On the House floor, Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), a California State University, Fullerton alumnus, issued the following statement to honor President Milton A. Gordon for his decades-long career in education:
On the House floor, Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), a California State University, Fullerton alumnus, issued the following statement to honor President Milton A. Gordon for his decades-long career in education:
Mr. Speaker, I rise before you today to honor Dr. Milton A. Gordon for his distinguished career. Dr. Gordon has served for over two decades as President of California State University, Fullerton.
I first met Milt Gordon twenty years ago, when he was in his first years as President of my alma mater, Cal State Fullerton. As a State Senator then, and Member of Congress now, I have met countless community leaders, including university presidents, and have enjoyed good working relationships with them. Very few, however, have I come to admire and respect more than Milt Gordon. Very few, do I call my good friend.
Mr. Speaker, Dr. Gordon’s impressive achievements and commitment to education, were evident long before he became the President of Cal State Fullerton. As our country was undergoing the Civil Rights Movement, Milt Gordon was breaking through longstanding racial barriers. He obtained a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Secondary Education at Xavier University of Louisiana (1957), a Masters of Arts in Mathematics at the University of Detroit (1960) and lastly, a Doctorate degree in Mathematics at the Illinois Institute of Technology (1968). These are significant achievements for anyone, but even more so for someone who had to overcome the discrimination of the time.
It is this experience that has driven Milt Gordon’s lifetime commitment to improving access to education for everyone. In his first convocation address at Cal State Fullerton in 1990, Dr. Gordon said:
"By providing access to professional careers for the broadest cross section of Americans, including women and members of minority and immigrant groups, our university represents a pathway into the American mainstream for individuals and families who otherwise would not have the opportunity to make this step, thus helping to ensure the stability of our free economy and of our democratic government."
Impressive enrollment and graduation statistics, and the many awards and accolades that Milt Gordon has received over the last twenty years, clearly demonstrate that he more than met the challenge of his words. Today Cal State Fullerton is one of our nation’s largest and most inclusive institutions of higher education. And I assure you, greater quality has been the hallmark of this growth.
It is no exaggeration to say that Dr. Gordon has transformed CSUF from being a regional school to a global one. His vision has provided an enriching environment which allows students to develop intellectual, cultural and economic curiosities well beyond the corridors of Orange County. The University in the "Gordon Years" has been an unquestioned asset to the region, state, country and world.
In closing, as an alumnus and the Congressman who represents this University, I have to say that I am sorry to see President Gordon retire. His accomplishments are many and the University will continue to thrive because of them. But there is only one Milt Gordon. But speaking as a friend, I am pleased for Milt, and for his wife Marge. They have dedicated their lives to education, to Cal State Fullerton, and to their community. To that end, they deserve our deepest gratitude and our most heart-felt wishes for a long and enjoyable retirement, after a job very well done.
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