Frederick C. Turner Jr. was one of the first Black students who integrated

Arkansas State University Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

, graduating in 1960. Commissioned as an infantry officer in the US Army, he served three tours in Vietnam. In 1969, he returned to ASU as Assistant Professor of Military Science to become the first Black faculty member. He later served on the staff at

Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) is the military headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Allied Command Operations (ACO) that commands all NATO operations worldwide. ACO's and SHAPE's commander is t ...

(SHAPE) and then as a member of the faculty of the

Command and General Staff College The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military ...

at Leavenworth, Kansas. Colonel Turner retired from military service in 1982 at the rank of colonel.

Military service

Turner earned an infantry officer commission in 1960 through

ROTC The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC ( or )) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. Overview While ROTC graduate officers serve in all ...

while a student at Arkansas State. He was awarded two

bronze star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

s during three combat tours in Vietnam. After Vietnam, he went to Belgium, where he served on the staff at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe. He later served as a member of the faculty and staff of the Command and General Staff College in Leavenworth, Kansas. Colonel Turner retired from military service and moved to Austin, Texas in 1982.

Integration of Arkansas State

In 1955 Turner, Walter Strong, and Larry Williams, all graduates of Booker T. Washington High School in Jonesboro, registered to attend Arkansas State College. To avoid the media and potential opposition from White Supremacists, they met in president Carl Reng's office to register quietly. The strategy worked and the school was quietly integrated. In 1960 he became one of the two first graduates of the university. In 1969 he became the first African-American faculty member when he returned to become an assistant professor of Military Science. In 2021 ASU dedicated the Turner Military Science Building to Turner. Alone among the Arkansas Universities, the Black students were allowed to eat in the main cafeteria with White students. Turner reported that he was not targeted by the discrimination so many students faced at other universities. In 1982, a Black alumni association was created and named the Strong-Turner Alumni Association in honor of Turner and Walter Strong, the first two Black graduates of ASU.

Personal

Turner's daughter, Debbye Turner Bell was Miss America in 1990.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, Frederick C Jr Arkansas State University alumni Arkansas State University faculty United States Army Command and General Staff College faculty United States Army colonels