Shirley J. Allen

Shirley J. Allen (born 1941) is an American academic. A longtime professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology, in 1992 she became the first black and deaf woman to earn a doctoral degree.

Biography

Shirley Jeanne Allen was born in Nacogdoches, Texas, in 1941.[1][2][3] She graduated from E.J. Campbell High School in 1959, a decade before desegregation came to Nacogdoches.[1][4]

She then moved with her family for a period to La Marque before enrolling in the music program at Jarvis Christian College.[1][2] While still in college, at age 20, she contracted typhoid fever and, after a period spent in a coma, became deaf.[1][2][5][6]

Despite her deafness, she continued to perform piano, including for her senior recital at Jarvis.[2][5][6]

Allen went on to complete her bachelor's degree at Gallaudet University, graduating in 1966.[2][5] In 1972, she obtained a master's degree in guidance and counseling from Howard University.[1][2][5]

In 1992, she obtained a doctorate in education, focused on counseling, from the University of Rochester.[1][2][5] With this, she became the first black and deaf woman to earn a doctorate.[5][7][8]

Allen worked as an instructor at Gallaudet from 1968 to 1973.[6] Then, beginning in 1973, she was a professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology for 28 years, teaching at the university's National Technical Institute for the Deaf.[2][5][6] She was also involved in advocacy for deaf and black students, and served as a visiting board member at Jarvis Christian College.[6] She retired from academia in 2001.[2][5][6]

In 1992, Allen was named to Jarvis Christian College's Pioneer Hall of Fame.[2][6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Dr. Shirley J. Allen, the first Deaf Black woman to earn a doctorate". Deaf Life. October 1995. Retrieved 2025-03-16.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "DEI Prof-spectives: The Intersections of Black History and D/deaf History". Rowan University. 2023-02-28. Archived from the original on 2025-01-18.
  3. ^ "Allen, Shirley Jean". Gallaudet University Library Guide to Deaf Biographies and Index to Deaf Periodicals. Retrieved 2025-03-17.
  4. ^ "History of E.J. Campbell School". East Texas Digital Archives. Retrieved 2025-03-17.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h "Black History Month recognizes a worldwide "first" from Rochester". WDKX. 2020-02-14. Retrieved 2025-03-17.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g "SHIRLEY JEANNE ALLEN". Who's Who of Professional Women. 2017-10-18. Retrieved 2025-03-17.
  7. ^ LaGorce, Tammy (2025-03-14). "Learning a Shared Love Language — One That Includes Signing". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-03-17.
  8. ^ "'We can do anything and everything but hear'". RIT. April 2021. Retrieved 2025-03-17.
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