The pair could often be found studying side by side in the university’s science library
Nick Romanenko/Rutgers University
NEED TO KNOW
- Inez Phillips Durham and daughter Jennifer Durham are the first parent-child duo to earn doctorate degrees from Rutgers Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology
- The pair, who have a “mother-sister” dynamic, could often be found studying side by side in the university’s science library
- The pair said they use their degrees and expertise to give back
Inez Phillips Durham and her daughter, Jennifer Durham, are known at Rutgers University for making history: they are the first parent-child duo to both receive doctorates of psychology from the school.
Inez, 91, first arrived on campus in 1953 to attend the New Jersey College for Women, Rutgers’ women’s college at the time (the university became fully coeducational in 1972). She was the only Black student at the college and wasn’t assigned a roommate.
“Nothing was put in writing, but I knew why,” she said while speaking to Rutgers for a recent interview. “My attitude was: If you were given a lemon, you make lemonade.”
Inez eventually became class president and went on to receive her bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1957. She then returned to the university to earn her master’s in social work in 1961 and returned again for a doctorate of psychology from Rutgers Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology (GSAPP) in 1984.
And she did it all as a single mother.
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Inez’s husband, John, died of a heart attack in 1975, and so she worked as a psychotherapist, a school social worker and a tennis instructor while pursuing her doctorate — and raising her daughter, Jennifer.
“I did it by the grace of God,” Inez said while speaking to the university. “I prayed every day for the determination to get that degree. It wasn’t easy, but we managed. I say ‘we’ because Jennifer had to be more independent.”
Inez and Jennifer could often be seen in the medical science library, with Inez working on her dissertation while Jennifer did her homework.
“We had a unique relationship starting when my dad passed away. I was with her a lot,” Jennifer, who describes her dynamic with her mom as “mother-sister,” told the university.
“When I had off from school, I went to work with her. She was my first role model really of what a leader was,” she added.
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Jennifer eventually decided to go for her Ph.D. from the School of Applied and Professional Psychology as well, earning the degree in 1992 — eight years after her mother.
“Jennifer and I were the first parent-child to graduate from GSAPP. I’m very proud of that,” Inez said.
“It sunk in how unique this was for us,” Jennifer added. “When I considered going for my MSW, she encouraged me go for my PsyD. It’s the best decision I ever made.”
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In 2020, Jennifer returned to Rutgers as a professor. She has a passion for equipping her students with skills to reduce educational and mental health disparities among marginalized youth — a mission she credits to her mother.
“One of our main things is service. Always, always, always give back,” Jennifer said. “That was core to who she is and she passed that on to me. That’s a big part of our family and why Rutgers resonates with her so much.”
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