Sadie T. M. Alexander, Ph.D., J.D., University of Pennsylvania, the first African-American to earn a Ph.D. in economics in the United States, was named posthumously as one of the American Economics Association Distinguished Fellows in 2022.

Sadie T.M. Alexander, the first African-American to earn a Ph.D. in economics in the United States, was named posthumously as one of the American Economics Association Distinguished Fellows in 2022.  Sadie T.M. Alexander received her PhD in economics from the University of Pennsylvania in 1921. She was excluded from academic positions on account of her race and gender, but completed a law degree, also from Penn, after her Ph.D., and was a life-long advocate for civil rights and economic equality. Her portrait is displayed in the Faculty Meeting Room 625.  

The AEA announcement is here. Click here for a Penn Today article on Sadie T.M. Alexander.