The previous post consisted of the syllabus, reading assignments and study questions for an undergraduate course taught at Columbia on the history of economics, ca. 1951. Curatorial pride led me to hunt for the “D. Gregg” who taught that course. I was able to track down Dorothy Elizabeth Gregg (1919-1997) and can add her now to the runnning series of Get-to-know-a-PhD-economist.
Gregg left academics for a highly successful career in corporate public relations in her mid-thirties. She was also very active in professional women’s issues and organizations (see the advertisement for a speech she gave at Columbia in December 1982 below).
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U.S. Social Security Applications and Claims Index
Birth: December 4, 1919 Tempe, Arizona
Death: May 18 1997
Father: Alfred T. Gregg
Mother: Mamie E. Walker
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U.S. Census and Draft Records
1920 U.S. Census. (23 January 1920)
Gilbert, Maricopa, Arizona
Husband: Alfred T. Gregg (b. ca 1889 in Mississippi), occupation: farmer.
Wife: Mamie Gregg (b. ca. 1894 in Mississippi)
Daughters: Louise (ca 1911, b. in Texas), Juanita (ca. 1917 b. in Arizona), Dorothy (ca Dec 1919, b. in Arizona) Gregg
1930 U.S. Census.
Chandler, Maricopa, Arizona.
Husband: Alfred T. Gregg (b. ca 1891 in Mississippi), occupation: farmer.
Wife: Mamie Gregg (b. ca. 1892 in Mississippi)
Daughters: Louise (ca 1911, b. in Texas), Juanita (ca. 1918 b. in Arizona), Dorothy (ca. 1920, b. in Arizona), Betty R. (ca. 1923 b. in Arizona) Gregg
1935-36 Notes
Dorothy’s 1935 Residence: Holtville, Imperial County California (according to 1940 U.S. Census). Her mother Mamie was living in Holtville, Imperial California in 1940.
Her father died 29 July 1936 in Imperial, California.
1940 Census (April 5, 1940)
Los Angeles County.
Married to Robert B Fox (21 years old). With 0/12 year old daughter Shaaron Lee (born March 10, 1940).
Husband worked as a clerk in household wares. Dorothy (born in Arizona) worked as a stenographer in a Glass Manufacturing Company. Both coded as having three years of college education.
Oct. 16 1940, Robert Bradford Fox draft card.
Born: May 11, 1918 in Galveston, Texas. Next of kin: Dorothy Elizabeth Fox. Residence in El Centro (Imperial County), California, his occupation listed as student.
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Miscellaneous University Records/Service
University of Texas
University Texas Yearbook, Cactus 1944, p. 290. Dorothy Gregg Fox listed as a member of the honorary government organization Pi Sigma Alpha.
University of Texas, Austin. B.A. in economics with a minor in government (1945), M.A. in economics (1948).
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Columbia University
Doctoral dissertation of Dorothy Gregg: The exploitation of the steamboat; the case of Colonel John Stevens.
Ph.D. conferred in 1951.
Assistant professor in the School of General Studies. (according to biographical note in the New School Bulletin Vol. XII, No. 3 (Sept 20, 1954).
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Courses offered at the New School for Social Research 1954-55
213 THE MANAGERIAL CONTROL OF BUSINESS
Fall. Mondays, 8:30-10:10 P.M. $21. (Reg. fee: p. 6) DOROTHY GREGG
Beginning October 4.This course analyzes the structure and dynamics of an important phenomenon in Western civilization—the big business corporation. Topics are discussed from a functional viewpoint, with emphasis upon current problems. The course is designed both for those interested in public affairs and for students of economics.
The general tendency in modern society towards big bureaucratic organizations, both in business and in government. An analysis of the various theories of bureaucracy—Weber, Mannheim, von Mises, Parsons, Merton. The American business corporation—its structure, impersonality, over-centralization. Problems of status and prestige, communication channels, recruiting and training of executives. Possible solutions: decentralization, rationalization, social engineering techniques. The economic, political and social implications of the growth of bureaucracy.
Source: New School for Social Research. New School Bulletin 1954-55, Vol. 12, No. 1 (September 6, 1954), p. 45.
218 THE BUSINESS WORLD AND MASS COMMUNICATIONS
Thursdays, 6:20-8:00 P.M. $21. (Reg. fee: p. 6) DOROTHY GREGG
Beginning February 10.This course discusses one of the basic developments in western civilization—the mass media of communications and their impact on society. The growth of the mass media constitutes perhaps one of the most significant revolutions of our times. The technological factors of the mass media, the business organization they involve, and their influence on changing business structures will be examined. An analysis is also made of the social consequences of the mass media and their interaction with the social structure.
Source: New School for Social Research. New School Bulletin Spring 1955, Vol. 12, No. 18 (January 3, 1955), p. 41.
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According to Robert L. Heath (ed.) Encyclopedia of Public Relations (2ndEdition), Vol. 1 (SAGE Publications, 2013) p. 992, Dorothy Gregg also taught at Pace College and the University of Texas.
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Featured Speaker on Professional Women’s Forum
at Columbia University in 1982
Source: The Columbia Spectator, December 6, 1982.
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Non-academic career
1954. Began career as a public relations consultant.
Ca. 1963-1975. Assistant to the director of public relations at U.S. Steel Corporation (16 years)
1975-1983. Vice president of communication Celanese Corporation
1983-1987. Senior consultant to Ruder, Finn & Rotman
1987. Established her own company.
Professional Women’s Organizations
First vice president of the National Council of Women in the United States
Committee on Women in Public Relations (chairperson)
Association for Women in Communication (President-elect 1981)
American Woman’s Association and the Advertising Women of New York (director)
International Women’s Forum (member of board of governors)
New York Women’s Forum (member of board of governors)
Sources: Robert L. Heath (ed.) Encyclopedia of Public Relations (2ndEdition), Vol. 1 (SAGE Publications, 2013) p. 992. Also University of Texas alumni magazine. The Alcade, March-April, 1981.
Image Source: Dr. Dorothy Gregg for the Vernon C. Schranz Distinguished Lectureship in Public Relations of 1981.