from Julie Catalano, Sr. Executive Assistant, President’s Office at Diablo Valley College:
We are sad to report that Bernice Dandridge, retired business faculty member passed away on August 19, 2020.
Over 28 years, Bernice Dandridge served as a faculty member at DVC; 16 years as full-time faculty and 12 years in a part-time role. She taught textiles in the apparel design program and started the fashion merchandising certificate program in the fine and applied arts/business divisions. As a full-time faculty member in business, she served as department chair several times and for five years, served as the chair of the entire division. During her tenure she was able to oversee the construction of the business and foreign language building, and the community conference building. Bernice retired in 2005.
In retirement Bernice spent time both in California and Virginia where she ran a little café and managed apartment buildings. No service information is available at this time.
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On a personal note, I would like to say something more about my friend, Bernice. I knew Bernice from DVC, serving on a number of committees with her and socializing with her on campus. She was a role model, a hard worker, honest and forthright, freely giving her time, energy and expertise. She was generous and dedicated to her students and to the college.
She served on the DVCRA Executive Board, a knowledgeable and effective member, beginning long before I came onto the Board. Her main focus on this Board was as the Scholarship Coordinator, the person who ensured that the hundreds of annual applications for the DVCRA scholarships were individually read and considered. She recognized and encouraged the scholarship recipients, meeting with them at the DVC Scholarship Awards ceremony and inviting those recipients to the fall DVCRA luncheon to meet and speak with the DVCRA membership. She invested a great deal of time and energy chairing this committee, doing whatever was needed to ensure a fair, positive final outcome.
Bernice was a warm, funny, loving person. I will miss her.
Nancy D. Zink
Professor English, DVC retired
DVCRA Liaison