The Dr. Verna and Peter Dauterive Legacy
Peter and Dr. Verna B. Dauterive met in 1947 while studying at USC and married in 1949. In 1962 the couple commissioned renown Architect Paul Williams & Associates to design and build their lifelong home at 4351 Mount Vernon Drive in Historic View Park.
Dr. Verna B. Dauterive
Dr. Verna B. Dauterive was an inspirational and influential educator who shared with her late husband, Peter, a lifelong devotion to giving back to USC and the Los Angeles community. This power couple was a pillar in the community supporting numerous organizations that included Holman United Methodist Church, Griffith Observatory, Boy Scouts of America and the LA Zoo to list a few. Dauterive relished philanthropy and giving back to the community -- a lesson, she said that her parents instilled in her.
Dauterive’s six-decade career in education and administration with LAUSD began in 1943, when she was hired as its youngest teacher and was one of only four African Americans employed to teach in the district at that time. She held appointments as a teacher, principal, administrator, and ultimately finished her career with LAUSD as principal of Franklin Elementary School in Los Feliz, a job she held for 23 years.
In addition to supporting educational causes, the Dauterives dedicated themselves to helping minority students and established an endowed scholarship at the USC Rossier School of Education. Additionally, in 1975, Dr. Verna B. Dauterive was one of a small group of alumni who formed the nucleus of what is now the USC Black Alumni Association, and her husband was its first major donor. Dauterive went on to influence education policy in California, chairing the state’s Commission on Teacher Credentialing and the Commission on the Status of Women for two terms each.
In 2008 she was named honorary trustee of USC and committed $30 Million to the university in memory of her husband, Peter. The gift created and named the first interdisciplinary social sciences building at USC, Dr. Verna and Peter Dauterive Hall, which officially opened in September of 2014.
PETER DAUTERIVE
Peter Dauterive left a legacy of diverse accomplishments in business, philanthropy and nonprofit organizations. At the time of his passing, Peter was an active member of numerous charitable and educational organizations, including the California Science Center in Exposition Park, a trustee of the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Assn. and a trustee of the Children's Bureau Foundation of Southern California. He was also active in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission, the Los Angeles Figueroa Corridor and the Access to Loans for Learning Student Loan Corp. He was also a director of the Los Angeles County Health Facilities Authority Commission. In addition, Peter was a member or officer of more than 20 other community, State and national organizations.
In business, Peter organized and served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Founders Savings and Loan Association, one of the leading Black-owned savings and loan associations in the Los Angeles area and the nation. Headquartered in the Crenshaw area of Los Angeles, Founders grew to be the 6th largest minority owned thrift institution in the US. Peter helped to break racial barriers in many areas. In 1964, he became one of the first three blacks admitted to the previously all-white Western Avenue Golf Club after the late Supervisor Kenneth Hahn and colleagues ordered a halt to discrimination on county golf courses.
Dauterive served as a director of the California Savings and Loan League and director and president of the American Savings and Loan League. Reagan named him to the National Commission for Employment Policy, and he also served on several state commissions, including the California Economic Development Corp.