Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of
ECU News Services. The authors of this post are
Patricia Earnhardt Tyndall and
Spaine Stephens.
Dr. Jesse Peel speaks at the 2019 PRIDE dinner at ECU following the opening of the Peel Center at the Main Campus Student Center. (ECU News photo)
Dr. Jesse R. Peel once said he hoped to be remembered as someone who made a difference, that he
"tried to do what he could."
Few have made a difference as enduring as Peel during his four decades of support of East Carolina University and the region's LGBTQ community. He devoted his life to serving and caring for others. Peel, 83, died Dec. 28 in Atlanta.
"Dr. Jesse Peel exemplified the impact and importance of friends in the success and reach of this university," Chancellor Philip Rogers said.
"Through the Dr. Jesse R. Peel LGBTQ Center and the Rural Education Institute, and in providing opportunities for students to pursue success in arts and sciences, education, and medicine, Jesse gave his time and gifts to make a difference. Though he did not graduate from ECU, Jesse embraced his father's belief in the university and generously supported our mission - to be a national model for student success, public service, and regional transformation."
Peel was more than a donor. He was a friend and mentor to students and staff, a servant leader on advisory boards and advancement councils, a volunteer, and a catalyst of philanthropy. His gift in 2014 established what is now the Dr. Jesse R. Peel LGBTQ Center, the largest center of its kind in the UNC System. His hope was that the center would positively impact the lives of LGBTQ young people for generations to come.
"The legacy of his philanthropy is one of the hallmarks of his impact at ECU and for the Peel LGBTQ Center in particular," said Mark Rasdorf, senior associate director in intercultural affairs at ECU and director of the Peel Center.
"I think Suite 209 in the Main Campus Student Center (the Peel Center) is perhaps the living legacy to his life, his work, his philanthropy and his belief that ECU is pivotal to improving the lives of people in our region - most especially the students at ECU."
With his planned gift for the LGBTQ Center, Peel began to establish his support of ECU into perpetuity with multiple gifts from his estate. His early gifts provided more than $100,000 in funding for scholarships, student experiences and campus programs. A combination of gifts planned through his estate will provide nearly $2 million in funding across multiple campus priorities. Additional gifts - valued at more than $1 million - from his estate are expected in future years to support the work of the College of Education's Rural Education Institute (REI).
Peel's support and dedication to ECU was recognized in 2009 when he was presented an honorary ECU alumni award. He received the Student Affairs Vice Chancellor's Advocacy Award in 2017.
Regional roots
Peel was born and raised in Everetts in rural Martin County, about 30 minutes from ECU. He received his undergraduate and medical degrees at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Though he had lived in Atlanta since 1976, Peel returned to North Carolina frequently and never lost his connection and affection for the region.
Peel completed his residency in psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania. He spent two years as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy Medical Corps, with tours in Vietnam and Okinawa.
He lived in San Francisco and Nashville before moving to Atlanta, where he spent his career practicing psychiatry until his retirement in 1992. He played a significant role in how Atlanta responded to the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s. Peel was one of the founding members of several activist groups, including AID Atlanta and Positive Impact, a mental health program for people with HIV and their friends, family and caregivers.
Peel's philanthropic support of ECU began in 1986 when he and his mother, Helen, established the J. Woolard Peel Scholarship in the Honors College. Their gift was influenced by his father's belief that ECU represented the future of eastern North Carolina. They were among the first 10 families to establish the EC Scholars (now the Brinkley-Lane Scholars) program.
Jesse and Helen became involved with scholar selection events. He served as a judge annually, and she made personal presentations to scholarship recipients at their high school award days.
Peel also served on the Dr. Jesse R. Peel LGBTQ Center Advancement Council, College of Education Professional Advisory Board and the Honors College Advancement Council.
His generosity was recognized by membership in each of the university's donor recognition societies including Circle of Gold, Order of the Cupola, Chancellor's Society, Leo W. Jenkins Society, and the Honors College Polaris Society.
Mentorship and scholarship
Michael Denning '19 benefited in many ways from Peel's philanthropy and mentorship. He received the J. Woolard Peel Scholarship as an EC Scholar (Brinkley-Lane Scholar) - the most prestigious undergraduate scholarship at ECU.
