Mildred Robertson Smalley, the 5th child of a family of two boys and four girls, was born on April 9, 1937, in Gadsden, Alabama to Jesse and Viola Wilkes Robertson.  After graduating from Carver High School in Gadsden, she received the Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry and mathematics from Alabama A&M University, Huntsville, and the Master of Science degree in organic chemistry from Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee.  Subsequently, after joining the

chemistry faculty of Southern University at Baton Rouge (SUBR) in the fall of 1965, she matriculated at Louisiana State University (LSU), Baton Rouge, from which she received a PhD in inorganic chemistry.  Mildred Robertson married Dr. Arnold Smalley (deceased), another SUBR professor of chemistry, after she joined the SUBR chemistry department in 1965.

During her matriculation in the PhD program in chemistry at LSU, Mildred faced the obstacle of being the only Black female in the program at a time when LSU was just becoming integrated.  Black students, including Blacks in the chemistry PhD program, were not permitted to use the LSU Chemistry Library at that time.  Mildred Robertson Smalley led the fight to integrate the LSU Chemistry Library and subsequently became the first Black female to receive a PhD in chemistry from LSU and one of the first Black women in the United States to receive a PhD in inorganic chemistry.

From 1965 (when she first joined SUBR as a faculty member) to 2000 (when she became Vice Chancellor for Research and Strategic Initiatives at SUBR), Dr. Mildred Smalley personified  excellence in teaching in the Department of Chemistry while simultaneously being heavily involved in community service. Immediately upon joining the department in 1965, she became intensely involved in chemical education.  It was her absolute dedication to teaching that led to the department’s selection of her to head the department’s first REU (Research Experiences for Undergraduates) program, funded in 1988 by a three-year NSF $93K grant.   In 1992 she received a three-year $20K grant from Olin Corporation to enhance undergraduate research.  Over the period of 1993 to 1995, Dr. Smalley developed a new inorganic chemistry laboratory course that enabled the chemistry department to meet the requirements for  reaccreditation in 1995.

Because of her total commitment to finding ways of effectively teaching students who enter college with serious academic deficiencies, the department appointed her head of the freshman chemistry program.  And her teaching record indicates that she actually did, in large measure, find a way to help academically deficient students; for her freshman chemistry students consistently scored the highest on ACS (American Chemical Society) standardized examinations given in the department.

In 1996 Professor Smalley was made SUBR campus coordinator of the National Science Foundation’s LAMP (Louisiana Alliance for Minority Participation, a five-year, statewide, $10M program designed to encourage minorities to pursue PhD degrees  in  science,  engineering, and  mathematics).  As LAMP  campus coordinator,  she was  responsible  for writing the yearly LAMP renewal proposals that generated more than $400,000 annually for SUBR.  At least $50K of this amount went to support student scholarships at SUBR. A major responsibility that she had as campus director of  LAMP was the coordinating of the LAMP student mentorship program.

While coordinating the on-campus LAMP activities at SUBR,  Dr. Smalley also directed PAC (Precollege Analytical Chemistry), a summer program at Southern University. PAC was an intensive eight-week course in college analytical chemistry designed for academically advanced high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors -- preferably minorities under-represented in the sciences, mathematics, and engineering. Similar to LAMP, PAC had the goal of motivating minority high school students to pursue careers in the sciences, engineering, and mathematics (SEM).  Additionally, PAC provided an apprenticeship for high school chemistry teachers under the supervision of university chemistry professors, so that working together they  could devise better ways of preparing high school students for college studies.

Dr. Smalley’s diligence and excellence as a chemistry teacher did not reduce her community service activities. She was very active as a deaconess at Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Baton Rouge.   She served as President of the Greater Baton Rouge Area YWCA and the 23rd President of the Gamma Eta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated in Baton Rouge.  She was always in great demand as a speaker at social, organizational, and church functions in the Baton Rouge area. She gave presentations at numerous professional meetings and regularly participated in multiple educational workshops (a number of which she conducted).

Despite the time that she had to take in teaching, traveling, and administering the PAC and LAMP programs at Southern University, Dr. Mildred Smalley periodically directed one or more students in undergraduate research projects during the course of a given semester.

As a professor and administrator at SUBR, Dr. Smalley received numerous academic honors and awards, among which were, Department of Chemistry Teacher of the Year (seven times), Southern University President’s Award for Academic Excellence, College of Sciences Teacher of the Year, Beta-Beta Honor Society’s Outstanding Research Award, and the Chancellor’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

As Vice Chancellor for Research and Strategic Initiatives, RSI (a position that she officially assumed in January 2000), Dr. Smalley laid a foundation of organization, proficiency, efficiency, and integrity that made the Office of RSI at SUBR a model operation for other institutions to take note of.  Under her seven-year leadership as VC for RSI at SUBR, external funding doubled; and the number of Louisiana Board of Regents (BOR) grants awarded to SUBR increased significantly.

As well as being an exceptional teacher and administrator, Professor Mildred Smalley was recognized by her peers as being an ideal role model for students.  She was an absolute personification of leadership, scholarship, mentorship, and teaching and administrative excellence in one unique package.

Shortly after Dr. Mildred Robertson Smalley retired from SUBR in 2007, the university bestowed on her the title of Professor Emeritus.

On the morning of June 24, 2021, Mildred passed peacefully at her home, surround by two of her caretakers, Ms. Viola Chenier and Ms. Alice Wheeler, who had come to love and cherish her. Three other caretakers who had come to love and cherish her as well were Ms. Gloria Williams, Ms. Janis Washington, and Ms. Patricia Jones.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Jesse Robertson and Viola Wilkes Robertson; and her siblings, Rev. Willie Robertson, Elnora Stickney, Jessie Marie Bennett, and Quincy Robertson.

She is survived by her sister, Doris Jean Leonard of  Seattle, Washington and a host of adoring nieces, nephews, and other relatives and friends.