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.
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]