Fast forward from the 2011 Hidden Gems production, to 2015, and we find the recently formed Library Exhibits Committee wanting to create an exhibit that calls attention to both (1) the little-known aspects of the campus and its history, and (2) the types of holdings we have in our archives that might allow others to undertake fresh research in these areas.
CSUEB Librarian Diana Wakimoto quickly saw the deficiency in both the framing of the old exhibit's title, and in the questions from the 2011 Hidden Gems project. Her suggestion was for us to take the essence of this older exhibit, and refine it so that the message would be more concise and immediately engaging: e.g., instead of vaguely (and perhaps inappropriately) calling the stories "Hidden Gems," we should call them what they really are: "Little-Known Facts."
Further, for an older graphic panel that asks "Who Was Karl Robinson?," we should change its focus by asking instead, "Where Did Robinson Hall Get Its Name?"
In this vein, we chose to re-edit the stories and limit the sheer number of panels and questions to those most likely to elicit immediate interest among student viewers within the library. Exhibits Committee member Jared Mariconi had the brilliant idea to also present our campus history in a timeline format - so we also adapted many of the graphics and textual elements from the Celebrating 50 Years Exhibit and created a new, 35-foot long Campus Timeline to complete the new exhibit package.
Thus, the 2011 Hidden Gems of the CSUEB Campus Exhibit and the 2007 CSUEB: Celebrating 50 Years exhibits have become part of an evolving exhibit-creation and improvement process that may portend even more interesting topics in the future! Stay tuned.
- DA
Poster #1:
Title Poster
Questions About Campus You Never Thought to Ask?
The Answers are HERE! Check Them Out on the Library's Walls NOW Through February 2012
Campus Names:
Campus Places & Facts:
Celebrities & Their Campus Connections:
Poster #2:
Who Was Carlos Bee?
Carlos Bee a Key Player in Creating the Hayward Campus
Carlos Bee was first a City Council member, then Mayor of Hayward from 1948 to 1954. As a local politician with roots in Hayward, he lobbied long and hard to secure the current Hayward Hills location as the official site of the proposed State College for Southern Alameda County. Competing with over 15 other possible locations (including Pleasanton, San Leandro and Fremont), it was Bee’s persistent effort that finally won Governor Knight’s signature of approval for our current campus in 1957. He later served as Speaker pro Tem of the California State Assembly from 1959-68. Meanwhile, the campus' first dorms were named after him (see photo, above). Upon his death in 1974, the street going up the hill from Mission Boulevard (formerly Hillary Road) was named in his honor.
Image caption:
State Assemblyman Carlos Bee (left) with the first president of the new campus, Fred Harcleroad (right). Together with a representative of the college trustees (center), they turn the first spade of dirt for the new Hayward campus on February 22, 1961. In the photo to the right, Bee poses in front of the campus’ first dorms, named in his honor.
Poster #3:
Who Was the Harder Family?
Harder Road Named for 19th Century Immigrant Family
Jacob Harder was a German immigrant farmer who came to the region in 1867, and eventually settled in the Harder Road area. He married Theodora Jensen (the Library owns a complete set of papers containing the history of the Jensen family, who were also early immigrant ranchers and farmers in the Castro Valley and Hayward area). The Harders made important contributions to the City of Hayward, with Jacob Jr. becoming a prominent judge and member of the Hayward School Board for 30 years. Harder descendents still live in the area today. How proud they must be to climb Harder Road, named in honor of their ancestor who made a similar climb from farmer to prosperous land owner generations ago.
Image caption:
Judge Jacob Harder (Jr.) (above, right) was active in local Hayward civic affairs and served so many years on the School Board that the Jacob Harder Theatre at Bret Harte School (a WPA project) was named in his honor in 1941 (scene to right). The judge’s father, Jacob Sr. (above, left), had come to the Hayward area just after the Civil War.
Poster #4:
Who Was Arnold Biella?
