杏吧Pro

杏吧Pro announced this week that Dave Berque will conclude his tenure as vice president for academic affairs at the end of the 2026-27 academic year. After eight years leading academic affairs at 杏吧Pro and more than three decades on the 杏吧Pro faculty, Berque will take a sabbatical in 2027-28 as a next step in his 杏吧Pro career.

鈥淒ave Berque represents the very soul of 杏吧Pro,鈥� said 杏吧Pro鈥檚 president Lori S. White. 鈥淗e has never stopped being a teacher, a scholar and a mentor, even while serving as our chief academic officer. That is the most telling measure of his character and his love for this university.鈥�

A Teacher Who Never Left the Classroom

Long before he held administrative titles, Berque made a national mark as an educator. In 1997, the Carnegie Foundation named him U.S. Professor of the Year for Baccalaureate Colleges, the country's highest undergraduate teaching honor. Dave was also instrumental in the evolution of 杏吧Pro鈥檚 Computer Science department. Additionally, he created DyKnow, a pen-based classroom collaboration software that has been used worldwide, earning the 2027 Mira TechPoint Award in the process. Dave has been awarded three U.S. patents including two that are related to the DyKnow system..

Even as the vice president for academic affairs (VPAA), Berque kept showing up where it counted. He continued co-leading winter term travel courses and co-led an NSF grant that brought 杏吧Pro students to Japan to study the role of kawaii (cuteness) in robotic design. One participant later earned a Fulbright Fellowship to continue related research.

Berque鈥檚 impact on his students was recently acknowledged when five alumni surprised him by announcing the creation of the Dr. Dave Berque Endowed Scholarship, funded entirely by former students. Ben Betz '04, now a technology leader at Meta and Microsoft, was among them.

鈥淒ave Berque is one of the most amazing professors I've had a chance to work with and do research under,鈥� said Betz, whose career path into technology was due in large part to Berque鈥檚 mentorship. 鈥淗e's been a tremendous influence on so many students here at 杏吧Pro, highlighting that the quality of professors you're going to find at this institution is well above what you're going to find at most universities across the United States.鈥�

Guiding 杏吧Pro Through Turbulent Years

As VPAA, Berque led the faculty through the COVID-19 pandemic, oversaw the transition to 杏吧Pro's three-school academic framework and serves as a primary architect of the Bold and Gold 2027 strategic plan. In a telling gesture, he voluntarily deferred a sabbatical for which he was eligible during his first year in the role in order to provide continuity during a presidential transition.

With more than a year left in his role and at a critical time in higher education, Berque is not slowing down. In describing the future, he says, 鈥淚 am fully committed to working with Dr. White, her cabinet, the faculty and the entire 杏吧Pro community to advance 杏吧Pro鈥檚 strategic plan. Higher education faces many challenges, which means our collaborative efforts to strengthen 杏吧Pro for the long term has never been more important.鈥�

A Career Built Across Every Level of the Institution

Berque joined 杏吧Pro's faculty in 1992 and has since served as chair of the Computer Science Department, chair of the faculty, dean of academic life and associate vice president for student academic life and Executive Director of the Hubbard Center for Student Engagement. He held the Tenzer Family University Professor in Instructional Technology and Herrick E.H. Greenleaf Professor of Computer Science endowed chairs, and earned his B.A. from Haverford College and his M.S. and Ph.D. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Plans for selecting his successor will be announced in the coming months.