Fund: Dennis A. Berthold Endowed Award Fund Department: Undergrad Student Financial Aid D02089 Purpose: Undergraduate Student Support Background: A native Angeleno, Dennis Berthold graduated from North Hollywood High in 1960 and continued his education at UCR. He majored in English and earned a BA in 1964 and an MA in 1966, along with a letterman's jacket for five years of playing rugby. After teaching two years at Savannah State College, he entered the University of Wisconsin-Madison and in 1972 earned his PhD in English. He joined the English faculty at Texas A&M University and spent the next 42 years teaching writing, American literature, sea literature, and the Gothic. He won awards from the National Endowment for the Humanities, NOAA, USIA, and the Fulbright Commission, and taught abroad in Croatia, Belgium, and China. He won five university teaching awards and served as a University Professor of Undergraduate Teaching Excellence from 2012-14. Dr. Berthold's scholarship emphasizes the cultural politics of iconography, transnationalism, and the visual arts, and covers classic American writers such as Charles Brockden Brown, Herman Melville, and Nathaniel Hawthorne, yet also includes lesser known writers such as Constance Fenimore Woolson and Alice Cary. His most recent monograph, American Risorgimento: Herman Melville and the Cultural Politics of Italy, appeared at Ohio State University Press in 2009. He retired at the rank of Professor Emeritus in 2015 and is enjoying life as a certified Master Gardener. Dr. Bertholds' Statement on Supporting First-Generation College Students: "Neither of my parents attended college, but my mother always stressed the importance of higher education and managed to see her three children graduate with BAs. I was the second in line when I entered UCR in 1960 with monthly financial support of $50 from my family and another $50 from the Wilshire Ebell Club. Combined with a summer job on the Los Angeles Elementary school playgrounds I had the financial resources to take full loads and complete both my BA and MA in English in six years. As a seasoned university professor, I know the difficulties students from lower middle-class families confront both financially and academically at highly ranked, competitive universities such as UCR. I needed more intellectual and emotional support, and I trust that Riverside offers them to students like me today. While I cannot personally help or advice 'first in family' students, I am fortunate enough to support an endowed scholarship for English majors to relieve some of the financial pressure that can distract from their academic life. My inspirational and demanding professors at UCR taught me to love literature and write well, to keep my mind and heart open to diverse ideas, cultures, people, disciplines, and beliefs, and to engage in lifelong learning, all fundamental aims of English studies. I hope to share these ideals with aspiring young students who remain, as always, our enduring hope for a better future." Purpose and Criteria: This Fund shall be used to provide support to undergraduate students majoring in English and shall be administered by the Financial Aid Office To be eligible, a student must be majoring in English and exhibit financial need. The selection may be made from the eligible pool based on merit, but when possible, preference shall be given to a first-generation college student. Furthermore, the Donor prefers that the scholarship be awarded to the same student in subsequent years, should the student be eligible for financial aid and in good standing as an undergraduate student at UC Riverside. In years when there are no candidates who meet the criteria, awards may be held until the following year when there is an eligible candidate. In years when there is more than one deserving student, more than one award may be given provided there is sufficient funding. Request for Information: Request Scholarship Information