Owen Library Display Dedication, Reception Honoring Gladys Cooper Jennings Set Oct. 24

Gladys Cooper Jennings accepts the WSU Distinguished Home Economics Alumnus Award in 1978. Photo courtesy of Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections.

In collaboration with the WSU African American Student Center (AASC), Owen Science and Engineering Library will hold an Oct. 24 dedication and reception of a permanent display honoring Gladys Cooper Jennings, food science pioneer, activist, and the first African American woman to earn a master’s degree from Washington State College in 1948. The events start at 11 a.m. on the library first floor. No registration is required.

The display was organized, researched, written, and designed by Owen’s agriculture librarian, David Luftig; Department of History’s Marlene Gaynair; AASC/Multicultural Student Services’ Jessica Samuels; WSU School of Food Science’s Simon Rose Macrae Rogers; and WSU Libraries’ Amy Grey.

Luftig said he first heard of Jennings in relation to the Gladys Jennings Book Collection at the AASC. He asked a colleague who had helped catalog the collection several years ago about Jennings and learned a few details.

“But upon researching for myself, I discovered the amazing scope of work Gladys had done, both inside the university and beyond,” he said. “It was clear that the life and work of Gladys Jennings needed to be celebrated, and I thought that the Owen Science and Engineering Library would be an ideal place to honor her.”

Preparing meals for family early on

Born Oct. 11, 1925, in Columbus, Ohio, Jennings was the daughter of a Presbyterian minister and a schoolteacher and the granddaughter of slaves. From a young age, she helped prepare family meals by looking at food articles and photos in ladies’ magazines. That early experience influenced her decision to pursue a dietetics major when she enrolled at Ohio State University at 16.

WSU faculty members Gladys Cooper Jennings and Ellen McDonough discuss a meal program for Pullman senior citizens with nutrition students in 1974. Photo courtesy of Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections.

With her bachelor’s degree earned in 1945, Jennings was accepted in the Foods and Nutrition graduate program at WSC on a teaching fellowship.

“There were one or two Black people on campus,” she recalled. “It was like being on exhibit and a spokesperson for my race all the time,” she said, but she did find support from the only African American family living in Pullman, as well as in the campus’s International Club.

After receiving her master’s from WSC, Jennings went on to several important positions in the nutrition field, including as a Fulbright Scholar in London, teaching posts at Syracuse University and North Carolina College, and chairwoman of the Home Economics Department at Spelman College in Atlanta.

Returning to Pullman and the university

In 1966, Jennings joined the faculty of WSU’s Department of Foods and Nutrition. During her long career, she developed curriculum, mentored students, and expanded the WSU Cooperative Extension School.

Gladys Cooper Jennings, WSU President Glenn Terrell, and WSU College of Home Economics’ Dean Alberta D. Hill at the Diamond Jubilee in 1978. Photo courtesy of Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections.

Jennings became a fixture on campus, working not only within her department, but also with the newly created Black Studies Program and campus recruitment office. Her voice and opinions carried weight within WSU as she expressed the needs and tribulations of marginalized people on campus to the president, Board of Regents, and other stakeholders.

Nationally, Jennings’ pioneering work in the field of dietetics also made lasting changes. During the 1970s, her groundbreaking research on African American nutrition examined the socioeconomic factors that influenced malnutrition during the mid-20th century, including a lack of access to healthy foods and poverty. Jennings also became involved with the federal government’s Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) food program and school lunch programs, which sparked conversations about larger inequities affecting many Americans.

“Nutrition was still in the era of discovery…and the relationship between the body, nutrients, and nature, all of those things were yet to be developed and explored,” she said.

Jennings’ lasting legacy

After her retirement from teaching in 1991, Jennings transitioned to a dedicated role as multicultural student recruiter for the future College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences.

Gladys Cooper Jennings portrait by Meron Menghistab.

She spent 17 years shepherding undergraduate and graduate students on their journey through higher education, ensuring they had access to resources and opportunities for their success. Even today, her impact continues to be felt at WSU through the Gladys E. Cooper Jennings Student Scholarship Fund.

Jennings received many accolades for her advocacy and contributions. They include membership in the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the world’s largest organization of food and nutrition, Washington State Dietetic Association, and the Association of State Public Health Nutritionists. She was also recognized in Ohio State University’s Hall of Fame in 2017 and earned the First President’s Award from the National Organization of Blacks in Dietetics and Nutrition.

But Jennings saw her greatest legacy in the achievements of the students she taught, according to a 2018 article in Washington State Magazine. Among them was WSU alumna Diane Kolb, former vice president of the WSU Alumni Association and longtime friend.

“My greatest tribute is that she said I inspired her to be the best she could be,” Jennings said.