University Library Endowments and Special Funds
The University Library’s endowments, stewarded by the CSUN Foundation, provide permanent funding for our collections and other critical areas. Some donors establish subject endowments to enrich our diverse collections, while others focus on specialized interests. The opportunity awaits you to fund an existing endowment, join with others to start a new endowment, or establish a commemorative endowment to memorialize a loved one or special area.
The gift of a broadly directed endowment is another valued option to support a wide variety of needs in the University Library. Every contribution directly impacts student success at CSUN, which is a priceless investment.
This endowment supports the processing, digitization, and preservation of materials in the Old China Hands Archive and other materials donated by the Gohstands.
In 2009, Professor Emerita Bonita J. Campbell of the CSUN Department of Manufacturing Systems Engineering and Management established an endowment to "facilitate both the participation of women in science and engineering, particularly those fields in which they are insufficiently represented, and the development and preservation of knowledge about women in the science and engineering disciplines." Learn more about the Bonita J. Campbell Endowment for Women in Science and Engineering (WISE).
Funded by Dr. Bonita Campbell, this endowment supports annual scholarships to the University Library's student assistants who are majoring in the STEM fields. Learn more about the Bonita J. Campbell Women in Science and Engineering Student Scholarship Endowment.
This anonymous endowment honors the legacy of deceased or retired librarians at CSUN, and supports stipends for library school interns in Technical Services (CAMS). Learn more about the CSUN Librarians Legacy Endowment.
This endowment is a milestone for the California State University system, CSUN, and the University Library. It will support an Endowed Librarian who will oversee collection development as the bibliographer for the TCC in the University Library, for multiple departments in the Michael D. Eisner College of Education, and for related disciplines in other colleges on the CSUN campus. The Endowed Librarian will deliver information literacy instruction, research consultation, and outreach to students and faculty in the field of education and related disciplines that use the resources of the TCC. The Dr. Karin J. Duran and Richard Nupoll Education Librarian will also be known as the TCC Librarian. Learn more about the Dr. Karin J. Duran and Richard Nupoll Education Librarian Endowment.
Funded by Richard Nupoll and Mara Houdyshell, this endowment supports the purchase of materials for the Teacher Curriculum Center (TCC) Collection at the University Library. Learn more about the Dr. Karin J. Duran Teacher Curriculum Center Collection Endowment.
Given in loving memory of Faith Conragan Gohstand, this endowment supports the purchase of Library materials in art, design, and gardens.
Jack and Florence Ferman left a substantial bequest to CSUN of $2.5 million which created two separate endowments. One endowment supports the acquisition of rare books, archival collections, and supplies for Special Collections & Archives at the University Library. The second Ferman endowment supports the expansion of the physical space of Special Collections and Archives, or other “special” collections, or special exhibits in the University Library. For more on the Fermans, see https://library.csun.edu/eNews/Winter-2012/Ferman
Dr. James Cleary was the second president of California State University, Northridge. This endowment was funded by the children of James and Mary Cleary to honor their memory and provide an annual scholarship for students at CSUN.
Funded by Librarian Emerita Kris Ecklund, this endowment supports a stipend for a library school student to work as an intern in the reference and instruction department (RIOS) in the University Library. Learn more about the Kris Ecklund Internship Endowment.
Librarian Emeritus Kris Ecklund established the Lisle Wenberg Library Disability Services Training Endowment as a way to honor deceased Librarian Emerita, Lisle Wenberg, who was a leader in supporting the research needs of all students regardless of their “ableness.” Kris was inspired to assist students at the University Library facing disability challenges and to honor Lisle Wenberg, a dedicated librarian who gave her best for decades. The Lisle Wenberg Library Disability Services Training Endowment will provide University Library employees with additional professional development trainings in order to best support the needs of CSUN students with disabilities. Learn more about the Lisle Wenberg Library Disability Services Training Endowment.
Funded by the Associate Dean Emerita of the University Library, Marianne Afifi, this endowment supports the purchase of music materials for the Library collection. Learn more about the Marianne Afifi Endowment.
This endowment supports the purchase of Library materials related to local flora and fauna, along with materials related to hiking.
This endowment supports a scholarship for Library student assistants.
Funded by Martha Robinson, retired staff member in the University Library, and her late husband Gerald Robinson, this endowment supports the purchase of materials for the Library related to tourism and recreation.
Distributions from this endowment provide the University Library with funding for materials and media on the meaning and significance of the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, and how the amendment allows Americans the opportunity to enjoy their right to the freedom of speech. Learn more about the Milt and Debbie Valera Endowment.
