KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The long-awaited naming ceremony to honor two Black education pioneers at the University of Tennessee Knoxville is set for Friday afternoon.
The Orange and White dorms were renamed in honor of Theotis Robinson Jr. and Rita Sanders Geier. They've been lauded for their work to help make higher education more accessible for students of color in the state.
The dedication will be 3:30 p.m. Friday outside the buildings at the Geier and Robinson Courtyard at 858 20th St.
Among those expected to speak are Geier, Robison, Chancellor Donde Plowman and UTK Vice Chancellor for Diversity and Engagement Tyvi Small.
The ribbon-cutting will include members of the Robinson and Geier families.
Robinson, of Knoxville, was the first Black student admitted as an undergrad in 1961, according to UT. Robinson and his family approached the university in late 1960, making clear he wanted to attend UT and was ready to exercise his right in the courts if necessary.
He and two other Black students were admitted and helped in the historic desegregation of UT Knoxville.
Robinson later would serve as vice president of equity and diversity for the University of Tennessee System.
Geier, of Memphis, sued in the late 1960s while a Tennessee State University professor to challenge inequities across Tennessee's higher education system. Her decades-long efforts resulted in what became known as the federal Geier Consent Degree.
From 2007-11, Geier was associate to the chancellor and senior fellow at the Howard Baker Center for Public Policy at UT.
UT announced in February it would rename the Orange and White residential halls after Geier and Robinson.
