Louis A. Ivey

Commissioned through the Navy ROTC Program at Penn State, Ensign Louis A. Ivey (BA Lib 1953) reports as the first Negro officer aboard the USS New Jersey battleship.  After his first night aboard, his white roommate requested Ivey be reassigned another room due to his race.  Upon completing his tour of duty in 1958, Ivey went on to become a well respected surgeon in the Washington, DC area, and a member of President Jimmy Carter’s traveling medical team. Ivey was also a founding member of the Penn State chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity in 1952.

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