In Memoriam: John Calvin Berry, 1925-2013
Filed in In Memoriam on December 2, 2013
John Berry, the first African American faculty member at the University of Southern Mississippi, died last month in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. He was 88 years old.
A native of Brookhaven, Mississippi, he was drafted into the Army while in high school and served overseas during World War II. After the war, he completed high school and earned a bachelor’s degree at what is now Alcorn State University.
Berry came to the University of Southern Mississippi as associate director of Title IV programs after serving as a public school administrator. In 1970 he joined the faculty as an instructor of student teaching and earned a doctorate there in 1976. Dr. Berry retired from the university in 1985 as an associate professor of educational leadership and research.
