William J. Cousins

For other people named William Cousins, see William Cousins (disambiguation).

William J. Cousins (January 25, 1924 – July 31, 2013)[1] was an American sociologist who led international urban community development, taught sociology and race relations at several colleges, and wrote a number of books and articles on international community development. Although he was raised in the Baptist Church, he began his affiliation with the Quakers during his university years and became a lifelong pacifist.

Cousins was the first black faculty member at Wellesley College,[2] and among the first African Americans to teach at a top liberal arts college[3]

Shortly after completing his Ph.D. at Yale University, Cousins went to India with the American Friends Service Committee and began a career in international community development. He led several projects over the years in which reliance on local leaders and community members, rather than outside aid, led to important improvement in slum living conditions.[4]

Notable among these was Cousins' work in the 1970s through UNICEF on the successful model project in Hyderabad, India's fifth largest city. There, Cousins and his team concentrated on creating a community spirit before attempting to improve homes and other community facilities.[5]

  1. ^ "Bill Cousins" (PDF). Meeting House of the Friends Meeting of Washington. Retrieved September 20, 2014.
  2. ^ Marian Burros, Critique From 50's Wellesley Grads, The New York Times, December 29, 2003.
  3. ^ JBHE Foundation, The First Black Faculty Members at the Nation's Highest-Ranked Liberal Arts Colleges, The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, No. 45 (Autumn, 2004), pp. 107-111*
  4. ^ Urban Basic Services in Unicef, Unicef History Monograph Series XIV, by William J. Cousins, copyright. United Nations Children's Fund 1992
  5. ^ Maggie Black, The Children and the Nations, The Story of UNICEF, UNICEF, 1986, Chapter 17: p. 426.