(1926- ) American Geophysicist
Randolph Bromery pioneered the integration of African Americans into the world of Earth scientists and has achieved the greatest success in this regard. Not only has he been successful in contributing to the science, but also he has assumed a number of high-profile positions in government, academia, and industry, all with equally impressive results. He serves on the board of directors for such companies as Exxon, Chemical Bank, NYNEX, John Hancock Insurance, Singer, Southern New England Telephone, and Northwestern Life. He helped found the Weston Geophysical International Corporation in 1981, and served as manager from 1981 to 1986. He also founded the Geoscience Engineering Corporation in 1983.
Utilizing his pilot training, Bromery’s first research efforts were to become involved in pioneering efforts of airborne geophysical surveying. This work involved not only the development and testing of new equipment but also the interpretation of the data obtained. The research began with airborne magnetic surveying of the United States by flying numerous parallel straight paths at one-mile spacing or less and taking regular individual readings until the whole target area was covered. The next airborne geophysical method to be investigated was radioactivity, which was also done for the contemporaneous United States, Alaska and Hawaii. This research was extended to West Africa, where he planned and executed a survey of Liberia in a U.S. State Department-sponsored program. The main goal of the program was to search for economic mineral deposits and was extended to other countries as well. Bromery also conducted land-based gravity and other geophysical investigations.
Randolph (Bill) Bromery was born on January 18, 1926, in Cumberland, Maryland, where he grew up. The Great Depression made his youth financially difficult. He attended the segregated and poorly funded Frederick Street School, but he was fortunately able to attend the new George Washington Carver High School, where he was a member of the first graduating class in 1942. He supplemented his formal education with tutoring to make up for the deficiencies of the school. Because he had advanced machine shop training in an after-school program through President Roosevelt’s National Youth Administration, Bromery was able to obtain a machinist job in Detroit, Michigan. It was short-lived, however, because he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps and was called to active duty in 1943. He was trained as a pilot and assigned to the 99th Air Squadron as part of the famous Tuskegee (Alabama) Airmen. He was stationed in southern Italy, where he flew fighter escort missions.
After his discharge in 1945, Bromery took a correspondence course in mathematics from the University of Utah to achieve admission to the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. Unfortunately, his mother became ill and he transferred to Howard University in Washington, D.C., to be near her after only one year. He left Howard University in 1948 before graduating to take a position with the Airborne Geophysics Group at the U.S. Geological Survey in Cabin John, Maryland. Bill Bromery married Cecile Trescott that year; they have five children. Bromery finally returned to Howard University to complete his bachelor of science degree in mathematics in 1956. He entered the graduate program in geology at the American University in Washington, D.C., as a part-time student, and was awarded a master of science degree in 1962. He attended the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, for the remainder of his graduate studies and earned a Ph.D. in geology on a Gilman Fellowship in 1968. His adviser was ERNST CLOOS.
In 1967, Bromery accepted a faculty position at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He became chair of the department in 1969, but moved to vice chancellor for student affairs in 1970. In 1971, however, he was made acting chancellor and finally chancellor for the University of Massachusetts. In 1977, he was also named executive vice president and then senior vice president as well. By 1979, Bromery was tired of administrative work and returned to the faculty as Commonwealth Professor of geophysics. Soon administrative work beckoned again and he served as president of Westfield State College in Massachusetts from 1988 to 1990. He moved directly to interim chancellor of the board of regents of higher education of Massachusetts from 1990 to 1991. In 1992, he was named president of Springfield College, Massachusetts, where he remained until 1999. He then moved back to the position of full chancellor of the board of regents where he remains today.
Among all of his numerous administrative and industrial positions, Randolph Bromery managed to lead a productive scientific career. He is an author of some 100 scientific publications in international journals, professional volumes, and governmental reports. Many of these form the basic groundwork for airborne geophysical surveying both in the United States and overseas. In recognition of his contributions to geology and pioneering efforts for minority participation in science, Randolph Bromery has received several honors and awards. He has received honorary doctoral degrees from Western New England College, Frostburg State College, Westfield State College, Hokkaido University in Japan, and North Adams State College. He was named Outstanding Black Scientist by the National Academy of Sciences and he received the Distinguished Service Award from the Geological Society of America, where he has served on numerous committees in leadership roles.