The Library’s Biella Room Celebrates Outstanding Past Faculty
Professor Arnold Biella was an exuberant and energetic administrator who served the University from 1966-1972. He headed the Division of Humanities at CSUH and also served as a Professor of English and the Dean of Instruction. The Biella Room is named in his honor, but it also is officially "dedicated to the memory of [all] deceased faculty of the CSU Hayward Campus." To complement this tribute to our past faculty, the University Library has installed a wall of Emeritus Faculty portraits in the main lobby above the database center.
Image caption:
Early campus yearbooks contain numerous images of Arnold Biella in his role as Head of CSUH’s Humanities Division and, later, the School of Arts, Letters, and Social Sciences.
Poster #5:
Who Was Alexander Meiklejohn?
Campus Social Sciences Building Named in Honor of Free Speech Advocate
Philosopher and staunch civil libertarian, Alexander Meiklejohn was widely recognized as a proponent of First Amendment (Free Speech) rights. Meiklejohn believed that a truly democratic society requires a fully informed public to work, and that ideas must be allowed to flow freely for this to happen - manipulation by power elites limits individual freedoms at every point. He was chosen to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President John F. Kennedy - the highest civilian honor that can be bestowed on a U.S. citizen. Meiklejohn was invited to address the students of the new Hayward Campus in 1963 (he was 92). A few years later, the campus’ first building largely dedicated to the Humanities, Social Sciences, and Communications was named in his honor.
Image caption:
From 1913 to 1923 Meiklejohn was president of Amherst College. He felt the ideal of democracy was self-government by the people, requiring open exchange of information. His extensive writings on political philosophy and other subjects span the period from 1920 to 1960.
Poster #6:
Who Was E. Guy Warren?
Hayward Native E. Guy Warren Assured Location of the Hayward Campus
After its 1957 authorization to establish a state college in Alameda County, the State Department of Education began a process of trying to select the best site for the new campus. The competition among county communities was fierce, and over 15 sites were under consideration (including spots in Pleasanton, San Leandro, Fremont, and South Hayward). After our current campus’ site was seemingly out of the running, local businessman E. Guy Warren invested several thousand dollars of his own money to hire an independent engineering firm to do a study on the Hauschildt Ranch property (the land on which CSUEB now sits). It was largely through Warren’s influence that the Board reconsidered its position, and unanimously accepted the Hayward site in 1959. Construction began in 1961.
Image caption:
Hayward businessman E. Guy Warren is shown here at the ceremonial groundbreaking for the Harder Road extension between Mission Boulevard and campus. A 9-story Administration Building was erected in 1971, and was later named to honor Warren (not to be confused with his famous national contemporary, Earl Warren).
Poster #7:
Who Was Karl Robinson?
Robinson Hall - Rare CSU Naming of a Campus Building to Honor a Professor
Karl Robinson was a well-known professor of Speech and Drama at Cal State Hayward during the period 1965-1967. He was at the height of a productive career when he came to CSUH. Robinson was very active in the Speech Association of America, and also as an editor of the journal “Speech Teacher”, which later became “Communication Education”, and which - even today - the Library receives electronically. His death at 63 from a heart attack, obviously stunned the campus, and came just days before funding was finally approved to build a new Speech and Theatre complex. Thanks to lobbying efforts by friends and colleagues, the building in which Drama and Dance are now studied and performed is named in his honor.
Image caption:
CSUH professor Karl Robinson, only on campus a few short years, nevertheless left a lasting impact on the University - not the least by his name: Robinson Hall being one of only a handful of buildings in the entire CSU system named for an instructor.
Poster #8:
What Was the Highlands Playhouse?
First Theatre on Campus Created from Relocated Highlands School Buildings
As construction proceeded on the CSUH campus between 1961 and 1966, several new structures came online, including the Science Buildings, the current AE Building (then called Fine Arts), Music, and PE buildings. By 1967, the original Cafeteria structure and Meiklejohn Hall were added. Still several years in the future, however, was a Theatre Arts complex, to say nothing of dedicated Administration and Library edifices. To solve this issue, two old buildings from nearby Highlands School were moved onto campus, paired together, and put to use as The Highlands Playhouse. The theatre’s tenure was cut short when Robinson Hall and the Theatre Complex arrived in the early 1970s. The Playhouse was eventually demolished, but each summer at CSUEB, the theatre company is called "The Highland Players" in honor of our original Playhouse.
