The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is slated to break ground on two new residence halls later this year. One of those buildings will be named Jackson Hall in honor of the pioneering Black professors Blyden and Roberta Jackson.
Blyden Jackson joined Chapel Hill in the 1960s as the first Black faculty member at any historically White university in the region. In 1969, he became the university’s first tenured Black faculty member. He taught English courses and established the study of African American literature at the university. Later in his tenure, he served as assistant dean of the Graduate School.
In 1970, one year after Professor Blyden Jackson’s historic tenure appointment, his wife Roberta joined Chapel Hill as the first Black tenure-track faculty member in the School of Education. She earned tenure four years later, becoming the first tenured Black woman in the division of academic affairs.
Once opened, Jackson Hall and the university’s other new residence building will add some 730 beds to campus housing.
“These new residence halls mark an exciting milestone for Carolina. As the first residence halls built in the heart of campus in more than a century, they represent a significant investment in our students and our future,” said Lee H. Roberts, chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “I’m especially proud that one of these halls will bear the name of Blyden and Roberta Jackson, honoring their extraordinary legacy and contributions to our university.”
