Geraldine Alden

Biography

Geraldine Alden, July 16, 1931 – July 16, 2022

Geraldine Alden, Ph.D., graduated cum laude from UCLA in 1975, and became a member of the National Honor Society, Pi Gamma Mu. In 1998, at the age of 67 she earned her doctorate  in Modern European history from UCLA with her dissertation “The Road to Collaboration.”  Before returning to her studies, she was involved with various charitable organizations, founding a support group for the Marlanne Frostig Center for children with learning disabilities and serving as a board member of the Los Angeles Youth Programs for disadvantaged children.

At UCLA, she was on the Board of the College of Letters and Science for four years. Over 30 years ago, she created the support group “Friends of History” for the university’s history department. The group has hosted salons at private homes at which professors from the Department speak on various topics, and has raised money to support graduate students. The Alden-Berg lecture (named for Jeri and fellow alumna Barbara Berg) was established in the UCLA Department of History in 2012. The public lecture features notable academics and scholars who address important issues of the past and present.

Jeri was awarded the CHR Gold at UCLA for personal commitment to the university. A founding member of the Museum of Contemporary Art and a former trustee on its Board of Directors, she was also a member of its Projects Council. She was a member of the Southern California Human Rights Watch Committee, a trustee on the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Opera, a founding member of the Music Center, and a member of the Music Center’s Blue Ribbon Society.

Jeri contributed in manifold ways to the well-being of the Department and to public history, and her contributions will be missed. She is survived by three children, eight grandchildren and two great grandchildren.