Joseph Amprey, Jr., PhD: 2nd District

Abstract

Joseph Amprey Jr., PhD:2nd District Judson L. Jeffries Joseph Amprey Jr. is professor emeritus, having served as dean and professor at Kutztown University for 21 years. Dr. Amprey also worked at three historically Black colleges—Philander Smith College in Arkansas, Coppin State College in Maryland, and Howard University, the pearl of HBCUs. Holding the positions of Academic Vice President and director of the counseling center at Philander and Coppin State, respectively, Brother Amprey proved to be an indispensable resource for both students, faculty, staff, and administrators alike. Also, worth noting is, during Brother Amprey's two-year stint at Howard University, he headed the master's program in Student Personnel Administration. Being a valuable resource to students is a hallmark of Brother Amprey's life as an educator and mentor, as he served as faculty advisor to the Omegas at both Philander Smith and Coppin State College. And during the mid-1970s, he founded, along with Julius Chapman, Beta Kappa, the undergraduate chapter of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity at Frostburg State College. Brother Amprey is also a highly regarded consultant on matters of diversity, equity, and inclusion and affirmative action. Well-read in Black history, education, psychology, and sociology, Brother Amprey is intellectually versatile. One might say Brother Amprey is somewhat of a renaissance man, as he is well-traveled and fluent in both Spanish and French, two of the world's most popular Romance languages. Finally, Brother Amprey is the founding editor and owner of a newspaper, DRUM, and for 11 years was a columnist for the Reading Eagle. Last year, he and his coauthors released Understanding Psychology, an introductory text now in its 7th edition. Judson L. Jeffries: Thank you joining me today Brother Amprey, I really appreciate it. Joseph Amprey Jr.: Thank you for the opportunity to participate in this great project. [End Page 283] JLJ: You're a graduate of Morgan State College, now University, correct? JA: Yes, I am, a proud graduate of Morgan State College. JLJ: And a proud member of the Illustrious Pi chapter, correct? JA: Right again, I went on line in the Spring of 1963 and crossed in the Fall of 1963. JLJ: What year were you in when you went on line? JA: I went on line during my junior year and crossed the first semester of my senior year. JLJ: Was Morgan your first choice of college? JA: Well, I don't know if it was or not, but Morgan was the first college to offer me a scholarship so that's where I went. JLJ: What kind of scholarship are we talking about, athletic or academic? JA: I was awarded an academic scholarship. JLJ: Ok, nice, you must have done very well in high school, huh? JA: Yes, I did, I earned good grades. But wouldn't you know it, I lost the scholarship because I was unable to secure a 3.0 GPA that first year. JLJ: It was your first year, the folk at Morgan didn't cut you any slack? You had just graduated from high school for heaven's sake. JA: They cut me no slack; they snatched that scholarship away during my first year. JLJ: So, they didn't give you another semester to see if you could pull your grades up? JA: No, they just took it. JLJ: What were the requirements? JA: The scholarship required a B average, and I didn't get it. I didn't do poorly mind you, I just simply wasn't able to get that B average. JLJ: Did that first year prove to be a rocky transition for you? JA: In a way, it was rocky, but again, it wasn't like I was failing or anything like that. JLJ: I remember you telling me that you had a fair amount of academic support at home, right? JA: I did, especially from my father. He was always quizzing us children, he demanded academic excellence. JLJ: Was your father college educated? JA: Yes, he attended Kentucky State University. JLJ: Oh, Kentucky State University—you know Kentucky State is nowadays the Whitest historically Black college in America? JA: [Laughter] I had heard something like that...