迪克西·里德

2021年12月7日

The 萨克拉门托 State community and beyond is remembering Donald Rogers Gerth, 萨克拉门托 State’s longest-serving president, for his long commitment to and significant accomplishments in higher education.

格特于2021年12月6日去世，享年93岁，他在教育领导和教学领域工作了45年，主要是在科罗拉多州立大学的校园里。 1984年至2003年，他在博彩平台担任校长，对该校产生了最深远的影响。 他还曾担任博彩平台多明格斯山分校校长八年。

萨克州立大学，萨克拉门托地区，科罗拉多州立大学，以及其他地方都感受到了他的离世。

“With the loving support of his wife, Bev, who actively served alongside him, President Emeritus Gerth transformed 萨克拉门托 State,” said 囊状态 President Robert S. Nelsen, 谁在校园里宣布了格斯的死讯.

“He loved 萨克拉门托 State and the CSU. 他对我们学校和整个系统的影响是无法量化的。 能称他为朋友是我的荣幸，我将怀念他的英明忠告。 We have lost a hero and a giant of a man.”

Though his longest leadership tenure was at 囊状态, Gerth’s influence and impact on CSU was significant and unmistakable.

“Few individuals are as inextricably tied to the CSU – and have so wonderfully lived out the university’s highest ideals – as Donald R. Gerth,” CSU Chancellor Joseph I. Castro said. “He deeply loved the CSU, as reflected in his definitive work, The People’s University: A History of the 博彩平台.

“Don’s was a life well-lived, and his positive impact on Cal State faculty, staff and alumni has and will continue to span generations.”

In 2018, 囊状态 renamed its archives the Donald and Beverly Gerth Special Collections and University Archives in recognition of the couple’s longtime service to the University and the CSU.

格特夫妇捐赠了30万美元，使大学图书馆的工作人员得以对这些档案进行现代化改造，使它们更容易获取。

“He loved being on campus, basking in author talks and attending as many scholarly presentations and celebrations as his and Bev’s calendar would allow,” said Amy Kautzman, University 图书馆 dean. “His good cheer, amazing memory, and storytelling will be missed by all.

“I was lucky enough to be considered a friend, and I’ll be forever thankful for that gift.”

Before coming to 囊状态, Gerth served as president of CSU Dominguez Hills, where the archives also bear the couple’s names.

囊状态 honored Beverly Gerth in 2019 with the President’s Medal for Distinguished Service in recognition of her role in her husband’s presidential legacy and for her collaboration on The People’s University.

When Debra S. Farar began her duties as a CSU trustee, her first campus visit was to 囊状态, in 2000, in the later stages of Gerth’s presidency. Farar called him “a true and inspirational leader, admired and respected by all at the CSU.”

After Gerth retired in 2003, he and Beverly continued to attend campus events, most recently the 社区参与 Center’s 25^th anniversary celebration in October.

Gerth’s specific contributions to 囊状态 and the greater 萨克拉门托 region crossed into many realms. 在他的领导下，入学人数从22,000人增加到28,000人，其中亚洲和拉丁裔学生人数翻了一番。

他的其他成就包括：

• 监督超过1亿美元的公共和私人资金，在校园增加了120万平方英尺的建筑，并对现有建筑进行了现代化改造。
• Led 囊状态’s fundraising efforts, including the University’s 50^th anniversary campaign in 1997, which netted $54 million.
• 创建了艺术学院和公共政策争议解决中心。
• 创建了加州研究中心。
• Initiated academic initiatives to create a master’s degree in Public Policy and 政府, the first master’s degree in Software Engineering at a public university in California, and a joint doctoral program, with UC Santa Barbara, in Public History.
• 在高需求时段增加课程，并为学生提供免费互联网。
• 倡导加州高等教育总体规划，该规划为所有学生创建了一个接受教育的系统。
• 2000年被萨克拉门托商会评为年度萨克拉门托人。
• Worked with the 萨克拉门托 Area Commerce and Trade Organization (SACTO) to develop programs to study and stimulate the region’s economy.
• 曾在SACTO、萨克拉门托大都会商会和联合劝募协会的董事会任职，也是北加州世界贸易中心的创始成员之一。

Nelsen noted the breadth and depth of Gerth’s accomplishments.

