  We present UBVRI surface photometry for 16 dwarf elliptical galaxies in the
Virgo Cluster with previously measured kinematic properties. The global optical
colors are red, with median values for the sample of 0.24 +/- 0.03 in (U-B),
0.77 +/- 0.02 in (B-V), and 1.02 +/- 0.03 in (V-I). We recover the well known
color-magnitude relation for cluster galaxies, but find no significant
difference in dominant stellar population between rotating and non-rotating
dwarf elliptical galaxies; the average age of the dominant stellar population
is 5-7 Gyr in all 16 galaxies in this sample. Analysis of optical spectra
confirm these age estimates and indicate Fe and Mg abundances in the range of
1/20th to 1/3 of solar, as expected for low luminosity galaxies. Based on Lick
indices and simple stellar population models, the derived [alpha/Fe] ratios are
sub-solar to solar, indicating a more gradual chemical enrichment history for
dEs as compared to giant elliptical galaxies in the Virgo Cluster. These
observations confirm the marked difference in stellar population and stellar
distribution between dwarf and giant elliptical galaxies and further
substantiate the need for alternative evolutionary scenarios for the lowest
mass cluster galaxies. We argue that it is likely that several different
physical mechanisms played a significant role in the production of the Virgo
cluster dE galaxies including in situ formation, infall of dEs that were once
part of Local Group analogs, and transformation of dwarf irregular galaxies by
the cluster environment. The observations support the hypothesis that a large
fraction of the Virgo cluster dEs are formed by ram pressure stripping of gas
from infalling dIs.
