Marguerite Ross Barnett was born in Charlottesville, Virginia on May 22, 1942, but grew up in Buffalo, New York. She graduated from Buffalo's Bennett High School in 1959, and later attended Antioch College graduating with an A.B. in Political Science in 1964. Following her undergraduate studies, Barnett continued her study of political science at the University of Chicago where she received her M.A. and Ph.D. in 1966 and 1972 respectively.

Barnett held several teaching positions during her career, beginning as a lecturer at the University of Chicago in 1969. She also taught at Princeton, Howard, and Columbia. As an administrator, she held positions at the City University of New York and the University of Missouri-Saint Louis before coming to the University of Houston in the fall of 1990.

When Dr. Barnett assumed the role of President at the University of Houston, she became the first woman, as well as the first African-American to hold the office. Among her many accomplishments at UH, Barnett succeeded in raising more than $150 million for the institution, establishing the Texas Center for Environmental Studies, and instituting the nationally recognized Bridge Program. The Bridge Program aided motivated, disadvantaged students make a successful transition from high school to college.

In early 1992, the University of Houston's Board of Regents granted Dr. Barnett a six month leave of absence for treatment of a neuro-endorcrinological condition. She succumbed to complications from the disease on February 26, 1992.

Sources: Smith, Jessie Carney, ed. "Marguerite Ross Barnett," Notable Black American Women. Detroit: Gale Research, Inc. 1992.

Williams-Andoh, Ife. "Marguerite Ross Barnett," Facts on File Encyclopedia of Black Women in America: Education. New York: Facts on File, Inc. 1997.