Holland, James Phillip
(born: December 31, 1934 - died: March 26, 1998)In 1954, James P. Holland was one of the first African Americans from Kentucky nominated to attend the West Point Military Academy. Holland, however, chose to attend Kentucky State College [now Kentucky State University] instead of West Point. He was 19-years-old when the nomination was made by Republican Senator John Sherman Cooper with a recommendation by Kentucky State College President R. B. Atwood.
Born in Bowling Green, KY, Holland was valedictorian of his graduating class at State Street High School. He received his bachelor's degree from Kentucky State College in 1956 and his master's degree (1958) and PH. D. (1961) in endocrinology from Indiana University. He was a professor of Zoology at Indiana University, where his research explored how reproductive physiology is influenced by thyroid gland activity. The James P. Holland Memorial Lecture Series was established in 2000 at Indiana University; the school also offers the James P. Holland Graduate Fellowship in Biology and the James Philip Holland Award for Exemplary Teaching and Service to Students in the College of Arts and Sciences.
For more see "Senator names first Kentucky Negro to West Point," Jet, 3/25/1954, p. 6 [article available full text at Google Books]; Scientists in the Black Perspective, by H. A. Young and B. H. Young; John A. Hardin, The Pursuit of Excellence: Kentucky State University, 1886-2020, p. 120; and his 1998 obituary.
