Harold Amos portrait (c. 1941)

This is a portrait of Springfield College alumnus and faculty member Dr. Harold Amos from 1941, when he was a student.Dr. Harold Amos (September 7, 1918 – February 26, 2003) was a microbiologist and professor. He grew up in New Jersey and graduated from Springfield College in 1941. As an undergraduate, Amos was a leader in athletics and in student organizations. He served as editor of the Massasoit in his junior year and of the college newspaper during his senior year. He played baseball, tennis, and golf, and was a popular piano accompanist for college singing. In October 1942, Amos entered the Army Quartermaster Corps. His service awards include five campaign stars, ETO theater ribbon, ETO and American Defense Medal and the Victory Medal. After three and a half years of military services, Dr. Amos entered Harvard University for graduate study in biology; he received his master’s degree in 1946. In September 1947, Springfield College hired him as a biology professor. Dr. Amos was the college’s first African American faculty member. In 1952, he earned his PhD from Harvard Medical School. Upon completing a Fulbright Scholarship, Amos joined the Harvard Medical School faculty in 1954. In 1975, he was named the Maude and Lillian Presley professor of microbiology and molecular genetics. Amos was a presidential advisor to Richard Nixon and a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1974). He was awarded the National Academy of Sciences' Public Welfare Medal in 1995 and the Harvard Centennial Medal in 2000