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Title
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Dr. Lua Bartley
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Alternative Title
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Lua S. "Flash" Bartley
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Birth Date
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May 16, 1912
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Transition Date
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January 26, 1985
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Category
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Educator
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Affiliation to FAMU
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Faculty
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Life at FAMU
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Distinguished educator, coach, administrator, and scholar whose service helped shape the development of health, physical education, recreation, and athletics at Florida A&M University. Working during an important period of institutional growth, Bartley served as a professor, coach, and administrator and became part of a notable generation of FAMU athletic leaders that included William “Big Bill” Bell and Alonzo S. “Jake” Gaither.
Central to Bartley’s work was her conviction that collegiate athletics should remain grounded in the educational mission of the University. She promoted the philosophy that athletes should be “students first and athletes second,” emphasizing academic achievement, personal development, discipline, and preparation for life beyond athletic competition. Her approach helped reinforce a FAMU tradition in which athletic excellence and educational accomplishment were viewed as complementary responsibilities.
Bartley also contributed significantly to preserving FAMU’s institutional history. Recognizing the importance of documenting the development of her academic field, she researched and authored *A Brief History of the Division of Health, Physical Education and Recreation at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University from 1918 through 1978*. Her scholarship preserved six decades of the University’s history in physical education, health, recreation, and athletics and provided an important record for future generations.
Her influence was particularly meaningful to the development of opportunities for women in physical education and athletics. As an educator and administrator, Bartley belonged to an earlier generation of Black women professionals whose teaching and leadership helped establish foundations upon which later women’s athletic programs could expand.
Florida A&M recognized Bartley’s contributions through her induction into the FAMU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1984. Her legacy remains visible through the Lua S. Bartley Women’s Athletic Complex/Building and the Lua S. Bartley Academic Achievement Award. Together, these honors preserve the central principles of her career: educational excellence, athletic opportunity, institutional stewardship, and the development of the whole student.
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Life Bio
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Accomplished educator, coach, academic administrator, and scholar whose professional career contributed to the advancement of health and physical education at historically Black colleges and universities. She earned her A.B. degree from Howard University in 1931 and continued her graduate education at the University of Michigan, receiving a Master of Science degree in 1937. Her advanced academic preparation positioned her among a significant generation of African American women who pursued professional leadership in higher education despite the racial and gender barriers of the twentieth century.
Bartley devoted her professional life to the development of health, physical education, recreation, and athletics as interconnected components of education. Her career included substantial service at Tennessee State University, where she served as an associate professor and longtime head of the Department of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation. In this leadership capacity, she contributed to curriculum development, teacher preparation, departmental administration, and the professional training of future educators and coaches.
Throughout her career, Bartley viewed physical education as more than athletic competition. She understood the discipline as a means of promoting health, intellectual development, personal responsibility, physical fitness, leadership, and lifelong well-being. Her educational philosophy placed particular emphasis on ensuring that athletic participation supported rather than overshadowed a student’s academic responsibilities.
Bartley’s career was also significant within the broader history of African American women in higher education. As a Black woman serving as a professor, department leader, coach, and administrator during an era of substantial racial and gender discrimination, she demonstrated the important leadership roles women exercised within historically Black institutions. Her work helped prepare educators and professionals who carried their training into schools, colleges, athletic programs, and communities throughout the nation.
In addition to teaching and administration, Bartley demonstrated a strong commitment to scholarship and historical preservation. Her efforts to document the development of health and physical education reflected an understanding that preserving institutional and professional history was itself an important form of educational stewardship.
Dr. Bartley died on January 26, 1985, leaving a professional legacy defined by scholarship, mentorship, discipline, and service. Through a career spanning teaching, coaching, academic administration, and historical research, she helped strengthen physical education as a professional discipline while advocating for an educational philosophy centered on the complete development of the student. Her life stands as an important example of Black women’s leadership in twentieth-century American higher education and athletics.
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Artifact Dimensions
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L x W: 27.38 x 22.5in (69.53 x 57.15cm)
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Medium
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Enlarged printed photo, dark wood frame
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Rights
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All rights reserved. The use of any part of these objects and photographs transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, or stored in a retrieval system without the prior written consent of Meek-Eaton Black Archives is an infringement of the copyright law.
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Rights Holder
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Meek - Eaton Southeastern Regional Black Archives Research Center and Museum
