Dorothy Inghram
Teacher & Educational Pioneer

California State University, San Bernardino

Dorothy Inghram is a beloved and distinguished teacher and administrator with a lifetime of service to, and caring for, students in the San Bernardino area.

She was an educational pioneer as one of the first students at San Bernardino Valley College when it first opened in 1926. Her determination to succeed academically gained her admission as the first African American student at the University of Redlands, where she earned a bachelor of music degree in 1936 (and later a master of arts degree in education at the same institution).

After three years as a college music instructor at Prairie View College in Texas, Ms. Inghram returned to San Bernardino in 1939. She gained a position as the first African American teacher in San Bernardino County. She had a lengthy and productive career as a teacher and principal, first in the Mill Elementary School and School District in San Bernardino, later as a principal and then as Liaison Principal for Intergroup Relations in the San Bernardino Unified School District, spanning the years 1941 to 1971.

Ms. Inghram has written four books on education: Children Live What They Learn, Dear Meg, Improving the Services of Substitute Teachers and I Can't Sleep. She is currently writing a fifth volume. Ms. Inghram is a beloved figure for thousands of former students and others in the San Bernardino area. At age 97, she is nearing a century of devotion, example, exhortation and succor to several generations in the community.

In recognition of her many accomplishments and dedication to the values of public education in San Bernardino, and her support of California State University, San Bernardino, the Board of Trustees of the California State University and California State University, San Bernardino are proud to confer upon Dorothy Inghram the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters.