Florence Ladd (born June 16, 1932) is the Director Emeritus of the

Bunting Institute The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University, also known as the Harvard Radcliffe Institute, is an institute of Harvard University that fosters interdisciplinary research across the humanities, sciences, social sciences, arts ...

and the author of the novel ''Sarah's Psalm''.

Biography

Ladd was born in Washington, D.C. Her parents were both educators and she grew up in Washington, D.C. She attended

Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...

, graduating in 1953 and then the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded in 1850 and moved into its current campus, next to the Genesee River in 1930. With approximately 30,000 full ...

, earning a Ph.D. in psychology in 1958. Ladd began her academic career teaching at

Simmons College Institutions of learning called Simmons College or Simmons University include: * Simmons University Simmons University (previously Simmons College) is a private university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1899 by ...

in Boston. She then taught at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

's graduate school. In 1977, began working at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

(MIT) where she became involved with administration and served as dean at the MIT School of Architecture. She was the dean of students at

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a Private university, private Women's colleges in the United States, historically women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henr ...

until 1984. Ladd left academia for a time, working at

Oxfam America Oxfam is a British-founded confederation of 21 independent non-governmental organizations (NGOs), focusing on the alleviation of global poverty, founded in 1942 and led by Oxfam International. It began as the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief ...

as well as the South African Education Program for the

Institute of International Education The Institute of International Education (IIE) is an American 501(c) non-profit organization that focuses on international student exchange and aid, foreign affairs, and international peace and security. IIE creates programs of study and training ...

and the

School for International Training The School for International Training, widely known by its SIT Graduate Institute, is a private non-profit regionally-accredited institution headquartered in Brattleboro, Vermont, United States. The institution has two main divisions. Graduate ...

. In 1989, she became the director of the Bunting Institute at Harvard University, a position she held until 1997. She is now Director Emeritus. In 1994, she served on the executive committee for the conference Black Women in the Academy: Defending Our Name 1894-1994 held at MIT. In 1996, Ladd's novel ''Sarah's Psalm'' was published by

Charles Scribner's Sons Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner's or Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City that has published several notable American authors, including Henry James, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Marjori ...

. It won the 1997

Black Caucus of the American Library Association The Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA) is an affiliate of the American Library Association (ALA) that focuses on the needs of African-American library professionals by promoting careers in librarianship, funding literacy i ...

's literary award for fiction. In 1998 Ladd was the recipient of a MacDowell fellowship. In 2008, Stephen E. Coit painted Ladd's portrait. It hangs in

Lowell House Lowell House is one of twelve undergraduate Harvard House system, residential Houses at Harvard University, located at 10 Holyoke Place facing Mount Auburn Street between Harvard Yard and the Charles River. Officially, it is named for the Lowel ...

at Harvard.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ladd, Florence 1932 births Living people People from Washington, D.C. 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American educators