March 14th marks the 10th Annual Big Give, and we’re reaching out with a heartfelt appeal to support our incredible students in times of need.

This year, we’ll be raising funds for the Clementine Douglas Student Emergency Fund, which provides vital assistance to students facing housing or food insecurity and other financial emergencies. Your gift, no matter the size, will directly impact the lives of students in crisis.

During this year’s Big Give, we have an incredible opportunity to amplify our impact. Alum Liz Claman (’85), has generously offered a Big Match of $10,000 if we can secure 120 gifts.

Janice Clementine Douglas and Art Douglas

The fund honors Janice Clementine Douglas, the late wife of Art Douglas, North Gate Hall’s beloved custodian who embodied what it means to be caring and supportive of our students. As he cleaned our school at night, he would share advice and words of support with our students who were there late trying to finish their work, inquiring about their classes, their stories and their lives.

Together, let’s seize this chance to ensure that no student’s education is hindered by financial hardship.

Thank you for contributing to the Clementine Emergency Fund or another Berkeley Journalism fund to support world-class journalism education for our students.

DONATE TODAY!

Art Douglas stands before a plaque honoring him in the hallways of North Gate Hall in August 2023. Photo: Chuck Harris.

About Art and Janice Clementine Douglas

By Lauren Kawana (‘14)
2020

Art Douglas served as custodian of the journalism school at UC Berkeley for over 30 years. He was well known among students and faculty, always equipped with a smile and kind words. A quiet observer of school life while conducting his janitorial duties, Art was known to keep clips of student work, attend screenings and student showcases, and provide encouragement and sage life lessons to students burdened with pressing deadlines and late-night anxiety. For years, he also assisted the staff with handing out diplomas to students at every graduation and rarely forgot an alumni face, eager to express his pride in their ongoing careers as journalists.

When Art’s wife Janice Clementine Douglas passed away in 2017, he made the decision to quietly retire without fanfare. When students discovered this, they acted quickly to honor Art’s work at the school and the impact he made on decades of students. At the 2018 graduation, the class of 2018 and alumni raised $4,819.00 to gift him, along with an honorary plaque to be hung in the school. When presented with this gift, Art refused the money and insisted it be turned into an emergency fund for journalism students in need. His one request was that it be named after his late wife, Janice Clementine Douglas, whom he married in 1974. “She was a loving mother and a loving wife,” said Art. “School was so important to her. She took time out to be a mother and wife and then went back to school to finish her degree.” After many years of raising children and working at Blue Cross of California in Oakland for over 40 years, Janice obtained her bachelor’s degree in sociology at Cal State East Bay in 2010. “I don’t want anyone to forget her,” Art said.

In 2019, the Janice Clementine Douglas fund was celebrated at alumni weekend, which Art attended alongside his youngest daughter Natasha. Natasha was a recipient of a class gift raised by students in 1990. Then a freshman at Bishop O’Dowd High School, Natasha used the money raised by students to support her tuition. In a message to the class, she wrote: “Thank you for selecting me for the class gift. Your hard work and accomplishments over the past two years are an inspiration to me! I will use this gift on my journey to become an orthopedic surgeon!” Today, Dr. Natasha Marshall indeed works in podiatric surgery for Kaiser Permanente in Lancaster, CA.