Founding Cal State Fullerton president had vision

Deirdre Newman

The educational pioneer whose vision of turning plowshares into

bachelor’s degrees turned an orange grove in Fullerton into a

225-acre campus died Monday at his Corona del Mar home.

William B. Langsdorf, the founding president of Cal State

Fullerton, who presided over the school from 1959 to 1970, succumbed

to cancer at age 93.

During his tenure, enrollment exploded from 452 students to more

than 15,000.

Langsdorf is remembered as a visionary for emphasizing a liberal

arts education and involving faculty in the decision-making process.

“Several of the state colleges were frankly autocracies -- the

government ran the campus and the faculty just worked there,” said

Lawrence de Graaf, professor emeritus of history, who was one of the

first six full-time faculty members Langsdorf hired. “The very first

semester the campus existed, he called the small group of faculty

together and said he wanted to set up a faculty council.”

Those councils were soon commonplace on state campuses as academic

senates.

Langsdorf was appointed in 1959 by the state Board of Education

with the mission of presiding over a new state college in Orange

County. He was given complete authority to design the educational

program, recruit the faculty and shape the building program. He

recruited top scholars from throughout the country.

His focus on a liberal arts education was also more progressive

than the rest of the state at the time. Most state colleges, which

focused on teacher training, only gave degrees in education.

“Cal State University Fullerton never had a bachelor’s degree in

education because Langsdorf said we’re going to give degrees in

academic disciplines,” de Graaf said. “Two years later, the state

government passed a law saying the bachelor’s degree in education is

out. All people entering teacher training programs had to have a

bachelor’s degree in an academic discipline.”

Langsdorf was also remembered as a genuine and likable person.

“He was not a person who put on airs about his office,” de Graaf

said. “One thing that sort of epitomized his humble being is, he

drove a 1941 Chevrolet Coupe. ... Some presidents wouldn’t be seen in

anything less than a Lexus.”

He headed the university’s first staff meeting in a Ford leased

from the state motor pool that he parked on the site of the planned

campus. The first classes were held eight months later at Sunny Hills

High School.

By 1960, students were attending classes on the permanent campus.

Langsdorf was also the consummate cheerleader of the university’s

fledgling programs, encouraging faculty to develop curriculum despite

not having buildings to house them.

“Langsdorf said to me at the time, ‘we don’t have a facility for

you, so if you can think in terms of laying the groundwork for a

theater program, when we get a facility you can start using it,’”

said James “Jim” D. Young, professor emeritus of theater. “I worked

in parking lots and temporary buildings in campus. ... We used old

drapes and funny lighting, but we still did our theatrical

performances.”

In a fitting tribute, the university’s tallest building was named

after Langsdorf in 1974. Langsdorf Hall houses the College of

Business and Economics and many of the campus’ administrative

offices, including the Office of the President.

Langsdorf’s contributions to the university were typically ahead

of his time, and his legacy grows brighter with time, de Graaf said.

“We all deeply respect him, and I’m sorry to see him go, and

certainly, as we look back, we find more and more reasons to be

grateful for all of the things he did for us while he was president,”

de Graaf said.