PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Lincoln University will honor New Jersey’s late lieutenant governor during this weekend’s alumni reunion by celebrating a scholarship named in her honor.
Sheila Oliver died in August 2023 at the age of 71. She served five years as New Jersey’s lieutenant governor — the first Black woman to do so. Oliver was also the first Black woman elected to statewide office in New Jersey history, as well as the first Black woman to be Assembly speaker. She was first elected to the General Assembly in 2003, then became speaker in 2010.
Oliver’s alma mater created the Sheila Oliver Memorial Scholarship in her honor, which will be celebrated during the alumni reunion awards dinner on Saturday. Oliver graduated from Lincoln in 1974. This year would have marked her 50th anniversary.
Lincoln University President Brenda Allen said Oliver embodied the college’s motto: learn, liberate, lead.
“It’s not enough that we as individuals obtain this great education, but we really place an emphasis on using this education to go out into the communities that are important to us and really help to make some change,” Allen said. “Her life is a testament to the fact that she was a liberator and a leader.”
The first recipient has already been selected. The scholarship — a full ride to Lincoln — is reserved for young women who live in New Jersey.
Allen said the university met with Oliver’s family and discussed ways to honor her, and they noted that HBCUs were a significant part of her life.
“She represents that legacy and the glory that we all aspire to,” Allen added. “It’s no greater honor for us to honor her by naming a scholarship after her, because her life is a testament to what Lincoln can do for many people. … Not just become educated, but become educated and become agents of social change.”