News from
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
Office of Communications
Stanhope Hall
Princeton, New Jersey 08544-5264
Telephone 609-258-3601; Fax 609-258-1301Contact: Mary Caffrey 609/258-5748
Date: July 23, 1998
Family Contact: Cheryl D. Fields 703/391-0673
Educator Carl A. Fields, First African-American Dean at Princeton, Dies at Age 79
New York -- Dr. Carl A. Fields, an educator and the first African-American dean of an Ivy League university, died after a sudden illness on Monday, July 20 at Roosevelt Hospital. He was 79.
Dr. Fields’ career in education spanned more than 40 years. He came to Princeton in 1964 as Assistant Director of Student Aid, and in 1968 he was promoted to Assistant Dean of the College, making him the first African-American to hold such a high-ranking post at an Ivy League school. In both positions, Dr. Fields pioneered policies and practices aimed at increasing the enrollment and retention of African-American and other minority students. He took an active role in Princeton-Blairstown Center, a university-owned camp that serves inner-city youth and their families, and remained active with Blairstown after leaving the university as an administrator.
In 1971, Dr. Fields left Princeton for a three-year Ford Foundation Fellowship, during which he served as the planning officer at the then-fledgling University of Zambia, which at the time was the only university in that central African republic after Zambia ceased to be a British protectorate. While at the University of Zambia, he oversaw the development of the university’s administrative structure, its educational policy, and improvements to the physical plant.
As the principal partner and founder of the African Technical Educational Consultant Service (ATEC) from 1974-1984, Dr. Fields dedicated himself to assisting educational institutions, foundations, and non-profit organizations in the creation of programs that would promote the development and educational achievement of minority communities. His clients included the United Methodist Church, the Lilly Endowment, the Carnegie Corporation, Hastings College of the Law at the University of California, the National Council of Churches Division of Overseas Ministry, and the American National Advisory Committee-Nigerian Universities.
In 1984, Dr. Fields became the administrative officer of Riverside Church, in New York City, and, in 1998, became the associate director of the Bishop Tutu Southern African Refugee Scholarship Fund.
The oldest of four sons born to Queena R. Grayson Fields and Ralph A. Fields, Carl Fields was born in Columbus, Ohio and grew up in Brooklyn. He was a graduate of Boy’s High School and graduated from St. John’s University with a B.S. in English and Social Science in 1942. He earned his M.A. in vocational guidance from New York University in 1950, and his Ph.D. in Educational Philosophy from Philathea College, London, Ontario, Canada, in 1967.
Dr. Fields was an active member of several organizations, including the New York Theological Seminary, where he served on the board of trustees; the Association of Black Princeton Alumni, for which he served as treasurer; the College Entrance Examination Board, the Carter Commission on Financing Minority Students in Higher Education, the Westminster Foundation, for which he served on the board of directors; the Church Society for College Work, the New York College Bound Corporation, for which he served on the board of directors; and the St. John’s University President’s Advisory Council.
Dr. Fields received numerous awards and honors, both from his alma mater and other organizations. This year, he was named to the St. John’s Hall of Fame this year; previously, he received the university’s Distinguished Achievement Award in 1989, its President’s Medal in 1992 and its Medal of Honor in 1997. He also received the University Service Award and was a member of St. John’s Athletic Hall of Fame. Dr. Fields also was the first African-American member of St. John’s University’s Skull and Circle academic honor society, and the first African-American to serve as captain of the school’s track and field team. He was named to Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities in 1972. In 1996, he received the Alumni Council Award for Service to Princeton. He also received the University Service Award from the Association of Black Princeton Alumni. In 1994, he was honored at an ABPA dinner attended by more than 100 people, including former University President Robert Goheen, who was president when Fields arrived at Princeton.
Dr. Fields also served in the U.S. Army during World War II and in 1944 received a Bronze Star for bravery at the Battle of Saipan.
He is survived by his wife, Hedda, two brothers, Earl G. Fields, of Irvine Calif., and Sylvester A. Fields, of Brooklyn; two sons, Carl Fields Jr., of New York and Wayne Anthony Fields, of Fairfield, Calif., a stepson, David R. Levine; and stepdaughter, Andrea Levine-Cherry; two sisters-in-law, 12 grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
Memorial services will be observed on Wednesday, July 29, 11 a.m., at Riverside Church, 122 E. Riverside Drive, New York, N.Y., 10025.
In lieu of sending flowers, the family invites well-wishers to contribute to the Carl A. Fields Multicultural Scholarship Fund, St. John’s University, 8000 Utopia Parkway, Jamaica, N.Y. 11439; or (718) 990-6161.
NOTE: A photo of Dr. Carl A. Fields during his tenure at Princeton is available on the university's web site.
normal http://www.princeton.edu/pr/pictures/98/fields.jpg
preview http://www.princeton.edu/pr/pictures/98/fields-pre.jpg
