University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa graduating students were greeted this month with a new bust of chemist Alice Augusta Ball at the Hamilton Library.
Ball developed the first treatment for leprosy by creating an injectable oil extract. She died in 1916 before she could publish her findings, and another chemist took her research as his own. She was 24.
Ball was formally recognized by the state in the early 2000s.
"I'm just so grateful that she finally got her due," said artist Lynn Liverton, who created the bust, in a news release. "I wish that she was around. Hopefully her spirit is here, understanding what is happening and that she’s being honored. For me it was one of my favorite busts to work on.”
In 1915, Ball was the first African-American and the first woman to earn a master's degree in chemistry at UH and in the country. She was also the university's first female and African-American chemistry professor.
The statue was prompted by a resolution from the UH Mānoa faculty senate.
