Dr. Jim Esmay was a true global citizen. For someone who was the youngest of eight children who grew up in Montana during the Great Depression, that was quite an achievement. Before determining the name for the scholarship that bears their family name, Jim and his...

Condensing more than 100 years of a person’s life into a brief summary is difficult if not impossible. In the case of the Ethel Ruth Beyer Scholarship, the woman who established it was close to being a human landmark in the history of California Lutheran University. ...

Although settling an estate can be laborious, there is genuine joy in carrying out the philanthropic wishes of a loved one after their death. It was in a telephone call from Margaret Monroe in Palo Alto, California, that CLU learned of Roy Peterson’s thoughtful...

Everett Thoreson was a regular kind of guy—hardworking, loyal to his friends, faithful to his church, supportive of the church softball team. Living life without a lot of fanfare, he was still exceptional in many ways. He lived simply and took his Christian...

Everett Thykeson was an alumnus of the University of Washington, but his deeper loyalty was to Lutheran higher education. In 1987, he sent a check to CLU along with the outline of a plan for a science/engineering scholarship. What CLU could not have guessed at the...

In response to California Lutheran University’s fundraising campaign, Now Is the Time, which ended in 2005, several faculty and staff members chose to apply their gifts to a new scholarship in direct support of present and future students. But even with regular...

The term “family affair” takes on special meaning when applied to the Falk Family Scholarship. In determining educational plans for themselves and their daughter, Howard and Jerry Falk chose CLU and never looked back. They were so pleased with that decision that...

If ever there were a search for the most devoted Swedish Lutheran couple, the Aspengrens would rank among the finalists. They were loving and steadfast through their 56 years of marriage. Gordon passed away in 1998, and Frances 15 years later. In all those years,...

From a one-room schoolhouse in Minnesota to a full professorship at Yale to founding not one but two departments of electrical engineering for the University of California system—such was the academic journey of Philip Franklin “Frank” Ordung. In addition to these...

The Fred and Laura Maucher Memorial Scholarship does not need a photograph of its donors for a clear picture to emerge about what they were like. It is their legacy that brings them into focus—as loyal Lutherans, successful investors and conscientious stewards of...

It is difficult to describe Fred Galvin without sounding overly dramatic. All who knew him would agree, however, that he was a much respected, much loved man. He was known especially for his gentility, good humor and devotion to his family. But he was also a...

Some relationships flow from parent to child—others, from child to parent. This story is an example of the latter. Dr. Phyllis Jane Nusz, daughter of Fred and Esther Nusz, became acquainted with California Lutheran College while she was teaching at Bakersfield...

The pathway to the signing of the agreement for the Fredrickson-Overton Scholarship was an interesting journey. The lives of the Fredricksons, the Overtons and CLU were interwoven from the University’s earliest days, and the campus holds many reminders of that...

Patience and persistence helped to make this endowed scholarship happen. The story begins in 1989 when several people started a scholarship out of concern for those who could not afford to pursue their advanced educational goals freely. Fortunately, the group of...

Memorial gifts following the death in 2009 of Jim Mahler, chair of California Lutheran University’s Teacher Preparation Program for 25 years, provided the incentive for this scholarship for students who aspire to become teachers.

Every once in a while, California Lutheran University receives a bequest that has been put into place many years earlier through a trust created by the donors. Sometimes very little information is known about the donors, and this was the case with the funding for the...

Dr. James M. Evensen, better known as “Doc Evensen,” was one of the most beloved professors to ever teach at Cal Lutheran. He was also one of the most respected. His subject matter—geology—was difficult for many, but he conveyed his love of the subject so...

The undergraduate experience of those who attended and graduated from Cal Lutheran in its first decade was so positive that it left an indelible mark on their memories. Many of those students graduated with the desire to help future students be able to experience...

It is rather remarkable, to say the least, that 15 years after the close of Coach George Carter’s employment at Cal Lutheran, no fewer than 57 of his former football players and fans put their resources together to create a memorial scholarship in his honor. But...

This story begins with the enrollment of George “Corky” Ullman, Jr., and his brother Steve as students at Cal Lutheran. They graduated in 1976 and 1977, respectively. Both were active in sports—Corky in football and Steve in wrestling. In 1986 the two brothers, who...

California Lutheran College was a college of the Lutheran church, so it was not unusual for pastors to introduce their congregation members to CLC. In July 1964 Pastor Philip A. Jordan notified President Raymond Olson that the Yelkins, members of his congregation,...

Minette Gillette wished with all her heart that her children would attend and graduate from a Lutheran university, which she assumed would be in Minnesota. Her son Dennis fulfilled that wish, but he did it at California Lutheran University instead, receiving his...

Della Greenlee ’82 began work at California Lutheran College in 1976. She was at that time the wife of a pastor and the mother of three daughters. It was very important to her that her children be able to receive a college education. And so she realized she needed to...

Among the friends of California Lutheran University who have impacted the life and vitality of the institution are Rev. Clyde and Clarice Grimstvedt. Clyde was a member of the original Convocation of the College joining 25 others, all burning with hope and conviction...

Three generations of the Grout family were involved with California Lutheran University from its very beginning. In the early 1960s, the Rev. Floyd L. Grout, Jr., was serving as pastor of King of Glory Lutheran Church in Newbury Park as he witnessed the fledgling...

The Gruczelaks—Norm and Colly—were actively involved with CLC during the college’s first decade of existence. For the most part, their involvement was through the Community Leaders Association, and their personalities were so outgoing that they encouraged others to...

If there were ever anyone with the heart of a pure servant, it was Ernie Gulsrud, with his wife Muriel ever present at his side. Even in his declining years at Riverview Care Center in Spokane, Ernie was known for his generosity and Christian spirit. Both Ernie and...

There are many different ways to express grief at the loss of a loved one. For some, like Dr. Louise Bachtold, it was through giving to CLC. For this had been the institution where her husband of 58 years had served on the board of regents in the late ‘60s and where...

The first contact with the Sunde family came in the form of a telephone call from Palm Desert. While Harold and Chleoma Sunde had lived in Thousand Oaks in the early 1960s the couple had had no interaction with the college up until the phone call. The campus had...

It was a friend’s suggestion that caused Stephen Thompson to approach California Lutheran with the idea of a marketing scholarship. The idea quickly blossomed into a plan. With a generous gift of $10,000 in 1985, Mr. Thompson endowed the fund that would encourage...