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Feb. 28 officially declared as “Alice Augusta Ball Day”

Lajoya Shelly Alice Ball UH
UH News
UHM graduate student LaJoya Shelly talks about Alice Ball, seen in the framed photo.

The University of Hawaiʻi celebrated the life of alumnus Alice Ball earlier this week. Ball was UH’s first African American graduate, and the first woman to earn a master's degree in chemistry in 1915.

She discovered a successful treatment using chaulmoogra oil for Hansen's disease, also known as leprosy. She did not receive recognition for the “Ball Method” until six years after her death.

Ball died when she was 24-years-old, likely due to chemical poisoning in the lab. She was never able to publish the "Ball Method."

Chemist Arthur L. Dean stole her work and published the findings as his own. He later became UH president.

LaJoya Shelly, a PhD Candidate and president of UH Mānoa’s Black Student Association, said, "When I talk about it being important for black students, it's because we know that representation matters and so when we see ourselves written in the academic canon, see ourselves as part of the campus culture, hopefully it enhances our student sense of belonging on campus."

Gov. David Ige, joined by First Lady Dawn Ige, and UH President David Lassner signed a proclamation that declared Feb. 28 to be “Alice Augusta Ball Day” in Hawaiʻi.

Zoe Dym was a news producer at Hawaiʻi Public Radio.
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