Image caption:
The color photo (above) was marked at one point in time, to show the location of the new Highlands Playhouse on campus. Directly behind the Playhouse, the Fine Arts Building is visible (it was later named Arts and Education).
Poster #9:
What Was the Hauschildt Ranch?
Hilltop Ranch the Winning Site for the New Hayward College Campus
Over 15 properties were under consideration as the possible location of the new State College for Alameda County - re-named “California State College at Hayward” in 1962. The Hauschildt Ranch site atop the Hayward Hills won out after an intense competition. The ranch buildings were located roughly where the campus Field House and track came to be built. Groundbreaking for the new campus was celebrated on February 22, 1961, while the new college’s classes were being temporarily held at the old Hayward Union High School on Foothill Boulevard (on the site of the current Safeway store, across from the old Mervyn’s building).
Image caption:
The lower view of the ranch property on which the new campus was built looks west, roughly in the direction of the future stadium and Field House; the top photo looks away from these ranch buildings proper, toward the south and present-day Pioneer Heights.
Poster #10:
Sea Lion Research on the Hillside South of Campus?
Ecological Field Station Was a Center for Animal Communication Research
By the mid-1980s, Cal-State professor Ron Schusterman had gained national notoriety for his research into animal communication. Featured on a PBS Nova program dealing with communications between humans and dolphins, orangutans, and chimpanzees, Schusterman’s work focused primarily on sea lions. The School of Science built an ecological field station on the dry hillside just south of campus, presumably for its proximity to faculty and student researchers. A water tank was erected, which eventually housed Rocky, the prime test subject during the several years the station was in use. The sea lion communication research program was funded by a grant from the Office of Naval Research. After the program ended, the station fell into disuse, and was eventually bulldozed.
Image caption:
Rocky the sea lion was the principal resident at CSUEB’s ecological field station during the 1980s. By 1984, the 10-year-old female had learned numerous hand signals for objects, actions, and modifiers, and had learned to respond to 270 of these combinations of these in sentences of 2-4 words.
Poster #11:
What Is the “Senior Court”?
Science Building Retreat Area Celebrates Our First Convocation Speakers
If you take walk on the west side of the South Science Building, going towards the new Recreation and Wellness Center, you’ll discover the Senior Court. This secluded contemporary fountain and commemorative retreat was created during the first few years of the new campus, and came to be a place to celebrate the new college’s notable convocation speakers. Among early addresses at the new college, were the famed English philosopher and author Aldous Huxley, United Nations official and Civil Rights leader Dr. Ralph Bunche, the controversial Bishop James Pike, and “Peanuts” cartoonist Charles Schulz. Judging by the speakers selected, the young campus was politically idealistic, and forward-looking in this turbulent period of the early-to-late 1960s.
Image caption:
A small architectural “retreat” was constructed immediately south of the South Science Building in the early 1960s (note the lack of vegetation in the 1962 snapshot, above right). On the north side of the Senior Court, you can still find plaques commemorating our earliest convocation speakers.
Poster #12:
What Was the First Campus Mascot?
“Pioneer” Reflected the Name of the First U.S. Space Program
At the same time that the new college was coming into being, the United States was locked in the beginnings of a Cold-War-spawned Space Race with the Soviet Union. The unmanned Pioneer Space Program had begun in 1958, and the feeling of breaking new ground (literally) with the hilltop campus, and an association with President Kennedy’s “New Frontier” at the time, led to the selection of a “Pioneer” theme to represent the new college - and an astronaut as the college mascot. Early CSUH yearbooks and campus publications contain numerous references to this astronaut mascot - “Pioneer Pete” was nowhere to be seen (he seems to have been a concoction of the early 1980s, by which time the Space Race, and its soaring idealism for the future, was largely outdated).
Image caption:
Early campus yearbooks have several images of the original Pioneer Astronaut Mascot of the new college.
