Dennis Chestnut was one of first African-American students at East Carolina, enrolling as a freshman in 1966 and graduating in 1970. Chestnut was born and raised in Tabor City, North Carolina, the second of three sons in a farming family. However, at age fifteen, Chestnut became the first African American to work at the A&P Grocery Store in Tabor City. In 1965, he graduated from the segregated high school there.
At East Carolina, Chestnut emerged as a leader in the vanguard of African American students who, in addition to completing their college degrees, pioneered the desegregation of the campus during the mid-1960s. Although he struggled academically early on, Chestnut became an honor roll student with declared majors in psychology and sociology. He was also actively involved in the ECC Student Government Association, the 4-H Club, and the Glee Club.
Unlike some who sought to advance African American interests through protests, Chestnut refrained from that course, thinking such actions would be too confrontational. At the same time, he remained steadfast in pursuing better treatment of African Americans on campus. Among other things, Chestnut met with President Leo Jenkins to discuss inappropriate racial comments made by some faculty members. Jenkins took Chestnut seriously. The faculty members in question retired the following year.
Despite the challenges, Chestnut flourished as an undergraduate at East Carolina. He was offered full scholarships to study law at Notre Dame and UNC Chapel Hill, but chose instead to remain at ECU to earn a master’s degree in psychology. As a graduate student, he worked as a resident assistant in both Scott Hall and Tyler Hall. He also taught an introductory psychology course. After finishing his master’s degree, Chestnut began work on a Ph.D. at the University of Utah. Before completing the degree, he returned to East Carolina as a professor. He subsequently resumed work on his Ph.D. at New York University, where he completed his doctorate with a focus on community psychology.
Chestnut taught at ECU until his retirement, and currently holds Professor Emeritus standing with the Department of Psychology. He has published extensively on how ethnic and cultural factors influence human behavior. He served as president of the Association of Black Psychologists from 1988-1989. Chestnut is also a founding member of the ECU Black Alumni Chapter. As one of the first students to lead in the desegregation of higher education at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, Chestnut stands as one of the most outstanding alumnae of East Carolina University.
Sources
- Dr. Dennis E. Chestnut oral history interview, April 23, 2008. First in the Family Oral History Collection. UA45-05. University Archives, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/1254
- Bratton, Mary Jo Jackson. East Carolina: The Formative Years, 1907-1982. Greenville, NC: East Carolina University Alumni Association, 1986.
- Chestnut, Dennis E. “Understanding Culture and Ethnicity: Basic Rudiments of an “Anthropsychological” Perspective for Understanding Human Behavior.” Journal of Cultural Diversity 7, no. 4 (Winter, 2000): 108-13.
- East Carolina’s Buccaneer Yearbooks 1965-1970, East Carolina Digital Collections, J. Y. Joyner Library, Greenville, North Carolina, USA. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/search.aspx?q=dennis+chestnut.
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Citation Information
Title: Dennis Chestnut
Author: John A. Tucker, PhD
Date of Publication: 7/26/2019