Samuel Z. Westerfield Jr.

Samuel Z. Westerfield Jr. (November 15, 1919, Chicago, Illinois – July 19, 1972, Monrovia, Liberia) was a career foreign services officer who was appointed American ambassador to Liberia on July 8, 1969.

Early life

Westerfield's parents were Dr. Samuel Z.C. Westerfield and Rachael Weddleton Colquitt. His father was the first black student to graduate with a Ph.D. in Engineering from the University of Nebraska.[1]

Westerfield graduated magna cum laude from Howard University in 1939 and continued his education to earn a master's degree from Harvard University in 1949 and his doctorate from Harvard in 1950.[1]

Career

His career in economics included teaching at Lincoln University and serving as dean of the school of business administration at Clark Atlanta University as well as being a visiting professor in the Harvard Business School. Transitioning to government service, he was associate director of the treasury during the Kennedy administration before he became deputy director of the Treasury Department. He went on to become the deputy director of the Debt Analysis Staff and deputy director of the office of International Affairs.[1]

He was one of the first black economists to join the diplomatic service and was considered an authority on the economic plight of Africa.[1]

Personal life

In 1945, he married Helene Bryant, an educator and graduate of Spelman College. They had two children, Shelia and Samuel Z. Westerfield III.[1]

Death

Westerfield suffered a fatal heart attack on July 19, 1972 at the embassy in Monrovia at the age of 52.[1] He was returning from a dinner party when he became ill. The officially reported cause of death was coronary thrombosis.[2]

Legacy

The National Economic Association (NEA) awards the "Samuel Z. Westerfield Jr. Award" every 3–5 years to African-American economists in recognition of outstanding scholarship, distinguished service, and overall excellence.[3] This is the most prestigious award of the NEA.[4] The award was presented first, posthumously, to Ambassador Westerfield.[5]

gollark: Well, they wanted a graphing calculator, yes?
gollark: Also, apparently the STM32 series is pretty popular and goodish.
gollark: Why listen to your brain? What does it do for you except consume oxygen?
gollark: A thing people apparently do because foolish human brains are foolish is "belief in belief", where you believe you believe something but don't actually believe it.
gollark: This... seems like an odd relationship with your religion, no offence?

References
  1. Hinger, Charlotte. "SAMUEL Z. WESTERFIELD (1920–1972)". BlackPast. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  2. ". Z. WESTERFIELD JR., U.S. ENVOY IN LIBERIA". New York Times. July 20, 1972. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  3. Simms, Margaret C. (Winter 2015). "Samuel L. Myers, Jr.: A Trailblazer in His Own Way: 2015 Recipient of the National Economic Association Samuel Z. Westerfield Award" (PDF). The Minority Report. 7: 8–9.
  4. "Economics | Graduate School". gs.howard.edu. Retrieved 2020-01-26.
  5. Gregory, Karl (1974). "Remarks on the presentation of the first Samuel Z. Westerfield Jr Award". Review of Black Political Economy. 4: 101–104. doi:10.1007/BF03040678.
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