Introduction Jeter provides his background saying that he is a "country boy" from South Carolina. He says he wanted to leave his hometown as quickly as he could.
He says he had a supportive group of teachers during a time of segregated schools. He grew up in a all-black environment until college.
He attended Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, North Carolina. Here, he had his first non-black teachers.
A big influencer from his undergrad career was his freshman composition teacher, Sarah Benson. One of her projects was to start a debate team at the university.
He joined the debate team and they traveled to multiple states for tournaments. At first they did bad, but progressed by the end of the season.
Jeter took many of Benson's classes. She encouraged him to write for the school's magazine.
His engineering major didn't work out because he couldn't pass his organic chemistry classes.
He changed his major 7 times before he graduated college. He says this was due to the fact that his high school teachers didn't teach well.
He took a placement exam his freshman year and placed high in French. He decided on French on his major because he had so many credits.
A friend of his was the editor of the school paper and told him they needed a sports editor. This was his start into journalism.
He did freelance work for a black radio station in Charlotte. And then applied to Cornell University for his master's.
Jeter talks about his transition from Johnson C. Smith University to Cornell University. He says there was an effort to create more diversity at Cornell.
Cornell was his first predominantly white school experience. He says there was about 1,000 black grad students at the time so it wasn't as "isolated."
He got his first job in the news business from one of his professors. Through him, he became connected with a United Press International executive.
He was visiting his grandparents when he got an offer to work for UPI.
He describes his experience covering the Democratic National Convention during a time when there were few African American reporters.
Jeter says he got the chance to attend playoff games and see famous athletes.
He remembers his first time covering a hockey game. He says there was a child kidnapping that developed.
He says an experience from UPI that has haunted him over the years is the Attica riot trial. He says journalism isn't for everyone.
He went to Chicago where he worked in broadcast at WTTW. The focus was television production. He was assigned to the news unit in downtown Chicago.
After, he went to Hampton, Virginia. He became the director of Hampton University News Bureau. He describes his responsibilities.
His first teaching position was at North Carolina A&T State University. The university was thinking of starting a mass communications program so they hired him.
Jeter says people at the university told him he needed a Ph.D. He went to the University of Wisconsin to obtain a doctorate.
He describes his experience performing visiting professorships. He says a lot of his leaves were to finish projects and research.
He discusses mentors and fellowships. Later, he is introduced to administration as an associate dean.
He recalls a time when he was at Tennessee when they filled 6 academic positions and he was on all 6 search committees.
He talks about the approaches he takes when teaching, saying that students will talk to you if you're "real."
Most students call Jeter demanding and say he is hard to please.
He was part of the accreditation process and discusses his experience. He says accreditation is important to parents and media organizations.
Jeter says he still enjoys teaching and that his favorite course is the introduction to mass communication.
One year, his students were impressed with Beyonce's routine at the Super Bowl. He related her performance to The June Taylor Dancers from the Jackie Gleason Show.
He says writing courses are challenging to teach at times because grammar is a weakness for students.
He has been a lifelong member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. He discusses his membership with the organization.
Jeter spent 22 years at Florida A&M University where he watched the university grow from a small institution to a large one. They were the first accredited program at a Historically Black College University. He says Florida A&M University was a "very important institution" of all the ones that he's worked.