Many educators have dedicated their entire careers to helping underprivileged segments of society. This is the case with Lois Carson, who served the African American and lower-income communities all her life. Photo credit: San Bernardino Valley College

There are many talented and dedicated classroom educators who have dedicated their entire careers to helping underprivileged segments of society. This is certainly the case with Lois Carson, a long-time teacher who served the African American and lower-income communities all her life.

Lois was born in Memphis, Tennessee, where she attended St. Augustine Catholic High School. As the valedictorian of her school, she won several scholarships, including a prestigious scholarship from the United Negro College Fund. After her high school graduation, Lois enrolled in Wilberforce University, the first private historically Black university in America.

After her marriage, Lois relocated with her husband to Southern California. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in English from Cal State San Bernardino (CSUSB) in 1967. That year, she was a member the first graduating class of the campus. Later, she earned two Master’s degrees, one in English and one in Education, from the University of California, Riverside (UCR).

Lois accepted her first position as a teacher for Upward Bound through the UCR. Upward Bound is an organization that helps low-income high school students prepare for college. Later Lois served as a Director of the organization, and she also served a stint as the Deputy Director of the San Bernardino County Community Action Partnership. She also served as an Executive Director of a similar organization in Riverside County. While there, Lois built partnerships with organizations and networks that served low-income families, including the Riverside County Consortium for Early Learning Services and the Coachella Valley Housing Coalition.

For 24 years, Lois serve on the San Bernardino Community College District Board, including seven years on the national board of the Association of Community College Trustees. While in that position, Lois worked tirelessly to increase access by minority students to the nursing program. In fact, she was selected as the top trustee in the United States by that organization.

As if all this were not enough, Lois found time to establish the San Bernardino County Status of Women Commission, the Inland Empire section of the National Council of Negro Women, the Ladies Auxiliary of the Knights of Peter Claver, and Black Future Leaders.

For her tireless work as a public servant, Lois received the Lyndon Baines Johnson Human Services Award in 2007. The following year she was named Woman of the Year in California’s 62nd District by Assemblywoman Wilmer Amina Carter. She has also been honored as a Distinguished Alumna by bother CSUSB and UCR. Also, she was inducted into the San Bernardino Valley College (SBVC) Alumni Hall of Fame in 1997.

Sadly, Lois Carson passed away on July 14, 2021. She was 90 years old. To read more about her, see this biography published about her by SBVC.