Grace Van Dyke Bird Collection
Written by Deanna Rea
Grace Van Dyke Bird was the first recognized President of Bakersfield College and the first woman to head a public community college in California. She was known as both an innovator and a woman of great vision. While presiding over Bakersfield College for thirty years, Grace’s reputation as a remarkable leader was recognized nationwide, and she is credited with advancing the junior college movement in California and beyond. She helped guide BC through its infancy and early growth to become a fine academic institution of higher-quality learning, integrity, and compassion that serves a diverse population of students and its members.
A photo of Grace Van Dyke Bird walking on the Bakersfield High School campus where Bakersfield College was founded and held classes until 1956.
Bird’s academic career began after she graduated from the University of California,
Berkeley, in 1915, with majors in architecture, education, and French.
In the Fall of 1917, just four years after the Kern County High School District created Kern County Junior College, Grace began teaching French and English literature to both JC and Kern County Union High School (now Bakersfield High School) students, a tenure that lasted thirty-two years.
By 1920, Miss Bird became acting dean of the junior college and part-time vice principal
of the high school after Mr. Paul Vandereike, the first Dean of Kern County Junior
College, decided to take a leave of absence.
1922- The first graduating JC class Grace VD Bird was an advisor for.
That following year, Grace Van Dyke Bird’s title as Dean of the Junior College (later recognized as President) was solidified by the college board in agreement with Mr. Ludden and Mr. Vandereike. “I had become dean by accretion and not by a ‘big bang,’ as an astronomer might say,” Grace told interviewer Ralda Sullivan, recorded in ‘Volume I: Grace V. Bird.’ “I thought very little about being made an administrator of a small college where I already knew personally each student who was in the college and all faculty” (37).
Her care and commitment to others and the devotion of her boundless energies towards college projects made her an outstanding leader who set the tone as an innovative administrator by influencing an educational movement. She sought to improve the lives of students and fellow educators by uplifting their sense of worth and confidence in their abilities and higher education.
Margaret ‘Peg’ Levinson, a close friend and colleague of Grace, tells interviewer Ralda Sullivan, “Sometimes it was just a matter of listening. Sometimes it was a matter of doing something… You were a person with three dimensions, and [Grace] was just as aware of the three dimensions as anyone could be” (71).
Grace Bird's views differed from those of her colleagues where education was concerned. She believed that the experiences of community college were of sincere value and worthy enough in their own right, not necessarily made to be preparatory to another level of education—not many people shared these views at the time. Grace is therefore widely respected and credited with establishing interpersonal peer relationships between community colleges and the university, particularly the University of California.
In March of 1950, Miss Bird resigned from her position of leadership at Bakersfield College after announcing her intentions to move forward with the Office of School Relations at the University of California, Berkeley.
Grace Bird’s Farewell Address Ceremony in 1950s.
In pursuit of responsibilities in community college affairs, Grace left behind her marvelous expertise and wisdom, touching the lives of our next leaders. In 1956, the Panorama campus was constructed, and the new library facility was named in honor of Grace Van Dyke Bird.
Photo of John Collins, burn Finlinson, Margaret Levinson, and Simonsen with the plaque identifying the Grace Van Dyke Bird Library in the Spring of 1982. This building later became the Campus Student Services building when the new library across campus opened.
When plans were being made for a new library in 1996, one thing was clear from the start: the facility would continue to bear her name.
The architectural rendering for the current Grace Van Dyke Bird Library that opened on November 7th, 1996 and is still in operation today.
Bakersfield College, built upon the legacy of Grace Van Dyke Bird’s influence, continues
to be an institution of enrichment, integrity, and valuable education, where faculty
and administration work together to create an exceptional learning environment for
all students. Grace Van Dyke Bird’s name will forever be enshrined on BC’s library,
and the legacy she built will have an immeasurably positive impact on generations
of college students for years to come.
1978 - Grace Bird being presented with a copy of her Bancroft library oral history books. From left: James D. Hart (Director of U.C. Berkeley Bancroft Library), John Collins (President), Grace Bird (Former president), and Ed Simonsen (Chancellor and former president)
The Bancroft Library of the University of California, Berkeley produced two volumes honoring Grace Bird- the first is her own oral history, and the second, entitled Bakersfield Remembers Grace V. Bird, holds interviews from twenty individuals of those who worked closely with Grace during her years at Bakersfield College.
Volume II: Bakersfield Remembers Grace V. Bird
CIRCA 1944. Photo from a "Books for Bonds drive". Grace Bird and Irving Stone (author, The Agony and the Ecstasy).
As global conflict escalated and severely disrupted the lives of many, the college was compelled to reconfigure daily life, with significant numbers of faculty and students called into service or otherwise impacted by the war. It was during this time of hardship and resilience that the need for support and familiarity began to take root in the hearts of our members. To combat isolation among alumni in the Armed Forces, Bakersfield College’s first president, Grace Van Dyke Bird, launched wartime efforts that included a dedicated morale committee and regular correspondence with service members through letter-writing campaigns.
The formation of a morale committee at Bakersfield College aligned with prevailing trends among American colleges and universities during World War II. The committees primary functions included bolstering morale, supporting the war effort, and managing the conversion of campus facilities into training centers. The college was designated to provide specialized technical courses, such as technical instruction in aviation, machine work, welding, and auto mechanics, as well as civilian pilot training. By amplifying efforts, former Superintendent Nelson increased funding for speakers on foreign affairs, strengthening students’ understanding of the issues in Europe. But as the United States entered the war, nationwide collegiate programs reoriented toward specialized military flight training and Army Advanced Flight Training to prepare those entering active duty.
Grace went beyond her administrative duties to make a personal impact during a time of widespread uncertainty. In an interview with Ralda Sullivan, recorded in ‘Volume I: Grace V. Bird,’ Grace revealed that she had written to nearly 350 students, with the first “Letter to Men and Women in Service” spanning about three and a half single-spaced, legal-size pages. As other students requested to be included, the mailing list expanded to 700 recipients, and the letter eventually grew to seven pages.
Grace Bird in her office at her roll top desk.
Her efforts swiftly expanded beyond her own, including the assistance of former Superintendent Nelson to stencil, mimeograph, and frank the letters on the district budget. With his support secured, Grace sought further guidance, reaching out to Army and Navy intelligence officers in Los Angeles and San Francisco to learn what she could and could not report in the letters without jeopardizing military plans or compromising anyone’s safety. “You see, my purpose was to keep them in touch with one another – even to feeling close to one another,” said Bird. With deep affection and enduring memory, Grace honored over 3,900 service members by meticulously documenting their stations and ranks, and recording where they had been and where they were heading in a vibrant, humorous, and personalized scrapbook.
A photo from ‘The Scorpion’, the first iteration of Bakersfield College’s yearbook,
crediting Grace Bird as the students’ inspiration in 1923.
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