A life-sized bust of Alice Augusta Ball, a trailblazing chemist and University of Hawaiʻi alumna, was unveiled December 20, at Hamilton Library on the UH Mānoa campus, commemorating her groundbreaking contributions to science and her enduring legacy.
In 1915, Ball became the first African-American and woman to graduate from both UH Mānoa and the U.S. with a master’s degree in chemistry. At the age of 23, she discovered an injectable form of oil from the Chaulmoogra tree, which became the most effective treatment for Hansen’s disease (leprosy) in the first half of the twentieth century. Sadly, Ball died on December 31, 1916, at the age of 24, before publishing her groundbreaking work.
The unveiling ceremony, attended by more than 75 guests, included remarks from UH President David Lassner and local artist and UH alumna Lynn Liverton, who sculpted the bust. Ten students participating in the Alice Ball Memorial Black Graduation earlier in the day were featured. Four students led the unveiling, draping a stole over the bust, symbolizing Ball’s academic and cultural achievements.
“When I think about her legacy and how I’m a part of it, it was because she was the first and so I’m really grateful to her,” said LaJoya Shelly, a fall 2024 PhD graduate in educational administration. “I have immense pride to be a Black woman attending the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, immense pride to be a scholar that graduated from this institution because of Alice.”
“Bringing recognition to her as a UH student, UH instructor, Black woman at a time when this kind of achievement was unheard of just seemed so important for us as a university to honor someone really special,” Lassner said.
UH Mānoa Provost Michael Bruno followed by adorning the sculpture with a maile lei. The sculpture sits atop a custom plinth crafted by local woodworker Billy Jack Davis and both were funded through a UH Foundation’s Special Projects Fund established by Lassner.
“The Faculty Senate said maybe we should think about a bust or a statue or something, and I just decided to run with the idea,” Lassner said. “I talked with Lynn Liverton and commissioned her to do this and it all has come together 10 days before I retire as president, so I couldn’t have been happier, especially that we were able to do this on the same day as the Alice Ball Black Graduation celebrated by our Black student graduates each year.”
Liverton added, “I’m just so grateful that she finally got her due. I wish that she was around. Hopefully her spirit is here, understanding what is happening and that she’s being honored. For me it was one of my favorite busts to work on.”
Ball is celebrated for her groundbreaking “Ball Method,” a technique for isolating chaulmoogra oil compounds that became the first effective treatment for Hansen’s disease. Her work, posthumously credited, has been recognized globally, including a designation as a National Historic Chemical Landmark by the American Chemical Society.
For more about Alice Ball’s legacy, see this UH News story.
