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Wrong question. Raimey-Noland isn’t a singular person, so the correct verb isn’t was but were. Mabel Watson Raimey 1918 and William Smith Noland 1875 were, respectively, the first known Black female and male graduates of the UW. Noland was the son of William H. and Anna Noland, who are believed to have been Madison’s first Black permanent residents. He entered the university in 1869 and received his degree in classics. After a brief time in UW Law School, he moved to Philadelphia and became a reporter. He died in Massachusetts in 1890. Raimey came to the UW from Milwaukee, and after earning her bachelor’s degree, she tried her hand at teaching before studying law at Marquette. She became the first Black woman to practice law in Wisconsin. She was an active member of the bar until 1972, and she passed away in 1986. The Raimey-Noland Campaign honors both grads and is raising funds to promote diversity among students, faculty, and staff, and to help make campus a welcoming place.

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