Robert James Bernard (February 6, 1894 – June 9, 1981[1]) was an American academic administrator. He was instrumental in the founding of the Claremont Colleges, a consortium of adjacent, affiliated higher education institutions in Claremont, California, and served as its leader from 1942 to 1963.[2]
Bernard was born in Collinwood, Ohio, and grew up in Denver, Colorado.[1] He briefly attended Colorado College before transferring to Pomona College when his family moved to Hollywood.[1] He majored in English and graduated in 1917.[1]
After graduation, he became an assistant to Pomona president James Blaisdell.[1] When the Claremont Colleges were established in 1925, he was appointed secretary under Blaisdell.[2] He became administrative director in 1942; his title changed to managing director in 1944 and president in 1959.[2]
Bernard retired in February 1963.[1] He was president and then executive director of the Association of California Independent Colleges and Universities between 1961 and 1967.[2] He wrote a history of the Claremont Colleges, titled An Unfinished Dream, shortly before his death in 1981.[2]
The Bernard Field Station, a biological research station owned by the Claremont Colleges, is named after him.[3]