---

The Euphemia Lofton Haynes Award was established in 2018 in honor of Dr. Haynes and is awarded to junior mathematics majors who have shown exceptional academic achievement and potential in mathematics

Euphemia Lofton Haynes (September 11, 1890, Washington, D.C. – July 25, 1980, Washington, D.C.) was the first African-American woman to earn a Ph.D in Mathematics. She earned her doctorate degree from the Catholic University of America in 1943, with a dissertation entitled The Determination of Sets of Independent Conditions Characterizing Certain Special Cases of Symmetric Correspondences. Her dissertation was supervised by Professor Aubrey Edward Landry.

During her career as a mathematician and educator, Dr. Haynes was committed to public education in DC. She taught in the public schools for 47 years, and in 1966, became the first woman to chair the DC Board of Education. She created the mathematics department at Miner’s Teachers College, now known as the University of the District of Columbia, and served as its inaugural chair.

Dr. Haynes was also dedicated to her Catholic faith serving on many Catholic and community service organizations.  She was the first vice president of the Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women, a member of the NAACP and the American Association of University Women. In 1959, Pope John XXIII awarded her the Papal decoration of honor, Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice, for her distinguished service to the Catholic Church.