NewsRelease
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UNCG to Award Honorary Degree to Retired NASA Astronomer
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GREENSBORO – Dr. Jaylee Montague Mead of Washington, D.C., an alumna who had a 33-year career with NASA as a mathematician, an astronomer and an administrator, will receive an honorary Doctor of Science degree from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro on Friday, May 16, during commencement exercises.
UNCG's commencement will begin at 10 a.m. in the Greensboro Coliseum and degrees will be presented to an estimated 1,800 students who are candidates to complete degrees during spring semester. High Point businessman Nido R. Qubein will give the commencement address.
Mead, who was originally from Clayton, N.C., graduated magna cum laude in 1951 from Woman’s College (now UNCG) with a B.A. in mathematics. She went on to Stanford University to earn an M.A. in education, and then to Georgetown University, where she earned a Ph.D. in astronomy.
In 1959, Mead was one of the first professional women to be hired by NASA. During her 33-year tenure at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, she served as mathematician, staff astronomer and assistant chief of the Laboratory for Astronomy & Solar Physics. She established the Goddard Astronomical Data Center, a computerized data bank of stars and galaxies to aid astronomers in determining whether the objects they were viewing from space missions had already been identified, or were being discovered for the first time. During her tenure, she received the Goddard Award for Outstanding Service, the Women in Aerospace Lifetime Achievement Award, and the 1986 NASA Medal for Scientific Leadership. She retired in 1992 as associate chief of the Space Data & Computing Division.
Mead has maintained her connection to UNCG over the years. She pledged $1 million to help equip the new Science Building, which is nearing completion. To honor her, the 300-seat auditorium and adjoining gallery will be named the Jaylee Montague Mead Auditorium and Gallery. Groundbreaking for the $47.7 million, 170,000-square-foot building took place in March 2001. Construction is funded with a portion of the N.C. Higher Education Bonds. The estimated cost of equipping the building is $5 million, with $1 million coming from the state.
In 1997, Mead donated $100,000 to the Second Century Campaign to support the Merit Scholar Program, which provides scholarships to academically talented students. She has served on the Alumni Association Board of Trustees as member and vice president, the Excellence Foundation, and the Board of Visitors. She also served as a member of the Class of 1951 Reunion Gift Committee. In 1995, she received the UNCG Alumni Distinguished Service Award.
Currently active in many Washington non-profits, Mead serves on the boards of The Studio Theatre (chair for 7 years), Helen Hayes Theatre Awards, Corcoran College of Art, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers, and the Council on Foundations Committee on Family Foundations.
She and her husband, Gilbert Mead, who was a NASA scientist for 25 years, have been recognized among the leading philanthropists in the nation's capital. They established the Gilbert and Jaylee Mead Family Foundation in 1988. In 1998, they were presented with the Mayor's Award for Excellence in the Arts and the Washington Post Award for Distinguished Community Service. They were recognized as Washingtonians of the Year in 1999.
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