Planning Ahead: Dorothy Bergold’s Bequest Is a Nod to Integrity and Grace

Dorothy Bergold (Wheelock’74, SSW’81) has had a long relationship with the School of Social Work, well beyond graduation: as a member and then president of the school’s Alumni Association Board, as the leader of a study trip to Cuba, and now as a field advisor for the school’s online program.

“For some, I may be the only person they meet from BU until graduation,” she says of her advisees. “It’s a privilege to be that person.”

Bergold feels privileged, too, to have had many meaningful jobs—in settings ranging from an inpatient psychiatric unit to pediatrics to hospice—in what she describes as a very fulfilling career. She currently works part time in primary care at Massachusetts General Hospital. 

“I really feel like I’m making a difference,” she says.

Bergold recently found another way to make a difference: by planning a bequest that will endow a scholarship at BUSSW. “I know the school has very limited resources for scholarships, and the fact that it can be endowed and last forever is really moving.”

Ever the social worker, Bergold discusses her gift in terms she learned at BU, when a class on human behavior covered Erik Erikson’s developmental theory.

“When you think about life stages, at the end of life, it’s integrity vs. despair—that’s the Eriksonian stage,” Bergold says, noting that aging isn’t always easy but there are ways to meet it with grace.

“I cope by being grateful, and giving to BU adds to that,” she says. “This is going to last forever.”

By Louise Kennedy | Impact Magazine, Winter/Spring 2020