This endowment will support the purchase of books and other materials on Russia, as well as programs which will stimulate interest in, and study of, Russia and its civilization. Bob is also donating his personal collection of books related to Russia and the Soviet Union, along with many valuable posters and other ephemera.
Created by Bob and Maureen Gohstand, this endowment supports the enjoyment of the quiet pleasures of reading and a collection of works intended to encourage reading for recreation and pleasure, for an appreciation of good and exciting writing, for introspection and insight, and for the acquisition of general knowledge. Learn more about the Robert and Maureen Gohstand Leisure Reading Room Endowment.
Ron Purcell was a faculty member for many years in the Music department at CSUN, specializing in guitar. He founded the International Guitar Research Archives in the University Library, and this endowment supports a student fellow each year to work in the Archives and promote the preservation of primary source materials in this field. Learn more about the Ronald C. and Elizabeth-Ann Percell International Guitar Research Archives Endowment.
Created in loving memory of Sharon Fogarty by her sister, Patricia Fogarty, this endowment supports the purchase of children’s literature in the University Library. Learn more about the Sharon Fogarty Endowment.
Funded by Dr. Susan Curzon, Dean Emerita of the University Library, this endowment supports the University Library in a wide variety of ways. Learn more about the Susan Curzon Endowment.
This endowment, funded by the Rare Book Curator Emeritus of the University Library, Tony Gardner, is for the purchase of library materials printed on hand or operated presses with fine or hand bindings. Learn more about the Tony Gardner Endowment.
This endowment supports two annual scholarships in memory of Lois and Ralph Prator. (Ralph Prator was the first president of CSUN, formerly known as San Fernando Valley State College). The endowment also supports one annual scholarship in memory of Mary and James Cleary. (James Cleary was the second president of CSUN). This scholarship will be presented to an international student assistant who is attending the University on a student visa. Learn more about the University Women's Club Endowment.
Created by the late Vern and Bonnie Bullough, former faculty at CSUN, this endowment supports the study of sex and gender through the purchase of library materials, student scholarships, and an annual speaker series. Learn more about the Vern and Bonnie Bullough Endowment.
Funded by Virginia Elwood, Librarian Emerita and former head of Special Collections and Archives in the University Library, this endowment supports an annual scholarship for a student employed in the Library. Learn more about the Virginia Elwood Student Scholarship Endowment.
This endowment supports the purchase of Library materials related to women's issues, nutrition, and physical therapy.
The Gardner Research Fellowship Endowment provides an annual fellowship for an enrolled CSUN student in any course or degree program which requires intensive research using primary sources, rare books, or unique materials found in the Library’s Special Collections and Archives.
The Special Collections and Archives Scholarship Endowment provides an annual scholarship to an enrolled student in any course of study who has worked in and supported the efforts of the Library’s Special Collections and Archives.
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 Assistant Director. The Endowment will support the purchase of books and other materials in Music Performance and Composition, Child Abuse Studies, and Holocaust Studies for the University Library. Learn more about the Yolanda and Jeff Heller Endowment.
Special Non-Endowment Foundation Funds that Support the University Library
The Friends of the CSUN Library Fund is committed to supporting our CSUN students, faculty, and community. Each year, our Friends help the Library acquire new books, purchase new equipment, sponsor the annual Special Collections and Archives exhibit, provide student scholarships, and sponsor significant cultural events.
The Los Angeles Jewish Federation Community Relations Committee (CRC) archives are one of the most highly consulted archives used in the University Library, sought out by researchers, national and international visiting scholars, and CSUN faculty and students. The CRC’s work from the post-World War II period to the present day represents one of Los Angeles’ most dramatic periods of growth. The organization’s work over these years focused on myriad issues, including denazification in Germany, displaced persons and refugee communities in Los Angeles, religion in public schools, communism, civil rights, housing discrimination, fair employment practices, race relations, stereotyping in the motion picture industry, and more. Your donation to this fund will support the processing and digitization of large parts of this collection which are not yet available to the public.
This vital fund guarantees our CSUN students will have the knowledge they need to excel in their courses and into their careers. Library collection development librarians work with faculty to select the most significant databases, journals, and books to prepare students for success.
This fund supports the Old China Hands Archive, the largest archive in the world devoted to the preservation of historical documents and oral histories related to foreigners living in China before 1950.
