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“I will have made it easier for people who come behind me,” reflected Dean Felicenne H. Ramey when thinking about her life’s work as a lawyer, professor, and university administrator. She shared these thoughts in a newspaper article about her childhood experience at the March on Washington in 1963, when she and her four brothers went to hear the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech. Making things easier for those who came behind her is precisely what she did in her 28 years of service at California State University, Sacramento (CSUS).
Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Ramey received her BS in Bacteriology from Pennsylvania State University and her MS in Biology at Duquesne University. She and her husband, the late Dr. Melvin R. Ramey moved to California in 1967. She continued her education and received her Juris Doctorate in Law from UC Davis School of Law and later an MA in Business from CSUS.
Professor Ramey began her nearly three-decade career at CSUS where she served as Special Assistant to the President; Chair of the Department of Organizational Behavior and Environment; Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Research; and ultimately as Dean of the College of Business Administration (1997-2004). She helped the business school reinstate its accreditation and is believed to be one of the first African American female deans to serve as the head of a predominantly white institution. In recognition of her leadership, she received the CSUS Alumni Association “Distinguished Faculty Award,” and the university’s Alumni Association “Order of the Hornet.”
To honor Dean Ramey and her contributions to California State University, Sacramento, her family has established the Dean Felicenne H. Ramey Memorial Fund. This endowed scholarship will support underrepresented students with need in the College of Business by removing financial obstacles to achieve academic success.
Dean Ramey's dedication to student excellence and success will endure through this memorial fund, continuing to support generations of CSUS Hornets.
