San Fernando Valley State College President Ralph Prator
November 16, 1907 – July 25, 2005

Dr. Ralph Prator became the first President of what was then known as San Fernando Valley State College (SFVSC) on February 1, 1958. Originally the college had been a satellite campus of the Los Angeles State College of Applied Arts and Sciences. The University was later renamed California State University, Northridge in 1972.

The campus was founded at its present location with 99 faculty members, 3,500 students, and a mixture of permanent and temporary structures. When Dr. Prator resigned in 1968, after 10 years of service, the campus had grown to 619 faculty members, 15,600 students, many new permanent structures, and nearly it present size of 356 acres. Much of the University's remarkable growth in both academic and physical stature was a direct result of Dr. Prator's indomitable spirit and determination to establish a first class institution.

Dr. Prator was born into a ranching family on November 16, 1907 in La Veta, Colorado. He eventually attended the University of Colorado where he earned a B.A. (1929) and Masters' (1931) in History. After leaving the university, he became a high school principal for three years, followed by an administrative position in 1936 at Mesa College in Grand Junction, Colorado. In 1940 he joined the staff at the University of Colorado and held a series of administrative positions until World War II broke out and he entered the U.S. Navy, serving from 1942-1945.

After the war, Dr. Prator moved to California and, in 1947, earned an Ed. D. degree in Educational Administration from the University of California, Berkeley. He went on to become the President of Bakersfield College, Bakersfield, California in 1950 and remained its president until 1958 when he was chosen to be San Fernando Valley State College's first President.

In 1968, after serving as SFVSC President for ten years, he asked the CSU Chancellor to accept his resignation saying, "I believe such a young, dynamic college needs a change of pace. My pleasures and rewards have been great, and I now prefer to reassociate myself with a subject area in which I have taught and in which field I have identified an area of research and teaching that I shall thoroughly enjoy." After which, Dr. Prator was appointed a professor emeritus in San Fernando Valley State College's Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies.

Dr. Prator died on July 25, 2005 at the age of 97 having helped found one the largest and finest educational institutions in all of California. The influences of his educational vision and pioneering spirit are still felt today at California State University, Northridge, nearly 50 years after he first took the helm.