Mobley was born in Shreveport, Louisiana on October 14, 1925.
She earned a bachelor of arts degree from Bishop College in 1945, a master in
business administration degree from the Wharton School of Business at the
University of Pennsylvania in 1961, and a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois
in 1963.
Over the span of her 58 years of service to FAMU, she served
as a professor (1963-2003), department head (1971-1974), and the founding dean
of SBI (1974-2003), and then dean emeritus.
“Everything we did in the School of Business and Industry,
we did as a team. I am glad the team is still here,” Mobley said at the
dedication ceremony. “It is certainly a delight coming to see the building --
and it is finished.”
Mobley served on the corporate boards of Anheuser-Busch Co.
Inc., Hershey Foods Corporation, Sears Roebuck & Company, and Discover,
Inc. She was also a member of Alpha
Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
Mobley and her late husband, James Otis, were the parents of
three children: James Otis, Jr., Janet Yolanda
Sermon, and Melvin.
View a photographic tribute to Mobley here.