Phyllis Jenkins Barrow devoted her life to public service.
Born in Athens in 1920, she graduated at the top of her high school class at age 15 and earned her bachelor’s degree from UGA by the time she was 19. She was the first UGA graduate to enlist in the Women’s Army Corps in 1942. Phyllis was an activist for women’s rights and instrumental in keeping Georgia schools open during the desegregation crisis of the 60s.
She joined the faculty of UGA in 1964. For 24 years, she taught over 9,000 students from all 159 counties in her famous course, “Contemporary Georgia.” When she retired in 1988, her former students established the Phyllis Jenkins Barrow scholarship in her honor, a scholarship which has been awarded every year since 1991.