The Library has been growing its digitization initiatives over the past 20 years, and has seen great success in this work, including the San Fernando Valley History Digital Library, the CSUN Thesis Digitization Project, the Tom & Ethel Bradley Center Photographic Archives, the CSUN Sundial Project, and the Latino Cultural Heritage Archives. We invite you to help bring the Digitization Lab into the 21st century. Your support of an updated digitization center in the Library will create additional employment opportunities for students, internships, and help to increase productivity and output.
This valuable fund provides support for important University Library initiatives and events throughout the year. These selected events focus on relevant topics impacting our students and community, such as programming related to the role of women in civic and community engagement, climate change, First Amendment rights, student scholarships, Black History Month, and much more.
The University Library Makerspace and Innovation Hub will offer an open, collaborative workspace where students can get access to tools, equipment, instruction, and support while working on projects and fostering a growth mindset. This expansion of our popular Creative Maker Studio will offer all CSUN students an opportunity to explore, create, and innovate beyond the traditional classroom environment.
The University Library Map Collection provides students, faculty, staff, and the greater Southern California community with access to thousands of digital and paper resources, including historical maps of Los Angeles, aerial photographs of the San Fernando Valley, and geospatial data. Many of the most significant items in the collection are the result of donations from individuals or were purchased through funds provided by generous alumni and other friends. These donations provide resources to make the Map Collection a vital center of research on the CSUN campus.
Do you have great memories of college, your time at CSUN, or in the University Library? In 2019, the Library awarded 26 scholarships to deserving library student employees, allowing them to focus more on their studies and less on finances. Be a part of a powerful opportunity to change a student’s life by supporting this fund.
The Bradley Center has served CSUN and the Los Angeles Community for many years as the visual storyteller of ethnic and minority communities through the eyes of Los Angeles based photographers. In 2015, the Bradley Center developed an ongoing relationship with the Tom & Ethel Bradley Foundation, and was renamed the Tom & Ethel Bradley Center. Today, the Bradley Center plays an even more important role, housing over one million images documenting the social, cultural, and political lives of the diverse communities of Los Angeles and the Southern California region from 1910 to present. The Bradley Center is funded through private donations. Your support plays a vital role in ensuring that the Bradley Center continues its mission to develop current collections, support student work and projects using original photographic material, and fund community events at CSUN that highlight the diverse communities of Los Angeles.
Started by Larry Kushner, who has also left a generous bequest, this fund recognizes the need for preservation and management of collections of visual imagery artworks and visual communication materials constructed of various types of media. In order to accomplish the above goals there must be individuals available with the necessary professional level education, training and experience to provide services for preserving and managing these collections. To assist in the development of a pool of individuals with the requisite knowledge and skills, the Preservation of Visual Imagery Internship provides a stipend to one graduate student each semester to be trained at the University Library. The Fund is used exclusively to support graduate Internships under this program. Each Internship consists of a 1 semester interdisciplinary work/study program under the supervision of Special Collections and Archives along with the Digital Collections program. The Internship is for the purpose of managing visual imagery collections within the University and acquiring or enhancing existing archival management and technology skills and methods.
The Chitjian family papers comprise primary source documents that tell the story of several generations of an Armenian immigrant family who escaped genocide in Europe over 100 years ago to make a new life for themselves in Southern California. This fund will assist our archivists in processing, digitizing, and maintaining this important collection for future generations of scholars who need to research the Armenian genocide, genocide survivors, and the history of immigrant communities in Southern California.
The California Chapter of the American Planning Association Archives document the history and practice of urban planning in California. This fund supports the cost of processing and maintaining this large and important collection, as well as future exhibits based on these archives.
The Baldwin-Shaffner family papers follow the legacy of several families over many generations in various regions of the United States. The archive is comprised of primary source documents and photographs telling a compelling narrative of these families over the past 400 years. The Baldwin, Sackett, Bishop, and Bacon families, whose ancestors settled in Connecticut in the mid-1600s, migrated to Ohio and Colorado in the mid-1800s, then settled in the Los Angeles area in the 1890s. The records in this collection include clothing and other textiles, books, scrapbooks, correspondence and other personal papers, newspapers and magazines, financial and real estate records, legal documents, photograph albums, photographic prints, ephemera, artifacts, and art. This fund will assist our archivists in processing, digitizing, and maintaining this important collection for future generations of scholars of the history of Southern California as well as scholars of migration patterns moving west over the course of several centuries.
Founded by CSUN faculty member Ron Purcell, the International Guitar Research Archive in the University Library is one of the largest collections of archival material related to the performance of the guitar, including sheet music, books, correspondence, photographs, and other primary source material. This fund supports new acquisitions for the IGRA archive as well as sustaining the cost of maintaining this vast collection.