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    Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander was a distinguished Philadelphian and Penn alumna who was the first African American woman in the United States to receive a Ph.D. degree in economics.  West Philadelphia’s splendid Penn Alexander Partnership School is named in her honor.

    The “jewel in the crown” of Penn President Judith Rodin’s West Philadelphia Initiatives was a new pre-K–8 public school near the Penn campus. To create the school, Rodin’s leadership team orchestrated the formation of a partnership group that included the Penn Graduate School of Education, the School District of Philadelphia (SDP), and the Philadelphia Teachers Union. In 2001, the partnership group put up a new SDP building on the site of the old Philadelphia Divinity School (now owned by Penn) and opened it in stages beginning in 2002.The new school was named for the distinguished Philadelphian Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander, a Penn alumna who was the first African American woman in the United States to receive a Ph.D. degree in economics.

    Themes
    Biography, Schools, Higher Eds and Meds

    Stories in this Collection

    Black and white portrait photograph of Sadie T.M. Alexander wearing glasses, print jacket, and blouse with large bow.
    Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander
    1898–1989

    Dr. Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander was a path-blazing Philadelphian who broke numerous precedents by obtaining a B.A., a Ph.D., and a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. She faced significant racial and gender discrimination during her educational career. She was the first African American woman to practice law in the state of Pennsylvania. During her life both her education and her experiences with discrimination led her to work with multiple organizations fighting for equal rights.