Seamans, Herbert Lee
Dates
- Existence: 1892 - 1977
Biographical Statement
Dr. Herbert L. Seamans, professor and advocate for intergroup relations, religion and education was born in 1892 to Eva Tinkham Seamans and Will Lee Seamans in Kinsley, Kansas. He graduated from Wichita State University with a bachelors of arts degree in 1913, received his masters in arts from Yale University in 1928, and earned his doctoral degree in education from Stanford University in 1947. Seamans served as the long-time the Director of Commission on Educational Organizations for the National Conference of Christian and Jews from 1939 to 1957. The National Conference of Christians and Jews (NCCJ) was formed in 1928 to facilitate cooperation between religions on civic and social justice issues and to promote understanding and mutual respect through education and dialogue. From 1948 to 1950, Dr. Seamans was on leave from NCCJ, while he served as an adviser of religious education to the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers in Tokyo, Japan. After retiring from the NCCJ, he continued to work as a consultant on education with the organization within the Florida region. Seamans continued his work in education as a Professor of Human Relations at the University of Miami (1957-1962).
In conjunction with his work for the NCCJ he conducted summer workshops in intergroup and human relations as Director of Intergroup Education Workshops at the School of Education at Stanford University (1953-1963), as well as other universities in the United States and Puerto Rico. These workshops were created to offer teacher in-services and designed to assist educators to create localized and specific curricula focused on eliminating discrimination in their schools, communities, and society at large.
Dr. Seamans died on September 10, 1977, in Miami, Florida.