dr. Julian's DePauw experiences through text, photos, audio and video, visit this special Web page which has been created to complement the NOVA documentary.

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