Jo Beth Van Gelderen (read bio)
After a career as a mother and businesswoman, Dr. Jo Beth Van Gelderen returned to graduate school and received her PhD in History at UCLA in 1966, writing a dissertation on California and the American West. She has been active in numerous Santa Barbara organizations, including the Santa Barbara Historical Society, Trust for Historic Preservation, the Museums of History, Art and Natural History, and the Chamber Orchestra. These days she devotes her volunteer time to the Wilding Art Museum in Los Olivos and the History Associates, where her annual challenge grant has been a prime factor in the success of our fundraising efforts. For more than 25 years she has sponsored a fellowship for non-traditional graduate students, now known as the Donald Van Gelderen Memorial Fellowship, to support students like herself who return to graduate study after a career outside academia.