Dr. C. Adolfo Bermeo Bio

Dr. C. Adolfo Bermeo is a Senior Scholar with the Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education and works closely with the Council for Opportunity in Education (COE) in Washington D.C., serving as a faculty member and keynote speaker at Council seminars and conferences for TRIO professionals throughout the United States. Dr. Bermeo works with state, national, and international organizations committed to social justice and to increasing access to higher education for historically underrepresented, first generation, low income, and immigrant students. On the international level, he works closely with ECHO and the Dutch Ministry of Education in their efforts to increase access to higher education for immigrant populations in the Netherlands. He has spoken at a number of universities throughout the Netherlands, many of whom are implementing programs for immigrant students based on Dr. Bermeo’s Pedagogy of Excellence and his success in increasing graduation rates for historically underrepresented, first generation college, low income, and immigrant students at UCLA.

Dr. Bermeo retired from UCLA, where he was Associate Vice Provost for Student Diversity and Community College Partnerships, Director of the Academic Advancement Program (AAP), and a faculty member in the Cesar Chavez Center for Chicano/a Studies, in late 2005.

While at the university, Dr. Bermeo moved AAP and its 6000 students from the margins to the center of UCLA academic life and made AAP the national leader among public universities in graduating historically underrepresented, first generation college and low income students. Under his leadership, AAP increased the graduation rates of African American and Latino/a students from 45% in 1985 to 83% in 2005. His development of AAP's Pedagogy of Excellence and his commitment to high expectations, high standards, a multi-racial academic community, and the graduation of students dedicated to transforming our society, made AAP a nationally and internationally recognized program and a model for best practices in working with underrepresented and underserved students. Under his leadership AAP significantly increased the number of its students entering the UCLA Honors Program, engaging in undergraduate research, and participating in Education Abroad and internships in Sacramento and Washington D.C. His commitment to transfer students led to the development of AAP's Center for Community College Partnerships, the Transfer Student Center, and the Transfer Summer Program. His development of AAP's Graduate Mentor Program and McNair Program led to a substantial increase in the number of AAP students going on to graduate and professional schools. The UCLA Academic Senate recognized Dr. Bermeo's contributions to a diverse academic environment at UCLA by awarding him the Chancellor's Fair and Open Academic Environment Award.

In the classroom, Dr. Bermeo both challenged and encouraged his students, always connecting their academic work to their life experience, while setting the highest expectations and rigorous academic standards. His teaching evaluations were among the very best among university faculty. Dr. Bermeo is particularly interested on the impact of immigration on the cultural, political, social, educational, and economic experience of Latino immigrants to the United States. As an immigrant himself, he has been a strong advocate for Latino immigrants, and particularly for undocumented students. At UCLA, he was instrumental in establishing IDEAS, an immigrant student organization advocating for the rights of undocumented immigrants in higher education.

Prior to his work at UCLA, Dr. Bermeo was a faculty member and administrator at Compton Community College, where he was Director of Chicano/a-Latino/a Studies and faculty sponsor of MEChA. While at Compton, Dr. Bermeo established and directed a number of programs, including the UCLA Transfer Consortium, which transferred more than 300 low-income, first generation college, historically underrepresented, and immigrant students, 75% of whom graduated, to UCLA; the Tutorial Program, which provided campuswide tutorial services in both academic and vocational courses for both day and evening students; the Outreach and Recruitment Program, which led to a 33% increase in student enrollment and, through his work with various Catholic churches, to a more than 400% increase in Latino/a student enrollment and the development of the College’s ESL program; and the Transfer Center and Office of Relations with Schools, which provided secondary students at five feeder high schools with tutorial services and extensive information about post secondary education.

Throughout his more than forty year career, Dr. Bermeo has been an outspoken advocate for opening the doors to higher education for low income, first generation college, historically underrepresented, and immigrant students and for social justice for all those denied access to the fruits of United States society. In retirement he continues to advocate for the transformation of our society, for equity for immigrants both here and in Europe, and for a world marked by peace rather than war.