Bryan Eldredge, a former program manager at the David Eccles School of Business, passed away from cancer on Jan. 28.
Eldredge’s career at the U lasted almost two decades and covered a variety of jobs in the business school, including manager of business scholars, associate director of the masters program and MBA career services. She retired last summer and spent her last days on hospice with her family, visited by friends. Eldredge was two weeks away from celebrating her 70th birthday.
Heidi Woodbury, assistant dean of external relations at the business school, remembers meeting Eldredge on Woodbury’s first day at the U, 20 years ago.
“No matter how busy she was, she always had time for anyone — students, staff, faculty,” Woodbury said. “She always dropped what she was doing and made time for people.”
Eldredge and Woodbury became friends and worked together on various projects, including SMART start, an initiative pairing business students with alumni to help gain real-world skills.
“I travel around the country working with alumni, and she’s the No. 1 person I’m asked the most about,” Woodbury said. “She was an amazing person.”
Prior to her career at the U, Eldredge worked at the Salt Lake Legal Defenders Association and the Utah State Office of Education. She received her degree from the U in history, with a minor in French, in 1968. Eldredge served as president of the Pi Beta Phi Fraternity, and pursued postgraduate studies in history at the U. She married David Eldredge and had two children.
Chiao-ih Hui, a U alum who graduated in 2005 with an MBA and an undergrad in electrical engineering, knew Eldredge well.
“She just had this endless energy to care for people,” Hui said. “She was an integral part of the community — she will be missed.”
Hui knew Eldredge through the Women in Business group, where Eldredge helped push for an organization where female U alumni with MBAs could collaborate and network.
Hui now works as a customer program manager at SanDisk but says Eldredge and her husband would stay in touch, asking about Hui’s life and remembering milestones in her life.
Hui and many other students attended Eldredge’s funeral on Feb. 6 at the Cathedral Church of St. Mark in downtown Salt Lake City. Hui said she and others were surprised to discover how far Eldredge’s career and service went beyond the U. Eldredge was on the founding board of Utah Children, the President of Salt Lake Acting Company, served on the board of the Women’s Resource Center and was a mentor for the International Rescue Committee.
Woodbury hopes Eldredge’s personality and legacy will be remembered at the U.
“She was really committed to helping students and committed to helping change lives,” Woodbury said. “That kind of person is what the university should be about.”
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