“Under his leadership, 萨克拉门托 State grew in every way,” he said, “serving a larger and more diverse student body, modernizing and expanding campus infrastructure, and establishing critical programs like the Center for California Studies, which helped to establish 囊状态 as the Capital’s University.”

这种观点超越了学术界限。 California Assemblyman Roger Dickinson, who served as a 萨克拉门托 County Supervisor from 1994 through 2010, said Gerth “led the campus to become a centerpiece of 萨克拉门托.”

“As president of 囊状态, Don had an unrelenting passion to establish the University as the highest quality academic institution,” Dickinson said. “Beverly and Don worked as a dynamic team to improve the campus in every way – from the physical facilities to faculty quality to the student experience.”

格特1928年12月4日出生在芝加哥。 十几岁的时候，他卖过鞋，在一家钢铁厂工作过，还做过保险评级员。

16岁时，他从高中辍学，进入芝加哥大学（University of Chicago），在那里他获得了三个学位，其中包括1963年获得的政治学博士学位。

1952年朝鲜战争期间，格特加入空军，担任情报和金融部门的职务。 While stationed in the Philippines, he was in charge of payroll finances and known to troops as “The Bagman.”

他在伊利诺斯州贝尔维尔附近的斯科特空军基地驻扎时遇到了贝弗利·简·霍尔曼，并在一个月后求婚。 他们于1955年结婚。

In an interview she gave when her husband retired from 囊状态, Bev recalled how much she loved to dance, but that Don “wasn’t the greatest dancer.” 然而，1958年，当他们在当时的旧金山州立大学（San Francisco State College）定居下来时，这对夫妇经常和学生主任一起，随着校园地下室自动点唱机里的音乐跳恰恰舞和伦巴舞。 The trio referred to themselves as “the Stumblebums.”

他在旧金山州立大学的职位是政府学教授和副院长。 After Gerth earned his doctorate, the CSU Chancellor’s Office recruited him in 1963 to serve as associate dean of Institutional Relations and 学生事务.

第二年，格特被任命为奇科州立大学政治学教授和学生主任，1970年被提升为负责学术事务的副校长。 While at Chico State, he co-authored 看不见的巨人：博彩平台.

1976年，格特被任命为科罗拉多州立大学多明格斯山分校的校长，同时他也是该校的政治学教授。

Eight years later, in November 1983, he was appointed 囊状态’s 10^th president, taking office July 1, 1984.

Upon his retirement in 2003, Gerth recalled that one of his notable accomplishments was establishing stable relations between faculty and the University’s administrators. He was proudest, he said, of 囊状态 students’ achievements.

在博彩平台前两年的毕业典礼上，他亲手签署了每份毕业证书。

“Then I came to the conclusion that that wouldn’t work,” he said.

除了获得“年度圣礼人”的荣誉外，格特还被美国领导力论坛评为“模范领袖”。

2001年，萨克拉门托艺术与商业委员会和萨克拉门托地铁商会共同表彰了格特对艺术的杰出贡献。

萨克拉门托市议员埃里克·格拉（Eric Guerra）是萨克州立大学的一名学生，在遇到唐纳德和贝弗·格斯（Bev Gerth）时，他在校园里兼职做看门人。

“They would come to all of the campus functions and stay until the very end, when the janitors would come in to clean up. He always said hello and was very kind,” said Guerra, who was elected president of Associated Students 公司。 (ASI) for a term coinciding with Gerth’s final year as president.

“By the time I was ASI president,” Guerra said, “I had developed a good relationship with him. 我们彼此理解，我喜欢他讲的故事。 In his day, he was considered radical, because he hired the first African American faculty when he was at Chico State.”

Guerra recently received a letter from Gerth who, in shaky but determined handwriting, offered support for the politician’s upcoming California Senate run. Guerra recalled that when he first ran for city council in 2015, Gerth sent postcards to every resident of District 6 – with a photo of the two then-presidents – encouraging neighbors living near 囊状态 to vote for Guerra.

“I believe that was the linchpin to me being able to win the election,” Guerra said.

庆祝生命的活动定于下午1点至4点30分举行。 3月20日在大学联合舞厅举行。 In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the 名誉校长唐纳德·格斯纪念奖学金基金.