Poster #13:
Who Was Aldous Huxley?
Famed Author Visits New Alameda County College
Aldous Huxley was an English writer and philosopher who authored “Brave New World” and “Doors of Perception”, among other famous works. By the time of his visit to speak at the 1962 commencement of the new state college in Hayward, Huxley was considered a leader in world thought of the first rank. As a humanist and pacifist who espoused the use of psychedelic drugs, he was controversial among his peers, but became wildly popular among the counter-culture youth of the mid- to late 1960s. The celebrated author’s visit to the State College for Alameda County (later CSUEB) put an early stamp of credibility on the Hayward campus. Huxley died a year after his visit to the Hayward college campus, at age 69, on the day of John F. Kennedy’s assassination.
Image caption:
Aldous Huxley mounts the steps of the old Hayward Union High School (above). The old high school served as CSUEB’s first campus for two years, before the new college moved to its current site in 1963. Huxley is flanked by administrators Hillary Fry (left), Arnold Biella (3rd from left), and President Fred Harcleroad (on the right).
Poster #14:
Hayward Campus Stars in Hollywood Film?
George Lucas Uses the Library Building to Shoot Movie Sequel in 1979
Following on his first big commercial movie success with “American Graffiti” in 1973, the young Bay-Area-based George Lucas chose the Cal-State Hayward Campus as one of two primary locations for “More American Graffiti”. Initially dubbed “Purple Haze”, the story follows the first college-age Baby Boomers as they confront the war protests and social issues of the late 1960s. Lucas’ film crew made over our own Library Courtyard to stand-in for a typical American campus under siege by students protesting the Vietnam War (a site near Livermore doubled for the jungles of Vietnam!). To look the part, campus office windows were removed and replaced with broken “sugar glass” and banners were hung from the courtyard.
Image caption:
During a 3-4 day period in early 1979, a Lucasfilm production crew descended on the Hayward Campus. The sequel to Lucas’ popular 1973 film starred Ron Howard and Cindy Williams. The first film launched the careers of Howard, Richard Dreyfuss, and Harrison Ford, among others.
Poster #15:
Who Was Charles Schulz?
“Peanuts” Creator Speaks to CSUH Graduates
Charles Schulz (1922-2000) was a cartoonist whose work has had an enormous impact on popular culture. He created the characters of Snoopy, Charlie Brown, Lucy and Linus, who, with their schoolmates, made up the Peanuts gang. Schulz created his last original Peanuts strip in 1998, and yet his cartoons continue to run in newspapers today, and holiday television shows featuring his creations are aired every year. The dejected demeanor of Charlie, the acerbic retorts of Lucy, and the philosophic musings of Snoopy (a dog!) have been seen as influenced by everything from the Bible to Freud and have had their own impact on amusement parks, Broadway shows, television, generations of cartoonists, and ordinary individuals. Charles Schulz lived for many years in Santa Rosa, and the Library at nearby Sonoma State University is named in his honor. As the Senior Court here at CSUEB reminds us, Schulz spoke at the 1967 Hayward campus commencement, a testament to the fact that his work was revered by people of all types - students, politicians, and faculty members!
Image caption:
Cartoonist Charles Schulz created the wildly popular “Peanuts” comic strip in the early 1950s. He addressed graduating CSUH students at the height of his popularity in the mid-1960s.
Poster #16:
What Was Ralph Bunche?
Early African-American Activist and Scholar Gives 1968 Commencement Address
A man of remarkable intellect and temperament, Ralph Bunche led a life of firsts and of dedicated service to his country. Dr. Bunche was the first African-American to receive a Ph.D. in political science in the United States, and he was the first person of color to receive a Nobel Peace Prize (1950). He taught at Howard University, served in the United Nations, was instrumental in peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians in the 1940s, and he participated in the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. His life (1904-1971) has been celebrated by buildings named in his honor (at UCLA), libraries dedicated to his memory (at the U.S. Department of State), and on postage stamps. In an era when equality for all races was still a dream, Dr. Bunche was a leader, statesman, and scholar whose life and work were truly extraordinary. The young CSUH campus had the honor of hosting him as a speaker for its commencement in 1968.
