Shirley Dean

Who is Shirley Dean?

Shirley Ann Dean, considered moderate in Berkeley politics, is an American politician who served as the Mayor of Berkeley, California from 1994 to 2002. Before serving two terms as Berkeley's Mayor, Dean served on the Berkeley City Council for 15 years between 1975 and 1994 and was a leader of the Berkeley Democratic Club.

Shirley Dean grew up in a single parent family, and graduated from Berkeley High School in 1952. She was selected as a Distinguished Graduate in the Berkeley High School Hall of Fame, and was the first in her family to attend college. She graduated with honors from UC Berkeley with a BA in Social Welfare in 1956.

During part of the time that she served as Mayor, she worked on a half-time appointment for UC Berkeley Undergraduate Admission and Relations with Schools and the Office of Admissions. Her responsibilities included writing the plan and supervising field work for the recruitment of minority students to the UC Berkeley campus and visiting high schools throughout the State of California. She received two Distinguished Service Awards from UC Berkeley for her work before she retired in March, 2000.

In July 2008, Dean announced that she intends to run for mayor again, in the November 2008 election.