Abdulalim A. Shabazz

Who is Abdulalim A. Shabazz?

Abdulalim A. Shabazz is an African American Professor of Mathematics. He received the National Association of Mathematicians Distinguished Service Award for his years of mentoring and teaching excellence. President of the United States Bill Clinton awarded Shabazz with a National Mentor award in September 2000.

Shabazz was born Lonnie Cross in Bessemer, Alabama. In 1949, he earned a Bachelor of Arts in chemistry and mathematics from Lincoln University. Two years later he earned a Master of Science in Mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in mathematics and a Doctor of Philosophy in 1955 in mathematical analysis from Cornell University. His subject of his doctoral dissertation was "The Distribution of Eigenvalues of the Equation: Integral of A PHI with Respect to T Between Lower Limit -A and Upper Limit A=Rho".

Shabazz was appointed an Assistant Professor of Mathematics by Tuskegee Institute in 1956. From 1957 until 1963, he served as chairman and Associate Professor of Mathematics at Clark Atlanta University.

Shabazz announced in 1961 that he was a member of the Nation of Islam.

From 1975 until 1986, Shabazz taught in Chicago, Detroit, and in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. In 1986, Shabazz came back to Clark Atlanta, where he served as chair from 1990 until 1995. From 1998 until 2000, Shabazz was Chairman of the Mathermatics and Computer Science Department at Lincoln University.