Edward D. Turner Ph.D. As the first African American ... - UC Davis

Dr. Turner’s contributions to the growth and development of ethnic studies programs on the UC Davis campus
also cannot be overlooked. As noted in the University of California Digital Archives (2004):
“During the spring of 1969 some 50 African-American students, accompanied by psychology professor Ed
Turner, the sole African-American faculty member on campus, marched on the Chancellor's office to demand,
in part, creation of a Department of African-American Studies. The negotiations begun by Chancellor Emil
Mrak were continued under Chancellor James Meyer. It was decided to create an African-American Studies
Program, and FTE were set aside for faculty with expertise in the black experience. Ed Turner, appointed
Director of Black Studies, consulted with a newly formed curriculum development committee consisting of
black political sociologist and Berkeley graduate student Hardy Frye, black cultural geographer and UCD
lecturer Charles C. Irby, and white political sociologist John Leggett. Their report "Whither Black Studies,"
produced in August 1971, became the program's planning document. 3
Dr. Turner’s contributions to the initial development of UC Davis’ Black Studies program enabled the
recruitment of the professors, administrators and students who would take the program to its next level. Over the
next 30 years, a number of competent scholars and administrators, as well as hard working students worked to
ensure the programs permanence on campus.
Dr. Turner advised and supported the African American faculty who joined him at UC Davis. He also worked
with university staff to make UC Davis a more supportive environment for students of color, and to assist
students of all ethnicities facing financial difficulties or in need of social support. His house was a meeting
place for politically disaffected persons. Dr. Turner greatly contributed to the morale and cohesion of UC
Davis's African American community.
The UC Davis African American and African Studies Program and the broad range of African American
academic and social support organizations now located on the UC Davis campus are a testament and a validation
of the vision and accomplishments of Dr. Turner, his colleagues and the students of his era and beyond. The
Edward D. Turner Memorial Golf Tournament and its goal of establishing an endowment for the African
American and African Studies Program and for student scholarships is a fitting tribute to Dr. Turner’s legacy and
all he sought to accomplish at UC Davis.
3 “African-American and African Studies”, University of California Digital Archives, Regents of the University of
California, 1999 – 2005.