An innovative new program aims to position University of the Pacific as the premier educational resource for family business leadership in Northern California.

The Berryman Family Business Fellows Endowment will prepare Pacific students to create, lead or join family-owned businesses. Students will study the unique dynamics and challenges of family enterprises while gaining hands-on experience through internships, consulting projects and other learning opportunities with regional businesses.

The endowment builds on Pacific’s long history of engaging local business leaders to teach and mentor students. It was established by alumnus Bob Berryman ’83, whose family has operated a real estate investment company for more than 100 years.

“I’ve been blessed with a successful family business spanning four generations. As I reflected back on my academic experience at Pacific and how it helped me both as a family member and as a professional, I saw the opportunity to pay it forward,” Berryman said.

“This program will help students understand the complexities of working for a family business and will give them opportunities to be more successful where they work.”

Family-owned businesses are deeply embedded in the Central Valley’s economic and cultural fabric. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that more than 40% of businesses in San Joaquin County are family-owned, compared with 26% statewide. In 2023, the county reported an estimated 10,414 family-owned businesses.

Unlike other businesses, family enterprises face unique challenges, including succession planning, governance and managing family dynamics.

Berryman has first-hand experience with such challenges. The College of the Pacific graduate is part-owner at G.W. Williams Co., founded by his grandfather in 1923. Though conflict once threatened to split the business, the family worked through their differences and moved forward together. Berryman credits Pacific for helping him navigate that uncertain season and foresees the same for future students.

“Because G.W. Williams Co. didn’t split up, we’re more successful today than ever before,” he said. “That’s the essence of the fellows program. It’s not just knowing how to add up numbers, or how to market or sell something. It’s the bigger picture—how do you keep people together to be successful?”

The Berryman Family Business Fellows Program will enable the Eberhardt School of Business to develop specialized courses in family business management and, through a collaboration with College of the Pacific, to create courses integrating business and family psychology.

Students in these courses will learn to address the operational and relational dimensions of family business while also engaging in outreach with regional businesses.

“This is a strategic differentiator for Eberhardt—we're blending world-class academic insight with hands-on, community-anchored learning in family enterprises. There aren’t many schools our size who can say that,” said Lewis Gale, dean of the business school.

The program will be shaped in partnership with alumni and community members experienced in family business who will connect theory to practice, whether by guest teaching, speaking to a class, offering internships or working with students on projects at the San Joaquin County Small Business Center. 

“We are grateful to Bob for providing these unique, hands-on learning opportunities so that students and businesses are mutually empowered,” said President Christopher Callahan. “Through the Berryman program local enterprises will benefit from our resources, while students will further develop their strengths and passions.”

The program will target students whose families own businesses, offering them exposure to and experience with other businesses’ culture and practices. The program also will serve students who aspire to start family businesses or who want to gain skills they can apply in their personal entrepreneurial ventures.

“I got started in real estate through a non-paid internship. But it was my academic background and foundation that helped me really be successful,” Berryman said. “This program will bring Pacific and its students closer to businesses and the Stockton community and will make us stand out in Northern California and beyond. I’m really excited we could make this happen.”

To learn about supporting the Berryman Family Business Fellows Endowment, contact Scott Biedermann ’05, ’20, vice president for development and alumni relations, at 209.932.2166 or sbiedermann@pacific.edu.