Finding Aids: PVAMU Special Collections and Archives : The Frederick D. Patterson Collection

Creator: Frederick D. Patterson

Title of Collection: The Frederick D. Patterson Collection

Dates: 1936-1953

Extent: 0.5 Linear Feet (1 box)

Abstract: Frederick D. Patterson was a graduate of Prairie View Normal and Industrial Institute and was a part of the Agricultural Extension Service for African Americans in Texas. The papers of Frederick D. Patterson consist of published booklets and materials about Tuskegee University.

Biographical Note: Dr. Frederick Douglass Patterson was born in Washington, D. C. to William Ross and Mamie Lucille Patterson. Orphaned at 2, Patterson’s family members did their best to help him after his parents died, yet his sister, Bessie took him underneath her wing. She enrolled him in the elementary school of Samuel Huston College (now Huston-Tillotson College) in Austin, TX. Patterson’s passion for education was sparked during his years at Prairie View Normal and Industrial Institute and majored in the Agriculture Department. Dr. Edward B. Evans served as a particular inspiration to the boy, who would follow in his role model’s educational path and attend Iowa State College (Frederick Douglass Patterson, 1901-1988, n.d.).
Graduating from Prairie View in 1919, where he had spent four years in agricultural study, he entered Iowa State College at Ames, Iowa. Here he spent four years earning the degree of Doctor of Veterinary Medicine in 1923. He obtained the degree of Master of Science from the same institution in 1927. The year of 1931 to 1932, Patterson attended Cornell University and studied to obtain a Doctor of Philosophy degree in the field of bacteriology. For five years he was an instructor at Virginia State College, Petersburg, Virginia, part of the time serving as director of agriculture. He was connected with Tuskegee Institute for seven years, serving as veterinarian and an instructor in agriculture before being promoted in 1933 to the directorship of the Agricultural Department. His range of experiences endowed Dr. Patterson with the wisdom and vision that inspired a committee to select the young man as the third president of Tuskegee Institute in 1935. Various sources indicate that Patterson had much more of an influence while serving as President at the Tuskegee Institute. 

During his tenure at Tuskegee, Dr. Patterson transformed the baccalaureate institution into a prestigious university with cutting-edge graduate programs, all of which are flourishing today. He founded the commercial dietetics program, which infused professional cooking with business and service savvy and placed African-American students in unprecedented high-level internships across the country. The School of Veterinary Medicine opened at Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute in 1944, which was the first School of Veterinary Medicine at a Black institution of higher learning (Frederick D. Patterson, n.d.). This is one of many accomplishments of his lifetime. He is also the founder of the United Negro College Fund (UNCF).  

Dr. Patterson married Catherine E. Moton, the daughter of Robert Russa Moton, the second president of Tuskegee Institute. His Tuskegee presidency would last until 1953. Patterson served as both the president and chief executive office of the United Negro College Fund from 1964 to 1966.  Furthermore, Patterson’s immense influence in higher education created the Frederick D. Patterson Research Institute, which was established by the United Negro College Fund in 1986.  

On April 26, 1988, he passed away at his home in New Rochelle, New York. Patterson was buried on the grounds at Tuskegee University.

Sources: 
Brame, Karen D. (n.d.). Frederick D. Patterson. Black Listed Culture. https://blacklistedculture.com/frederick-d-patterson/

Frederick Douglass Patterson, 1901-1988. (n.d.). United Negro College Fund. https://uncf.org/pages/frederick-douglass-patterson-2

Frederick Douglas Patterson President Tuskegee Institute. (n.d.). Unpublished Manuscript. Tuskegee Institute.

Gasman, Marybeth. (2011). Perceptions of Black College Presidents: Sorting Through Stereotypes and Reality to Gain a Complex Picture in American Educational Research Journal, (pp. 844-850). https://archive.org/details/americaneducatio48n4unse/mode/2up?q=Frederick+D.+Patterson

Arrangement: The collection is small, the arrangement is in original order as received.

Identification: UA 0093

Repository: Special Collections/Archives Department, John B. Coleman Library, Prairie View A&M University

Complied by Evelyn Davis, January 2024