University Library E-News
We are proud to announce the 2020 Library Student Employee Scholarship recipients. Thanks to continued donor support, we were able to provide over $25,000 in scholarships to deserving student assistants. The heartfelt appreciation expressed by the awardees demonstrates the priceless sentimental value and powerful impact of this honor.
In February 2020, the University Library was honored to receive a considerable gift to enhance our collections. Among our beloved family of generous supporters, Yolanda and Jeff Heller have a special place in their hearts for education, as retired teachers and proud parents of a CSUN music graduate.
The Yolanda and Jeff Heller Endowment was established in memory of Yolanda’s late cousin, Raul E. Aragon, Jr., an alumnus of CSUN and the University’s Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) Assistant Director. This thoughtful tribute supports books and materials for three University Library subjects: Music Performance and Composition, Child Abuse Studies, and Holocaust Studies.
After 37 years of dedicated service to California State University, Northridge and the Oviatt Library, retired Librarian Kris Ecklund continues to support the impactful work and inspiring legacy of CSUN librarians. These days, CSUN Emeritus Librarian Kris Ecklund lives far away from the San Fernando Valley. Her current house sits on a hill in Sequim, a small city perched on a bay in Northern Washington State just across the water from Canada. Even with all those miles between the Oviatt Library and her current home, Ecklund has never forgotten the place where she spent more than thirty years doing the work that she loved so much.
When CSUN asked Oviatt employees to consider giving back to the university, the faculty and staff who work in the very heart of the campus found a few inspiring reasons to say yes.
The Oviatt Library is deeply grateful to the CSUN University Women’s Club, a passionate group of campus friends and family members who have been helping to ease the financial burden on CSUN students for more than a half-decade.
The Oviatt Library is forever grateful to CSUN Emeritus Librarians Kristin A. Ecklund (Kris) and Lisle Wenberg for their lifelong commitment to enriching library access for students with disabilities. In December 2017, Kris established the Lisle Wenberg Library Disability Services Training Endowment as a way to honor deceased Emeritus Librarian and beloved friend, Lisle Wenberg.
It is with heavy hearts that we join the Manders family in remembering the life and legacy of CSUN alum Gus Manders, who passed away in December 2018 at the age of 97. The Oviatt Library is forever grateful for the generous contributions from Gus and his wife, Erika. Their active participation and thoughtful support over the last several years has facilitated library student employee scholarships, exhibit receptions, special lectures, rare books, and archival collections dealing with U.S. history, especially World War II history.
As a volunteer at CSUN since 1991, Bernice was a beloved Friends of the Library board member. She once shared, “Volunteering enlarges my own life, and keeps me connected to the campus and young people. Promoting education and the arts rounds me out as a person.”
In December, four longstanding employees of the Oviatt Library bid farewell to embark on their next chapter: retirement. As integral members of our team with memorable comradery and collaboration along the way, these members of our team are surely missed!