news & events
February 11, 2008
Community Mourns Longtime Teacher and High Potential Director John Dennis
Hundreds of students, friends and colleagues mourned his death at a memorial service in the Chapel on Feb. 11. The College will also hold a Memorial Mass for Dennis in the Chapel on Feb. 20 at 12:45 p.m.
“Over the coming days, we will all struggle to come to terms with this senseless act, confront the loss of John to our community, and for those who knew John, deal with the personal grief of his absence,” Brother President Ronald Gallagher wrote in a message to the College.
During his 29 years at the College, Dennis—known affectionately as “Dr. D”—taught thousands of students in an extraordinary variety of courses, ranging from Modern African History to Roman and Early Christian Thought as well as January Term classes on cultural interpretations of laughter and death.
From 1993 to 2005, Dennis served as director of the High Potential Program serving first-generation college students, primarily Latino and African-American students from the Bay Area. The program helps prepare students for college through summer coursework, mentoring, and enriching co-curricular activities.
“As director, John doubled the size of the High Potential Program, and the students were well aware of the high demands academically,” said Vice Provost for Academic Affairs Frances Sweeney.
“He developed the program into not only an academic boot camp, but a comprehensive and holistic system of transformation for the students, addressing mind, body and spirit.”
In addition to his position in the History Department at Saint Mary’s, Dennis had been on the faculty of the African American Studies Department at City College of San Francisco since 1980. He was a graduate of Paso Robles High School in southern California and held a B.A. from UC Santa Barbara and a Ph.D. in African History from Stanford.
Beyond the classroom, Dennis was involved in a number of community outreach efforts in the Bay Area. He was a lay chaplain for Catholic Charities at the Bryant Street Jail in San Francisco, served in the Oakland Adult Education Program since the late 1970s and was a lay preacher and Liturgical Committee member at Saint Benedict’s Catholic Church in East Oakland.
“John educated many minds and touched hundreds of hearts, and there are gatherings like this one going on in other communities all around the Bay Area,” said Brother Michael Sanderl during the College’s Feb. 11 service.
Friends and alumni are encouraged to share their thoughts and memories of Dr. Dennis at the College’s guest book (link), or through guest books on Facebook (link) and the Contra Costa Times (link).
Additional Links Message from Brother Ronald Gallagher Message from Vice Provost for Student Affairs Jane Camarillo Message from Mission and Ministry Dean Brother Michael Sanderl Fall 2005 Saint Mary’s Magazine Story on John Dennis Contra Costa Times story San Francisco Chronicle story Contact Mission and Ministry Regarding Grief Counseling and the Feb. 20 Mass Contact High Potential Director Maria Angelica Garcia Contact the Office of College Communications
