Dr. Jesse R. Peel was born in 1940 in Everetts, North Carolina, to J. Woolard (1914-1984) and Helen Peel (1916-2005). Peel received his medical degree from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill in 1965 before completing his residency in psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia from 1966-1969. Following his residency, Peel served as a lieutenant in the Medical Corps of the United States Navy and completed tours of duty in Vietnam and Okinawa, Japan. He eventually accepted a position at a psychiatric practice in Atlanta and subsequently began to tailor his outpatient practice towards the local LGBT community. In the early 1980s, Peel became involved with local non-profit organizations that worked to provide HIV/AIDS-related support and education to the region.
Although neither he or his parents were alums of East Carolina University, Peel and his family have contributed significantly to the institution, greatly bettering the experience of students on campus each time. Following the death of J. Woolard in 1984, Jesse and his mother decided to honor their late loved one by establishing the J. Woolard Peel University Scholars Award in 1986. The decision by the Peel family to endow this scholarship stemmed from J. Woolard’s belief that the university was the future of eastern North Carolina. Following his mother’s passing in 2005, Jesse again memorialized her by endowing two professorships at East Carolina, one in LGBT studies and one in gender studies, in her honor.
Along with his financial contributions, Jesse Peel has also served on Chancellor Ballard’s Diversity Committee and the LGBT Advisory Board. Peel was instrumental in the founding of the LGBT Resource Office at East Carolina University in 2011 and helped ensure that a new resource center would be included in the brand new student center by donating a $500,000 gift towards the project. In 2019, the newly constructed resource center was named the Dr. Jesse R. Peel LGBTQ Resource Center in honor of Jesse’s gift.
Through his estate, Jesse Peel will also help establish the Dr. Jesse R. Peel Distinguished Professorship in Social Diversity in the Department of Sociology in the Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences; the Dr. Jesse R. Peel Distinguished Professorship in Social Diversity in the College of Education; the Helen K. Peel EC Scholars Award; as well as an endowment of support for the Center for Diversity and Inequality Research in the Department of Sociology in the Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences.
Today, Jesse Peel is recognized by the university as an honorary alumni and a valued friend to the campus community.
Sources
- Jesse Peel Oral History. UA95-10. University Archives, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/60867
- J. Woolard Peel, 1980-1984. UA 55.01.00.2109. Visual Materials Collection. UA55.01. University Archives, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/23203
- “Jesse R. Peel, MD.” https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/59980
- “Rainbow over ECU,” by Dr. Jesse R. Peel. January 31, 2011. Records of the LBGT Resource Center. UA22.10, Box [number]. University Archives, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/58393
- Marilyn Sheerer Oral History. UA95-07. University Archives, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/60868
- “Dr. Jesse R. Peel LGBT Resource Center.” If You Like it, Put Your Name On It: The Stories Behind the Names In the New Student Center. News Services. January 23, 2019. https://news.ecu.edu/2019/01/23/if-you-like-it-put-your-name-on-it/
- “Dr. Jesse Peel: Philanthropist” ECU Division of Student Affairs Office of Development. https://studentaffairs.ecu.edu/development/donor-spotlight/dr-jesse-peel-philanthropist/.
- “A SAFE HARBOR: ECU opens largest LGBTQ center.” The Daily Reflector. January 13, 2019. http://www.reflector.com/News/2019/01/13/A-SAFE-HARBOR.html.
- “Doctor Donates to New LGBT Center.” The East Carolinian. September 30, 2014. http://www.theeastcarolinian.com/news/article_7ab5ab6e-4846-11e4-8cac-5b277deabf67.html.
- Records of the Dr. Jesse R. Peel LBGTQ Resource Center. UA22.10. University Archives, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC.
- Peel, Jesse R. The Camp Merton Chronicles. 2010
- Jesse R. Peel papers (#1231),Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library, Emory University.
Citation Information
Title: Jesse R. Peel
Author: John A. Tucker, PhD
Date of Publication: 10/9/2019