Mother-daughter duo make history as first parent-child to graduate from Rutgers’ School of Psychology

Inez Phillips and her daughter, Jennifer Durham, became the first parent-child duo to earn doctorates in psychology from Rutgers University.

What’s better than getting your degree? Making history while getting your degree … with your mom.

Inez Phillips Durham and her daughter, Jennifer Durham, are honoring this accomplishment as Rutgers University spotlights the mother-daughter duo as the first parent and child to earn their doctorates in psychology from the university’s Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology (GSAPP). 

“Jennifer and I were the first parent-child to graduate from GSAPP. I’m very proud of that,” Inez told the university.

Though the mother-daughter duo quickly became known on campus in recent years for studying together, Inez’s academic journey dates back to 1953 when she was the only Black woman to attend the New Jersey College for Women, Rutgers’ women’s college. At the time, Inez navigated campus as the only Black woman in her class, navigating the silent but very apparent forms of discrimination, like her not being assigned a roommate. 

Despite the obstacles, she went on to become class president, earn her bachelor’s in psychology in 1957, then her master’s in social work in 1961, and then her doctorate in psychology from GSAPP in 1984. All of which she accomplished while being a single mother to her daughter Jennifer, after he husband died of a heart attack in 1975. 

“I did it by the grace of God,” Inez shared, as she reflected on the seasons where she juggled motherhood, school, and jobs as a psychotherapist, a school social worker, and a tennis instructor. “I prayed every day for the determination to get that degree. It wasn’t easy, but we managed. I say ‘we’ because Jennifer had to be more independent.”

“We had a unique relationship starting when my dad passed away. I was with her a lot,” Jennifer said, recalling the times when they would sit together in the university library as Inez worked on her dissertation and she did her homework. “When I had off from school, I went to work with her. She was my first role model really of what a leader was.” 

Fast forward years later, Jennifer followed in her mother’s footsteps when she decided to pursue a Ph.D. at the School of Applied and Professional Psychology in 1992. 

“It sunk in how unique this was for us,” Jennifer explained. “When I considered going for my MSW, she encouraged me go for my PsyD. It’s the best decision I ever made.”

Now, Jennifer works as a professor at her alma mater and her mother’s alma mater, on a mission to reduce mental health inequalities among marginalized youth.