Notable People: Milburn T. Maupin

Milburn T. Maupin served as Interim Superintendent of Louisville City Schools and Jefferson County Public Schools between January and June of 1975. This made him the first Black Superintendent in the history of the Louisville/Jefferson County School Districts. His service to Louisville’s public education system, however, spanned over four decades in various educational and administrative positions.

Milburn Taylor Maupin was born in Louisville on March 23, 1926, the oldest of Miller and Mary Maupin’s seven children. He went to Louisville public schools and the Oakwood Academy in Huntsville, Alabama. Maupin received a bachelor’s degree from Louisville Municipal College in 1949 and a master’s degree in education from Indiana University in 1951. While at Louisville Municipal College, he was president of his senior class and voted Most Outstanding Senior by the faculty. Maupin was given an honorary Doctor of Law from Spalding College in 1975.

Maupin began his career with the Louisville Public Schools in 1949 as a Social Studies teacher at Jackson Junior High School (now Meyzeek Middle), DuValle Junior High School, and Central High School. He received a Ford Fellowship for the 1955-56 school year to observe curriculum practices at selected schools in the East and Midwest. In 1958, Maupin was appointed Assistant Principal at the Jackson Junior High School and Booker T. Washington Elementary School complex. He continued his rise the next year when he was selected to be principal of the Jackson-Washington School complex. Maupin served as principal until 1965, when he became the first Black administrator in the Louisville School District’s central office. His first central-office position was as the Director of the Community School Program, which he held until 1967. Between 1967 and 1974, Maupin served as the Director of Title I (1967-69), the Assistant Superintendent for Federally-Related Programs (1968-70), the Chair of the Department of Employee Personnel Services (1970-73), and the Deputy Superintendent for Operations (1973-74). After his tenure as Interim Superintendent (January-June 1975), Maupin was Deputy Superintendent of Jefferson County Public Schools until his retirement on July 1, 1978. In 1985, JCPS honored him by renaming Parkland Elementary School the Milburn T. Maupin Elementary School.

In addition to his career in public education, Maupin was an active citizen in private life. He was a World War II Veteran and served as an alderman for Louisville’s First Ward between 1977 and 1979. Maupin was active in civic organizations including the Louisville Education Association, the Boy Scouts of America, the Rotary Club of Louisville, the Kentucky Derby Festival Committee and the Louisville Committee of Foreign Relations. He was married to Madeline and they raised two daughters. Maupin passed away on March 11, 1990.