John Slaughter
Electrical engineer and academic administrator John brooks Slaughter was born in Topeka, Kansas, on March 16, 1934. His father, Reuben Brooks Slaughter, was hard-working and held a variety of jobs to support his family; and, his mother, Dora Reeves Slaughter, was a homemaker. Slaughter graduated from Topeka High School in 1951 and enrolled at Washburn University, but transferred after two years to attend Kansas State University. There, he earned his B.S. degree in electrical engineering in 1956. Slaughter went on to receive his Ph.D. in engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1961, and his Ph.D. in engineering sciences from the University of California, San Diego in 1971.
Slaughter joined the U.S. Navy Electronics Laboratory in San Diego in 1960. In 1975, he became Director of the Applied Physics Laboratory of the University of Washington; and, in 1977, Slaughter was appointed Assistant Director for Astronomics, Atmospherics, Earth and Ocean Sciences at the National Science Foundation. From 1979 to 1980, Slaughter was Provost and Academic Vice President at Washington State University. The, he serves as the director of the National Science Foundation in Washington D.C. for two years. Between 1982 and 1988, Slaughter was the Chancellor of the University of Maryland, College Park, where he made major advances in e recruitment and retention of African-American students and faculty. Slaughter then was elected President of Occidental College in Los Angeles from 1988 through July 1999. In August 1999, he assumed the position of Melbo Professor of Leadership in Education at the University of Southern California. In June 2000, Slaughter was named President and CEO of The National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, Inc.
Slaughter holds honorary degrees from more than 25 institutions of higher education. He was also a recipient of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Award in 1997, and UCLA’s Medal of Excellence in 1989. Slaughter was honored with the first U.S. Black Engineer of the Year award in 1987, and received the Arthur M. Bueche Award from the Nation Academy of Engineering in 2004, where he is also a fellow. Slaughter is married to Dr. Ida Bernice Slaughter, an educational consultant and former school administrator. They have two children: a son, Dr. John Brooks Slaughter, Jr., DVM, and a daughter, Ms. Jacqueline Michelle Slaughter.
John Brooks Slaughter was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on November 28, 2012.
A2012.205
Male
11/28/2012
Slaughter
Married
Brooks
University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, San Diego
Kansas State University
Topeka High School
John
Topeka
SLA02
Fall, September
Kansas
Home
Some people would rather have a cause than an effect.

California
3/16/1934
Los Angeles
United States
Ribs (Pork Spare)
Electrical engineer and education administrator John Slaughter (1934 - ) was the first African American to direct the National Science Foundation and developed computer algorithms for system optimization and discrete signal processing.
Convair
United States Naval Electronic Laboratory Center
United States Naval Applied Physics Laboratory
University of Washington
Washington State University
National Science Foundation (NSF)
University of Maryland, College Park
Occidental College
University of Southern California
National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, Inc.
Purple
Tape: 1 Story: 1 - Slating of John Slaughter's interview
Tape: 1 Story: 2 - John Slaughter lists his favorites
Tape: 1 Story: 3 - John Slaughter describes his mother's family background
Tape: 1 Story: 4 - John Slaughter describes his father's family background
Tape: 1 Story: 5 - John Slaughter talks about his father's work in the coal mines
Tape: 1 Story: 6 - John Slaughter talks about his parents
Tape: 1 Story: 7 - John Slaughter talks about his siblings
Tape: 2 Story: 1 - John Slaughter describes his childhood home
Tape: 2 Story: 2 - John Slaughter shares his earliest childhood memory
Tape: 2 Story: 3 - John Slaughter describes his childhood neighborhood
Tape: 2 Story: 4 - John Slaughter describes his experience at Buchanan Elementary School
Tape: 2 Story: 5 - John Slaughter describes his skill with electronics and his desire to become an engineer
Tape: 2 Story: 6 - John Slaughter talks about his extracurricular activities
Tape: 2 Story: 7 - John Slaughter talks about the teachers that influenced him
Tape: 2 Story: 8 - John Slaughter describes his experience of World War II
Tape: 2 Story: 9 - John Slaughter talks about his family and the Civil Rights Movement
Tape: 2 Story: 10 - John Slaughter talks about his teacher, Howard Anderson
Tape: 3 Story: 1 - John Slaughter talks about Washburn University
Tape: 3 Story: 2 - John Slaughter describes the impact of his liberal arts education
Tape: 3 Story: 3 - John Slaughter talks about the Kansas State University
Tape: 3 Story: 4 - John Slaughter talks about teachers at Washburn University that influenced him
Tape: 3 Story: 5 - John Slaughter describes his experience with computers at the Kansas State University
Tape: 3 Story: 6 - John Slaughter talks about organizations he joined as an undergraduate
Tape: 3 Story: 7 - John Slaughter talks about the Brown vs. the Board of Education decision
Tape: 3 Story: 8 - John Slaughter talks about his cousin, Lucinda Todd
Tape: 3 Story: 9 - John Slaughter describes his decision to work at General Dynamics
Tape: 3 Story: 10 - John Slaughter talks about the offer to be "the Jackie Robinson of Westinghouse"
Tape: 4 Story: 1 - John Slaughter describnes his work at General Dynamics
Tape: 4 Story: 2 - John Slaughter describes his work with the U.S. Navy Electronic Laboratory
Tape: 4 Story: 3 - John Slaughter talks about his graduate studies and his decision to pursue his Ph.D.
Tape: 4 Story: 4 - John Slaughter describes his doctoral research
Tape: 4 Story: 5 - John Slaughter talks about his work at the University of Washington
Tape: 4 Story: 6 - John Slaughter describes his work with the National Science Foundation
Tape: 4 Story: 7 - John Slaughter describes his work at Washington State University
Tape: 5 Story: 1 - John Slaughter talks about his work to restore funding for science education
Tape: 5 Story: 2 - John Slaughter talks about the difference between science and engineering
Tape: 5 Story: 3 - John Slaughter talks about his time at the University of Maryland
Tape: 5 Story: 4 - John Slaughter talks about the challenges he faced at the University of Maryland (part 1)
Tape: 5 Story: 5 - John Slaughter talks about the challenges he faced at the University of Maryland (part 2)
Tape: 5 Story: 6 - John Slaughter talks about his inspiration and role models
Tape: 5 Story: 7 - John Slaughter describes his work at Occidental College
Tape: 6 Story: 1 - John Slaughter talks about former students of Occidental College
Tape: 6 Story: 2 - John Slaughter describes his work at the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering
Tape: 6 Story: 3 - John Slaughter describes his work at the University of Southern California
Tape: 6 Story: 4 - John Slaughter talks about the Rodney King incident
Tape: 6 Story: 5 - John Slaughter talks about affirmative action
Tape: 6 Story: 6 - John Slaughter describes his current role at the University of Southern California
Tape: 6 Story: 7 - John Slaughter shares his hopes and concerns for the African American community
Tape: 6 Story: 8 - John Slaughter reflects on his career
Tape: 6 Story: 9 - John Slaughter talks about his legacy
Tape: 6 Story: 10 - John Slaughter talks about his family
Tape: 6 Story: 11 - John Slaughter tells how he would like to be remembered
Tape: 7 Story: 1 - John Slaughter describes his photos
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