First African-American student admitted to Spring Hill College dies

Submitted by Tyloria Tims Crenshaw 
Spring Hill College alumna Dr. Julia Ponquinette Joyner, who went on to become a psychiatrist, died Jan. 7, in Richmond, Va. She was the first African-American student admitted to the college in 1954. Joyner and seven other classmates — Mary Andrea Abrams ’57, Patricia Blackmon ’58, Robert Buchanan ’57, Elbert LaLande ’57, Cecilia Mitchell ’58 and Fannie Motley,  ’56; desegregated the college in September 1954 by quietly joining the student population. 
Julie Clementine Ponquinette was born Nov. 2, 1934, in Mobile to Myrtle Parker and Ernest Ponquinette. Dr. Joyner attended Most Pure Heart of Mary School, graduating in 1952, and went on to Loyola University in Chicago, intending to pursue pre-law. However, after two years, she changed course to a pre-med curriculum. She returned home to Mobile in 1954, where she transferred to Spring Hill College.
“We fully appreciate that Julia was a trailblazer at Spring Hill, opening doors to the transformative experience of higher education for women and people of color across the south and the United States,” said Mary H. Van Brunt, PhD, Spring Hill’s 39th president. “As a student, her example taught an infinite number of people the importance of acceptance in our communities. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family.  We are grateful for Julia for being a part of our lasting legacy of providing academic excellence to all people.” 
After graduating from Spring Hill in 1958 with a degree in biology, Joyner went on to attend Meharry Medical College in Nashville earning an M.D. in 1963. She then served for 23 year at Saint Elizabeth's Hospital in Washington, D.C., and in private practice, retiring at the age of 80 in 2014.
The funeral was Jan. 20 at St. Mary Catholic Church in Henrico Va.