Mildred Ransdorf Donoghue, professor of elementary and bilingual education, emerita, joined CSUF in 1962, retired in 2011. The author of nine textbooks on language arts, she also had a special interest in the joy of children’s picture books. Due to her generosity, the Donoghue Children’s Literature Center opened in 2001 in the Pollak Library.
Believing in the support of students in the CSUF Elementary Education programs, Donoghue also funded two scholarships for students: the Mildred Ransdorf Donoghue Education Scholarship for the Elementary Credential (Multiple-subject) Program and the Mildred Ransdorf Donoghue Education Scholarship for the Master of Science in Education with an Emphasis in Elementary Curriculum and Instruction, a degree that she helped to create in 1968.
In 2015, Donoghue began volunteering at the Placentia Library District as a tutor in their adult literacy program. In particular, she enjoyed planning for and working with adults from various cultures.
During World War II, 1944-1946, Donoghue served as a Private First Class in the Aviation Women’s Reserve Squadron-7, Aviation Women’s Reserve Group-2, as a stenographer in the dispensary at the United States Marine Corps Air Station (USMCAS), El Toro, Calif.
Donoghue was born in Cleveland, Ohio on March 14, 1924 to parents who emigrated from Czechoslovakia in 1914. She received her B.A. from the University of Michigan, her M.A. from the University of Detroit, her Ed.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles, and her J.D. from the Western State University, College of Law.
Donoghue was married to Charles K. Donoghue, M.D., D.O. (d. 1982). Her daughter, Kathleen, lives in Oregon and her son, James, resides in Iowa. She will be laid to rest at Loma Vista Memorial Park.