found: African American National Biography, accessed March 17, 2015, via Oxford African American Studies Center database:(Owens, Joan Murrell; Joan Murrell; educator, marine biologist, geologist; born 30 June, 1933 in Miami, Florida, United States; Bachelor in Fine Arts from Fisk University, Nashville, Tennessee (1954); MS in Guidance Counseling from University of Michigan (1956); the first African American woman to receive PhD in Geology from George Washington University (1973); taught remedial English at Howard University (1958); taught English at the Institute for Services to Education (ISE), in Newton, Massachusetts (1964); transferred to ISE's offices in Washington, D.C. (1970); joined the Howard geology faculty; studied button coral skeletons; discovered new species in the genus; transferred to Howard Biology Department working with marine biology (1992-1995); died 25 May, 2011 in Washington, District of Columbia, United States)