Image caption:
When Ralph Bunche addressed the CSUH graduating class in May 1968, he was serving as United Nations Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs (above, center). He was a Nobel Prize recipient (left), and active in the Civil Rights Movement (in the image to the right, he speaks with President Lyndon Johnson, and UN Secretary General, U Thant).
Poster #17:
Who Was Bishop Pike?
Controversial Bishop Gives Talk to Students in 1966
Bishop James Pike (1913-1969) was a larger-than-life media presence throughout much of the 1960s. As an Episcopal clergyman, who appeared on television well before the word “televangelist” was ever part of anyone's vocabulary, Pike had long been associated with Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. His politically liberal views regarding social equality (particularly for Gay, Lesbian, and Transsexual parishioners) were considered by many in the American “mainstream” of the time, to be outrageous and radical. Pike was also one of the leaders of the “Protestants and Other Americans United for the Separation of Church and State” movement. He resigned his post as Bishop in 1966 after the death of his son from recreational drug use - then, as if to validate the popular mainstream view of his unhinged extremism, Pike came to believe that he could communicate with the dead, and that his life's mission was to search the deserts of Israel for the origins of Christianity. He died there in 1969.
Image caption:
James A. Pike addressed overflow crowds on campus, according to the 1966 Elan yearbook. In late March 1966, he appears in MB 1055 (above, center). He is also shown waiting in the gym’s bleachers (above, left) to be introduced to his CSUH audience. Pike both reflected and shaped the socially liberal political views of the Bay Area, and his San Francisco-based parish in particular.
Poster #18:
Who Was Ted Pelatowski?
Memorial Tree Between Music Building and AE Dedicated to Early Campus Advocate
Ted Pelatowski was a disability advocate who attended CSU Hayward in the 1970's. He successfully brought suit to have voting booths made accessible for those in wheel chairs, and he established the first Disabled Student Coalition at our campus. The former "Disabled Student Self Help Group" of CSUH had, at one time, an award in his honor to recognize "outstanding service to handicapped and disabled students." A large tree in front of the Music and Business Building commemorates his courage in bringing the needs of disabled people to the attention of the public.
Image caption:
This tree, situated between the PE, Arts and Education, and Music buildings stands as a lasting campus tribute to Ted Pelatowski and his efforts on behalf of students with disabilities. It is especially fitting, as no campus image of Pelatowski can be found to date (the former Disabled Student Center was damaged in a fire in 2000, and all its scrapbooks, photos, and other images were lost).
Poster #19:
Who Were Wayne and Gladys Valley?
VBT Building the Only Structure or Locale on Campus Named for a Woman
Wayne and Gladys Valley formed a philanthropic foundation in 1977 to provide financial assistance for selected charitable organizations, focusing on the East Bay Area. Since Wayne Valley’s death in 1986, and Gladys’ passing in 1998, their Foundation has come to be regarded as a major philanthropic institution. The Foundation was a primary source of funding for the 2005 Valley Business and Technology Building (VBT) - the CSUEB campus’ first new structure after almost 40 years! The VBT is also the only building, monument, or tree on the CSUEB campus that is named for a woman. The Valley Foundation has successfully carried Gladys and Wayne’s mandate into numerous educational spheres and projects: The Children's Zoo within the Oakland Zoo, a hall at UC Davis, and several buildings at Oregon State have been named in their honor. Mr. Valley was, at one time, an owner of the Oakland Raiders!
Image caption:
The Valleys were successful in real estate development, starting in 1940. It was their desire to help deserving projects and institutions that led to their founding of the Wayne and Gladys Valley Foundation. An artist’s early rendering of CSUEB’s proposed VBT is pictured above, right, with the actual finished structure above, center.
Poster #20:
Who Was Donald Strong?
