Dr. V. James DiNardo, ’39, was “the heart and soul of this institution.”
That’s how former BSU President Dana Mohler-Faria described DiNardo in a eulogy after his 2011 death.
From student to administrator, DiNardo was an important member of the campus community for decades. His legacy lives on through the residence hall that bears his name.
Named For
Dr. V. James DiNardo, ’39
The Backstory
DiNardo first connected with Bridgewater when he was an education major in the 1930s amid the Great Depression.
“Bridgewater gave us a sense of hope and purpose, and I loved the school from the moment I arrived here,” he once said.
After graduating, he taught in a one-room school house in Bethel, Vermont. During World War II, DiNardo served in the Army and wrote more than 600 letters to his wife.
After the war, he became a teacher and administrator in Quincy before returning to Bridgewater in 1957 as principal of a school to train future teachers. DiNardo went on to become dean of undergraduate studies, an education professor and executive vice president before retiring in 1983. Even as a top administrator, he took time to greet cafeteria workers and maintainers on his way to his office.
Mohler-Faria once called DiNardo someone who will “forever be remembered for his immense loyalty to Bridgewater and all that he did over so many years to profoundly influence its growth and development.”
DiNardo also had a long connection with the Quincy YMCA, serving as a camp counselor and later the organization’s president. He also worked for the State Department training teachers for American schools in Brazil, Costa Rica and Italy.
BSU’s Alumni Association named a prominent teaching award after him in 1984. In 1991, the university named a new residence hall DiNardo Hall.
Use Today
DiNardo Hall sits on the east side of campus near University Park. It is identical to its neighbor, Miles Hall. The two buildings collectively house more than 400 students in double and triple bedrooms with shared common rooms. DiNardo Hall also houses the Office of Residence Life and Housing.
Material used in this article comes from a 2012 Bridgewater magazine article by David Wilson, ’71, and a 2011 obituary by Laurie Willis published in The Boston Globe.