The generosity of Jimmie and Carrie James will be forever memorialized by Jackson State University through the naming of the Recital Hall in the F.D. Hall Music Center in Jimmie James’ honor.
James served as chair of the Department of Music and as the voice of JSU’s marching band. The Jimmie James Jr. Recital Hall was formally dedicated recently during a ceremony at the Rose H. McCoy Auditorium.
An overflow crowd of JSU administrators, faculty, staff, alumni, students, community supporters and friends attended the festivities. The university’s marching band – the Sonic Boom of the South also performed.
“I am very humbled by this entire experience of receiving the honorable recognition and having the recital hall named in my honor,” James said. “I will forever be grateful for having my name permanently and visibly displayed for others to see.”
James and his wife endowed a scholarship, which will be matched through university resources.
Jackson State President Carolyn W. Meyers said the university’s tribute to James was fitting.
“Dr. James, we are extremely proud that you have chosen to leave your indelible mark on this campus and it is only fitting that the place where you spent most of your time nurturing students and making dreams come true – will now bear your name,” Meyers said.
James will always be fondly remembered as the voice of ‘the summa cum laude of bands,’ – JSU’s Sonic Boom of the South. During his 43-year tenure at Jackson State, James also served as director of musical activities, coordinator of the Graduate Music Program, director of the concert band, assistant band director, and director of the brass ensemble.
Dr. Deborah Barnes, interim dean of the JSU College of Liberal Arts said, applauded James for his commitment to community.
“I have come to know that Dr. James didn’t just work in the JSU community. He lives in the community, in Hemingway Circle area. And, he worships in the community, at Pearl Street A.M.E. Church. Your legacy will always be a part of our community. And for that, the College of Liberal Arts is eternally grateful.”
James received an undergraduate degree in music education from JSU where he was the first tuba major and graduated cum laude. He received his masters degree from the University of Wisconsin and his doctorate from the University of Southern Mississippi. At USM he was the first African-American graduate in that program.
The donation from the Jimmie and Carrie James Endowment will be matched dollar-for-dollar through the University’s Title III matching fund.