Scholarships covered most of Denning's academic expenses and allowed him to study abroad in England, Northern Ireland and the Dominican Republic. Denning graduated early and Peel's contribution helped Denning earn a bachelor's degree in public health and a Master of Business Administration with a certificate in health care management, along with subsidizing his first year of medical school at ECU's Brody School of Medicine.
"Having Dr. Peel as a donor was monumental," Denning said.
"During my first year at ECU, I had the opportunity to meet with Dr. Peel, actually in the Chili's on campus at the Croatan. Even then, Dr. Peel was a force, as we sat and talked about all thing's life for the next three hours, even after the restaurant had closed. He created a list of individuals for me to meet with across both Main and Health Sciences Campus, including Honors College administrators, Brody School of Medicine leadership and reading through his diaries archived at the LGBTQ Center. He was creating a structure for me to network with individuals, who would become my mentors across campus. Dr. Peel's financial donation was career-altering, but his personal donation of his time, energy and care was truly life-altering."
Under Peel's guiding hand, one ECU alumnus transformed his dreams into realities.
"His support extended into my academic journey," said Jon Cockerham Jr. '19, who longed to add French expertise to his public relations and political science majors.
Cockerham met Peel as a volunteer at the LGBT resource office and embarked on an alternative spring break trip to Atlanta, during which their connection strengthened.
"Jesse's ability to connect interpersonally with students went beyond events; his genuine interest in their stories and aspirations created a meaningful bond that made a lasting impact on the lives of many," Cockerham said.
"Encouraged by Jesse, whose wanderlust mirrored my aspirations, I began to further integrate the language into my daily life. Jesse's personal encouragement and financial backing through the LGBT Pride Scholarship in spring 2019 enabled me to fulfill my dream, completing my Bachelor of Arts in French during the fall 2019 semester while studying abroad in Tours, France. His legacy lives on through the indelible impact he had on my academic journey and the countless lives he touched."
Cockerham said Peel's financial support of student endeavors was rooted in a deeper investment of the individual lives he impacted.
"Reflecting on a special moment six years ago, during one of my most challenging semesters in undergrad, Jesse gifted me a photo embroidery adorned with the quote, 'A ship in a harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.' Originally given by his father to his mother, it stands as an enduring reminder to embrace challenges, venture beyond comfort zones, and navigate life's peaks and valleys - a profound lesson I aspire to embody daily."
Catalyst for philanthropy
Peel was frequently an early contributor to causes on campus and often the first to offer a fundraising challenge. His gifts routinely included language that they be used to solicit other support.
A crowdfunding campaign celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Peel Center holds a crowdfunding record at ECU. The effort raised more than $36,000, well above the $15,000 goal. Rasdorf said the campaign and its success was a source of enormous pride for Peel, as he believed strongly that the cause had to secure the financial buy-in from across campus and in the community.
Peel's estate includes a $500,000 endowment to provide programming and operating support for the Peel Center. In establishing this endowment, it was his intent that LGBTQ students at ECU have the support, affirmation and resources he never had.
Rasdorf said he loved when Peel would visit Greenville for a special event and would be blown away by a program's success. One of those events was the Love One Another symposium in February 2023. The half-day event explored the intersection of LGBTQ identities and faith traditions. In addition to faculty from philosophy and religious studies, the planning committee was composed of 15 leaders of faith from Greenville, Winterville, Raleigh, Morehead City and Atlantic Beach. Attendance at the first-time event exceeded expectations, with more than 200 people from across the region.
"It was, by far, one of the most impactful programs that we have done that not only served campus, but engaged people from across eastern North Carolina," Rasdorf said.
"Jesse was floating on clouds when I took him back to the airport the next day. Once again, he said, 'Mark, we've got the tiger by the tail. No one else is doing work like this and I could not be more proud.' He loved being a leader in the field and was so proud to be a part of all of this."
Campus and community
Following his mother's death in 2005, Peel established the J. Woolard and Helen Peel Distinguished Professorship in Religious Studies through her estate, as well as designated funds for the Brody School of Medicine and the College of Education's Rural Education Institute. The professorship honored Peel's parents and his mother's profound love of her church.