Pioneer Campus Counselor and Professor Donates to the University Archives
Donald Strong was the very first director of the Counseling Center at CSUH in the early 1960s. The University Archives already contained a collection of articles written by Dr. Strong. Then, two years ago, he approached the Library, and donated several boxes of historical campus memorabilia to the University Archives. Among the materials he had gathered over his decades on campus, are many contemporary newspaper accounts about the abrupt exit of the first college president, Fred Harcleroad (in 1967), numerous issues of a glossy university publication from the 1980s, the “Acacia”, and many very early college booklets and catalogs, some from 1961-1965. Strong’s generous donation contains material that is typical of some of the types of materials one can find in the Archives. Gathered from a personal point-of-view, these give valuable historical glimpses into CSUEB history.
Image caption:
Donald Strong’s campus presence spanned many decades. His good humor and easy smile were always appreciated by everyone he met. A tree was planted in his honor when he retired to his Fremont home, where he is still active.
Poster #21:
Who Was C.E. Smith?
Anthropology Museum Named for Dr. Clarence E. Smith
Dr. Clarence E. Smith - known as “Smitty” - was the founding curator of the campus’ first Anthropology Museum, which was later renamed to honor his achievements. He was a professor of Anthropology at CSUH from 1964 until his untimely death in 1975. Under the direction of pioneer anthropologist Dr. Alfred L. Kroeber, Smitty had received his Ph.D. in Anthropology from UC Berkeley in 1950. Later, as the Director of the Palm Springs Desert Museum he transformed an unknown collection into an extensive museum. At Cal State, Dr. Smith established courses in Museology, chartering the museum in 1974, and laying down its basic principles. Not content with static displays, Smith envisioned a museum coordinating the teaching goals of many disciplines, and representing the multi-cultural traditions of the East Bay from its beginnings until present. His concept of a teaching museum is still evident in the museum today.
Image caption:
Clarence Smith was an original member of the campus’ Anthropology Department. In 1975, the C.E. Smith Anthropology Museum was dedicated to his memory. In the yearbook photo to the right, Smith meets with student members of the CSUH Anthropology Club in the mid-1960s
Poster #22:
Who Was Floyd Erickson?
Founding Director of the University Library - “A Bookman’s Bookman”
Floyd Erickson was one of the first administrators selected in 1958 by the college’s incoming president, Fred Harcleroad. Erickson was known among his peers as “A Bookman’s Bookman” and was dedicated to the ideal of nurturing a varied and comprehensive library collection to support the academic mission of the new college. Initially, the CSUH Library was housed in temporary quarters on the first floor of the North Science Building. During the 1960s, however, Erickson was actively planning for the Library’s new home in its current location. He was also a driving force in creating our campus’ extraordinary Special Collections of rare books. He was called out of retirement in the early 1980s to be recognized for his work developing the University’s unique and varied Special Collections of rare materials: The CSUEB Special Collections Room within the Library was named in his honor (see photo, above, right).
Image caption:
Floyd Erickson was actively involved in planning for the University Library Building (above, left). He was equally dedicated to creating a strong academic book collection in the days before databases.
Poster #23:
Researching CSU East Bay and Hayward?
CSUEB Library Archives Has Documents and Images of Campus for Researching
Did you know that your library at CSUEB has an archive of materials about the Hayward area? We also have files that trace the history of this institution from its inception to the present day. Additionally, you can find the Hayward Daily Review online and in microfiche at this Library. Want to write about a building in Hayward, a tree on the campus, or a professor you've heard about? You can start your research at your computer, find help at the reference desk, or make an appointment to visit the Archives. We hope these display panels will spur you toward enjoying the beauty and history of your campus and, perhaps, doing research about your University and this region. We're here to assist you, let us know how we can help.
Image caption:
The University Library’s Archives contain photographs, business documents, maps, site studies, and publications - such as school yearbooks - many dating back to the beginnings of the college in the mid-1950s. The archives also house unique local history resources, such as the Jensen Family Papers, and original county voting records.
Poster #24:
Title Poster [alternate]
Questions About Campus You Never Thought to Ask?
The Answers are HERE! Check Them Out on the Library's Walls NOW Through February 2012
Campus Names:
Campus Places & Facts:
Celebrities & Their Campus Connections:
