Walther Nathaniel Ridley (1910 - 1996)

Dr. Walter Nathaniel Ridley graduated with a doctoral degree in Education from The University of
Virginia— breaking the color barrier and becoming a trailblazer as the first African American graduate of
UVA, and the first Black student to receive a doctorate from any white University in the South.

Born on April 1, 1910, Dr. Ridley was one of eight children. He was educated in the public schools of
Newport News, Virginia and earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in psychology, cum laude, from
Howard University. After his marriage to Henrietta E. Bonaparte on July 28, 1939, he was determined to
earn a doctorate, but the only institution in the Commonwealth of Virginia which granted such degrees
was the University of Virginia. He sought and was initially denied admission, but he persisted and was
eventually admitted, obtaining his Ed.D. in1953.

After obtaining his doctorate, Dr. Ridley returned to the faculty at Virginia State College (which
he had left to pursue his doctorate), moved on to St. Paul's College for a year, where he served as
Academic Dean. In 1958 Dr. Ridley began what he regarded as his most significant academic
work:President of the small black Elizabeth City State Teacher’s College in North Carolina.

During his 10 years as president, Dr. Ridley presided over a significant growth of the school's
enrollment, campus, and academic standing, transforming the school into Elizabeth City College
and laying the groundwork for its elevation to University status in 1969. He was named President
Emeritus of Elizabeth City State University in 1988.

Citing a desire to return to the classroom, Dr. Ridley joined the faculty at West Chester
University near Philadelphia, chairing the Department of Secondary Education and
Professional Studies and teaching, until his retirement.

Among Dr. Ridley’s other affiliations and areas of service, he was a charter member of the
U.S. Commission on UNESCO in 1946 and in 1964 traveled to Pakistan, India, Hong Kong
and Japan with the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, sponsored by
the U.S. State Department. He served on the Antioch (Ohio) College Board of Trustees, and
was a member of the corporation of the Save the Children Federation, Virginia Association of
Mental Health, Virginia Academy of Science, American Psychological Association and
Association of University Professors. 

Dr. Ridley enjoyed a distinguished career in higher education and was awarded the
Distinguished Curry School Alumnus Award in 1988. At the time of his death, he was the
oldest living past president of the National Education Association.