To honor the 21-year legacy of the late Milton A. Gordon, the longest-serving president of California State University, Fullerton, and the philanthropy of Gordon and his wife, Margaret Faulwell Gordon, a formal dedication ceremony will be held Friday, Sept. 20, beginning at 10:30 a.m.
The ceremony will take place on the southside of what was formerly called University Hall and will now be known as Milton A. Gordon Hall. The building was one of the first major construction projects undertaken during Gordon’s tenure.
Among those scheduled to speak at the ceremony are CSU Board of Trustees member Sy Abrego (who served as vice president for student affairs during President Gordon’s tenure); Sarah Jay, a Class of 2005 President’s Scholar; former CSU Board of Trustees Chair/Vice Chair and Executive Vice Chancellor Herb Carter; and current CSUF President Fram Virjee. The “unveiling” of the Milton A. Gordon Tribute Wall will be conducted by Faulwell Gordon and Virjee.
During Gordon’s tenure, the university grew from serving 25,600 students to more than 36,000 and became one of the most diverse campuses in the 23-campus CSU. Cal State Fullerton also became a destination campus for community college students transferring to a four-year university. Gordon oversaw numerous construction and building projects that added 22 buildings and more than four million square feet of interior space, and significantly increased outreach to the community.
“Milt loved Cal State Fullerton,” said Faulwell Gordon. “I think he was happiest during commencement, watching thousands of degree recipients run across the field to the graduation ceremonies. He would be so proud, standing there, watching them. He had a very strong belief in the transformative power of education.”
“I always admired President Gordon’s work and leadership,” said Virjee. “President Gordon’s decades of leadership transformed this institution almost as much as his service transformed the hundreds of thousands of Titan lives he touched as a champion for equitable access to academic excellence.”