GREENEVILLE – Tusculum University students who have a personal connection to the military and whose parents or guardians do not have a bachelor’s degree will benefit from a new endowed scholarship created in memory of an alumna.
Lt. Col. Ginger Jacocks signs the document for the scholarship fund.
The Col. Jo Anne Kilday ’59 First-Generation Endowed Scholarship Fund will support the Tusculum education of students who would be pioneers on the collegiate graduation stage. It will also serve students who are military veterans or the children or grandchildren of one from any branch.
Lt. Col. Ginger Jacocks established the endowed scholarship in memory of Kilday, who graduated from Tusculum in 1959 as a first-generation student and subsequently served with distinction in the U.S. Marine Corps. Kilday was a mentor to Jacocks and later became a friend.
“We are grateful to Lt. Col. Jacocks for remembering Col. Kilday in such a meaningful way,” said Dr. Scott Hummel, Tusculum’s president. “More than 50% of our students are first-generation, so this scholarship is a perfect fit for our institution and the students who are blazing a new trail in their families. We are also honored to assist those with a direct connection to the military and are thankful for that service to our nation.”
Jacocks joined Dr. Hummel; Dr. David Cook, Tusculum’s provost and vice president of academic affairs; and Edward Roberts, vice president of institutional advancement, recently for a signing ceremony.
Kilday’s background
Kilday was born in Ohio in 1936 but was raised in Baileyton, Tennessee, which is near Tusculum. She loved playing basketball and softball. Even when she was young, her peers appreciated her leadership as well as her ability to compassionately assist others with problems, to organize and discern facts and to lead by example.
Five candidates salute Col. Jo Anne Kilday, who is on the right. At the time, Kilday was a captain.
This is Col. Jo Anne Kilday in her later years.
College always seemed to be in the cards for Kilday.
“Her mother, I think, really wanted her to go to college,” Jacocks said. “Her mother wanted her to have an opportunity to get out and do something other than spend her entire life in Baileyton, Tennessee. I don’t know that Jo Anne ever thought about going to a college other than Tusculum. She never knew who paid for her to go to school, and her mother never knew.”
Although Kilday spent most of her life away from her roots, Jacocks said she stayed in touch with many of her fellow Tusculum students. They would periodically connect in person.
“She enjoyed her time at Tusculum, and she liked meeting people from all over the United States who were enrolled here,” Jacocks said. “She was able to visit other states when she would go home with roommates. She always spoke fondly of things here. She joined the Episcopal Church while she was at Tusculum. I know she was on the yearbook staff, and I think she played in a lot of the club games and intramurals.”
Kilday attended Woman Officers’ Candidate Training in 1957 and 1958 and was commissioned a 2nd lieutenant when she graduated from Tusculum. After attending Woman Marine Basic School in Quantico, Virginia, she served in a variety of roles in the Marines from 1959-81, including executive officer, platoon commander, adjutant and military secretary to the commander in chief.
She concluded her service as the director of personnel services at the Marine Corps air station in Cherry Point, North Carolina. She retired as the senior female in the Marines. Honors she received for her service included the Joint Service Commendation Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal and the Legion of Merit.
During her military service, Kilday was passionate about recognizing the accomplishments of others who worked beside her or under her command. Throughout her life, her leadership style revolved around assigning tasks wisely, supervising as needed, giving credit for success and accepting responsibility when something went wrong. Jacocks described Kilday, who was never her supervisor, as “hard as nails” but with a kind heart.
In her post-military life, Kilday was a real estate agent in Virginia and North Carolina, spent a lot of time volunteering at church and traveled extensively. She returned to East Tennessee in 2023 and passed away in 2024.
The connection between Kilday and Jacocks
Jacocks, who was also in the Marines and served for 23 years, met Kilday in the mid-1970s when they were part of the same command post in Norfolk, Virginia. They served together for two or three years before they were sent to different places, but Jacocks said those who serve in the Marines continue to cross paths in some way.
Lt. Col. Ginger Jacocks gathers with Tusculum leaders in front of the Thomas J. Garland Library. Left to right are Edward Roberts, Lt. Col. Ginger Jacocks, Dr. Scott Hummel and Dr. David Cook.
Not long before Kilday retired, the two women became friends. Then, when Jacocks was about to be deployed to the Middle East for Operation Desert Storm in the early 1990s, she needed someone to serve as her power of attorney, oversee her financial matters and take care of her car. She chose Kilday, who was known for her willingness to help others.
“That’s just the way she was,” Jacocks said. “She’s somebody I would have trusted with anything.”
Neither woman married or had children, so they helped each other, particularly when they had health problems. Eventually, they shared a house together, which enabled them to conserve expenses so they could complete the vacations each of them desired.
Even though she had been away from Tusculum for a long time, Kilday would make donations to the university.
“She wanted to donate every year to give back for what she had received here,” Jacocks said. “She believed very strongly that she had gained a lot of her experiences and leadership attributes from sports and from coming to school here. And she wanted to make sure she was giving back.”
Thoughts from Tusculum officials
Roberts said Kilday’s support for Tusculum was impressive.
“When people think about the many individuals and places that impact their lives, their collegiate alma mater is one of the most important,” Roberts said. “They develop not only a lot of knowledge that helps them in their careers but also the soft skills that lead to success. Those lasting friendships with fellow students and one-on-one connections with professors stay with them. Col. Kilday’s example of remembering the college that helped shape her life is excellent and worth emulating.”
Dr. Scott Hummel signs the document.
The two women had never discussed creating an endowed scholarship, but Jacocks felt it was important to establish one in Kilday’s name. Jacocks tied it to first-generation students because Kilday was one of them. Then she learned from Roberts about the extensive number of Tusculum students who are first-generation. She concluded the right thing would be to target first-generation students, along with the military connection, with this endowed scholarship.
Dr. David Smith, executive director of TRIO programs at Tusculum, thanked Jacocks for her generosity and attention to first-generation students. TRIO is a collection of federal grant programs that serve first-generation students. One of those programs is Student Support Services, which provides first-generation Tusculum students with a variety of services that are designed to help them achieve graduation and consider pursuing graduate school.
“We appreciate Lt. Col. Jacocks for recognizing the value of supporting first-generation students,” Dr. Smith said. “This endowed scholarship will provide these students, who might not come from households that have a lot of financial resources, with key backing that will help them earn a degree from Tusculum and then make a positive difference in the community. She is a blessing to our students, who will also be inspired by the heights Col. Kilday achieved.”
To learn more about SSS, please visit https://site.tusculum.edu/student-success/academic-affairs/first-gen/sss/. Additional information about the university is available at www.tusculum.edu.