Sheldon Hall – Dr. Lillian Pegues Jennings

Sheldon Hall – Dr. Lillian Pegues Jennings

Sheldon Hall, named after Edward A. Sheldon, was originally built in 1923 as a dormitory for students attending Harrisonburg State Teacher’s College (now JMU) and is currently used for offices. Dr. Lillian Pegues Jennings was the first Black administrator hired on this campus. She arrived as an Assistant Dean in Madison College’s School of Education in April 1974 and also worked as a Professor of Psychology and Education. Her office was in Sheldon Hall. 

Dr. Lillian Pegues Jennings was born in Youngstown, Ohio on May 24th, 1926. After receiving her bachelor’s degree from Youngstown State University in Elementary Education she went on to further her education in the Masters program at Edinboro University and continued her education when she received a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh. 

Dr. Jennings was named the Assistant Dean of Madison College’s School of Education in April 1974 and began teaching as a professor of psychology and education in July 1974. Before coming to James Madison University she was the Director of the Office of Special Programs at Edinboro State College in Pennsylvania. An article in The Breeze newspaper described her work before coming to JMU. The article states “As director of the Office of Social Programs at Edinboro State, Dr. Jennings has been in charge of special programs, selected research, black studies and affirmative actions programs.” Another article states how Dr. Jennings felt when she started teaching at JMU. The article says “I like it and am delighted to be here and I found my working comrades very compatible.”

Dr. Jennings was very involved at JMU right from the beginning of working there and in 1975 she gave a speech titled “The Role of Women in 1975” where she discussed freedom and said that “Freedom entails making your own decisions and choices and being able to take the good with the bad consequences”. When she spoke in that speech about civil rights she said that “Women must consider how far they want to go, how much change they want to make, and how much change can be accommodated at this point”.

In 1977, Dr. Jennings took part as a panelist in a discussion about black achievements during JMU’s “Black Emphasis Week” which was “a week set aside to honor the achievements of blacks in American society” and had been “observed annually since the founding of the Black Student Alliance six or seven years ago”. In 1978, Dr. Jennings was listed as being very influential in helping the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority become the newest national sorority at JMU. “Dr. Lillian Jennings, assistant dean of the JMU School of Education, was “extremely helpful in getting us the addresses of national officers to write to”. In 1978, Dr. Jennings was the highest paid woman on JMU’s staff.

In 1980 JMU was looking to hire more African Americans because there were only five African American members of JMU’s approximately 400-member faculty. When Dr. Jennings was asked about African Americans being hired at JMU she “was reluctant to comment on the minority faculty situation at JMU, stating that the subject was too difficult for students to comprehend, however, Jennings did state that “the institution is trying to do the best it can do””.

In 1981, a $500 scholarship for a minority student majoring in education was established at JMU by the Herff Jones Division of the Carnation Company. When asked about this scholarship Dr. Jennings said that “This scholarship is an example of private corporations attempting to fill the void created by the recent withdrawals of federal programs and money”. She also said that “it was Herff Jones’ idea to award the scholarship to a minority student. The company decided to award the money to a minority since it is usually a minority who wishes to pursue a teaching career in the inner cities”.

Dr. Jennings was very active in the community of Harrisonburg and she was a lay minister at the John Wesley United Methodist Church and a member of the Harrisonburg School Board and a trustee of the United Way. In 1985 at a luncheon to welcome new faculty at JMU put on by the Xi Delta chapter of the Alpha Phi Alpha, the first Greek organization for African Americans, Dr. Jennings said that “Black faculty and students can support each other and need to help each other”.

After working at JMU Dr. Jennings lived in California and wrote four books. She wrote Reflections of a Native Daughter, Damaged Goods – Once Molested, Then a Predator, Family Tales – Curse or Happenstance, and My Solitude. She died in December 2016 in North Las Vegas at the age of 90.

Sources:

¹ “Jennings Named Assistant Dean,” Breeze, (Harrisonburg, VA), Apr. 9, 1974, 6.

² Robert Wright, “Faculty Increases With Many New Appointees,” Breeze, (Harrisonburg, VA), Oct. 1, 1974, 1.

³ Deborah Tomkins, “Personal Freedom: Pros & Cons of ERA,” Breeze, (Harrisonburg, VA), Feb. 11, 1975, 2.

⁴ Theresa Beale, “Black Emphasis Week held here Feb. 13-20,” Breeze, (Harrisonburg, VA), Feb. 8, 1977, 5.

⁵ Debbie Yard, “Alpha Kappa Alpha new sorority here,” Breeze, (Harrisonburg, VA), Feb. 24, 1978, 9.

⁶ “Salaries released, Carrier receives top pay”, Breeze, (Harrisonburg, VA), Aug. 2, 1978, 2.

⁷ Donna Sizemore, “Black hiring objectives difficult to meet here,” Breeze, (Harrisonburg, VA), Apr. 18, 1980, 1.

⁸ Donna Sizemore, “Black hiring objectives difficult to meet here,” Breeze, (Harrisonburg, VA), Apr. 18, 1980, 11.

⁹ Mike Clark, “Grant available for minority student,” Breeze, (Harrisonburg, VA), Sept. 17, 1981, 7.

10 Mike Clark, “Grant available for minority student,” Breeze, (Harrisonburg, VA), Sept. 17, 1981, 7.

11“Awards Committee Selected,” Harrisonburg Daily News Record, (Harrisonburg, VA), Apr. 5, 1985, 20.

12 Eric Gorton, “Fraternity hosts luncheon to welcome new faculty,” Breeze, (Harrisonburg, VA), Sept. 26, 1985, 5.