William M. Pender, a long-time faculty member and administrator at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, died on December 8, after being involved in an automobile accident near his home, west of Salisbury, Maryland. He was 95 years old.
A native of Dalton, Georgia, Pender enrolled at Morris Brown College in Atlanta in 1940. After a year in school, he joined the Army and served as a chaplain’s assistant in the quartermaster’s corps. After the Second World War, he earned a bachelor’s degree in English at Morehouse College in Atlanta. Dr. Pender later earned a master’s degree in education from New York University and a doctorate in educational psychology from the University of Texas.
Before joining the staff at what is now the University of Maryland Eastern Shore in 1965, Dr. Pender taught at Jarvis Christian College and what is now Jackson State University in Mississippi. At the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Dr. Pender was hired as director of guidance and teacher training. He was a professor of education and later served as vice chancellor for academic affairs.