An ambition to give: Gertrude cox’s institution building at home and abroad

Abstract

Gertrude Cox (1900–1978), first chair of North Carolina State University’s Department of Experimental Statistics, worked as a consultant for the Ford Foundation to Cairo University’s Institute of Statistical Studies and Researches in 1964. This chapter will analyze the developments that led her there as well as her contribution to that project in order to uncover some unexplored ground in the history of women in American science and in the history of statistics. It will document Cox’s commitment to serving her professional community and highlight some qualities of Cox’s approach to her work that enabled her to accomplish what other colleagues tried unsuccessfully to do. This chapter is an excerpt of Hunter, Patti W. 2008. “Gertrude Cox in Egypt: A Case Study in Science Patronage and International Statistics Education during the Cold War.” Science in Context 22(1):47–83. Used with permission.