Dr. Jessie Fleming

It may be 30 years since Dr. Jessie Fleming retired from Salisbury University, but her influence on the campus is only just reaching its crescendo.

Fleming was fundamental in growing SU’s music program, as its sole faculty member when she came to campus in 1948 and later department chair for many years. Her former students still speak fondly of her as a mentor who challenged and inspired them to achieve their best.

In 2022, one of Fleming’s former students anonymously gave $62,500 to endow a music scholarship in her name. The Fleming family also gave $62,500 to establish the Dr. Jessie Fleming Family Music Scholarship fund.

This year, Fleming’s family presented her with another surprise. In celebration of her 100th birthday, the family made an additional $100,000 gift to the Dr. Jessie Fleming Family Music Scholarship fund – a testament to her countless contributions to the SU campus and Eastern Shore communities.

She not only taught the students, she became a part of their life.

Gary White

The Dr. Jessie Fleming Family Music Scholarship will produce two annual scholarships for students in SU’s Jackson Music Program, continuing Fleming’s impact on SU students pursuing their passion for music.

“Decades after her retirement, we couldn’t go out to a restaurant without former students coming up to tell her how much they appreciated her and that she had opened up a new world to them,” said her son, Bret Fleming. “In all these years, she hasn’t changed a bit. She will always be Dr. Jessie, and my mom.”

When Fleming joined what was then Salisbury State Teachers College in 1948, the faculty totaled 22. Thirty-nine students graduated that year.

In 1988, the then Music Department, with Fleming as its chair, grew to seven full-time and several part-time professors. When she retired in 1993 after 45 years of teaching, the total faculty numbered 236 people, and 988 graduates received degrees.

Many people speak highly of Fleming as being the driving force that allowed the music program to grow into what it is today.

“She was the heart of the college,” said Gary White ’58, one of Fleming’s former students. “She not only taught the students, she became a part of their life.”

White remembers having Fleming as a professor in the 1950s. While their tastes were entirely different, she had an appreciation for all types of music and for every student she taught. White would bring in his jazz records for her to play during class – and oftentimes, she knew more about them than he did.

White still maintains a relationship with Fleming, one in which he brings her sweet potato pies, pepper relish and mincemeat, and chats with her about music and life. He said to this day, she feels the same as when he met her as a student.

“She’s just a wonderful person,” White said. “I am fortunate to get to know her in my older age. I hope this scholarship keeps the memory of her on campus for a long time to come.”