Blanche Watrous joined the ECC faculty in the fall of 1964 as an associate professor of anthropology in the newly organized Department of Sociology. Not long after arriving on campus, Watrous emerged as a leading figure in the promotion of shared governance, playing a key role in the founding of the Faculty Senate in 1965. At the curricular level, Watrous led in the implementation, in 1969, of the university’s first African Studies Program. Watrous remained at East Carolina through the mid-1970s, later becoming head of the combined Department of Sociology and Anthropology. In that capacity, she assisted in ECU’s initiatives in international studies, especially in relation to Japan and East Asian studies. Watrous’ efforts on behalf of curricular diversification during the 1960s and 1970s – decades when East Carolina remained a predominantly if not exclusively Eurocentric institution – establish her as one of the outstanding faculty in university history.
In the fall of 1968, as racial tensions grew on campus, Watrous was appointed to and chaired the Committee on African Studies, established by the College of Arts and Sciences and tasked with planning and implementing the university’s first African Studies Program. The summer before, Watrous participated in a seminar at the UCLA African Studies Center, there studying Swahili as well as contemporary political issues related to African states. In April 1969, Watrous’ Committee on African Studies helped organize and sponsor ECU’s first African Culture Festival. In the summer of 1969, Watrous traveled to Africa with Janet Peterson, an assistant professor of geography, as part of an American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education initiative promoting the development of African Studies programs at American colleges and universities.
In the fall of 1969, the efforts of Watrous and others came to fruition with the curricular establishment of ECU’s first African Studies Program. Well before the Society of United Liberal Students (SOULS) presented its Ten Demands to the ECU administration in the spring of 1969, calling for, among other things, the creation of a Black Studies Program, Watrous’ efforts in this direction revealed that the administration and faculty were actively engaged in the process of curricular diversification as one prong of the school’s strategy toward realizing a more authentic level of racial integration on campus.
Following her retirement from ECU in the mid-1970s, Watrous’ interests in the diversity of human cultures led her to accept a position as a professor of anthropology at Kansai University of Foreign Studies (Kansai Gaidai) in Hirakata, Japan, just outside Osaka. There, she played an instrumental role in founding the school’s department of anthropology. In addition to teaching graduate classes, Watrous also emerged as an outspoken advocate – alongside Harvard University history professor and former ambassador to Japan, Edwin O. Reischauer, and Senior Advisor in Japan’s Foreign Office, Masao Kunihiro – of Japan’s role as a global leader for the cause of peace and human understanding through cultural exchange. Watrous taught at Kansai Gaidai until 1990, when, at age 80, she retired. She passed away in September of 2001, age 91.
Sources
- “African ‘Fest’ considered ‘surprisingly successful’ Drums, music, and politics highlight event.” East Carolinian. Vol. 44, No. 9. April 22, 1969. P. 2. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/39408
- “African Studies begin.” Fountainhead. Vol. 1, no. 8. October 7, 1969. P. 2. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/39432
- “Blanche Green Watrous.” Asbury Park Press. September 25, 2001. P. A11.
- “EC profs Watrous, Peterson to observe and study Africa.” East Carolinian. Vol. 44, No. 12. May 1, 1969. P. 2. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/39411
- “ECC’s Faculty Senate Stages Initial Session.” Rocky Mount Telegram. March 17, 1965. P. 12A.
- “First ECC Symposium For Teachers Planned.” Rocky Mount Telegram. December 2, 1965. P. 6B.
- Hadden, Whitney. “Black students demand campus reforms.” East Carolinian. Vol. 44, No. 1. March 14, 1969. P. 3. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/39401
- Machida, Cal. “It’s peace no nothing at all, ex-envoy warns big nations.” Honolulu Advertiser. July 14, 1978. P. D14.
- “Professors Of Various Fields Expand Faculty.” East Carolinian. Vol. 40, no. 2. September 11, 1964. P. 3. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/38833
- Teel, Bennie. “Faculty Senate Forms New Policy.” East Carolinian. Vol. 40, No. 36. March 11, 1965. P. 1. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/38866
Citation Information
Title: Blanche Greene Watrous
Author: John A. Tucker, PhD
Date of Publication: 2/3/2020