Marjorie Dey Carter ’50

Marjorie Dey Carter graduated from SUNY Cortland in 1950; during her time at the college she was the only African American student. After she graduated she became the first African American teacher in the Syracuse city school district and the first African American woman to assume the office of president of the Syracuse Teacher’s Association.

During her forty years in the Syracuse school district she was awarded many honors, including the Distinguished Alumni honor in 1977. Marjorie honored with the “Pioneer Award” by the Black Leadership Congress of Syracuse in 1973 and was named a “Great Leader” by the Onondaga Women’s Political Caucus in 1993. She has remained an active member of the Cortland community; serving on the Alumni Association’s Board of Directors from 1998-2000 and a three year term on The Cortland Foundation Board of Directors in 2002.

A strong believer in community, Marjorie was a member of Delta Kappa Gamma, a sorority for women in education, and Theta Phi Alpha. In 2000, Marjorie established the Marjorie Dey Carter ’50 Scholarship in Urban Education, a renewable award to benefit outstanding students enrolled in the College’s Urban Teacher Education Program.