Ulysses Doss, the founder of the Black studies program at the University of Montana, died on August 8 at his home in Missoula, Montana. He was 88 years old.
A native of Racine, Wisconsin, Dr. Doss’s educational career started at Ripon College in Wisconsin where earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and participated in track and field, basketball, and football. He went on to earn a bachelor of divinity degree from what is now the Garrett–Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois. He held a master’s degree from Northwestern University and a Ph.D. in humanities from Union Graduate School in Cincinnati
During the 1960s, Dr. Doss led civil rights activities as an ordained minister on Chicago’s westside. He founded the Christian Action Ministry, a local civil rights group focused on racial discrimination.
In 1968 Dr. Doss founded the Black studies program at the University of Montana. At the time, it was only the second Black studies program west of the Mississippi River, according to the university.
In 2013, the University of Montana honored Dr. Doss by establishing the Ulysses S. Doss scholarship fund. The honor is awarded annually to a student who has financial need and is involved in the African American studies program at the university.
