Hall of Fame inducts former CSULB dean
By Tracy Reynolds
Summer Forty-Niner
Maxine Merlino, 86,
former dean of the School of Arts at Cal State Long Beach and holder of
179 swimming world records, was recently inducted into the Swimmer’s Hall
of Fame in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
“When I found out
that the International Master’s Association wanted to nominate me to the
Hall of Fame, I thought they had the wrong person,” Merlino said. “But
then they told me that I had accumulated 179 world records in my 25-plus
years of swimming with them. I was surprised and delighted.”
Born in Portland,
Oreg., Merlino began her swimming career at the age of 12.
Merlino put swimming
on the back burner when she was awarded a scholarship by the Art Students
League in New York City at the age of 24. Her talents were employed to
paint three murals for the U.S. government, one of which still hangs in
Washinton, D.C.
“I loved New York,”
Merlino said. “Every day was so exhilarating, I could hardly fall asleep
at night.”
However, World War
II broke out and Merlino’s husband was transferred to Southern California.
She worked on Terminal Island as a scientific illustrator for the Army
Air Corps before landing a job with film producer Preston Sturges.
When Sturges returned
to New York in 1949, Merlino decided to return to school to earn her bachelor’s
degree. CSULB was in its infancy and was an appealing place to be,
Merlino said.
An original 49er,
she graduated with CSULB’s first class in 1950 and went on to earn her
Master’s degree here in 1952.
At the invitation
of then Fine Arts dean John Olson, Merlino joined the faculty of CSULB
in 1951. She taught Art and Theater Arts, heading up CSULB’s fledgling
theater.
She went on to earn
her doctorate in history from University of Southern California in 1962
and eventually became dean of the College of Fine Arts at CSULB in 1972.
Merlino has been
far from idle since her retirement in 1976. She resumed her swimming career
at age 60 when she was invited to join the Long Beach Masters swim team.
Since then, Merlino has competed all over the world.
In 1983 and 1988,
she set national records for almost every event in her age group.
Merlino rarely experiences
a dull moment. She travels extensively, and just completed her 38th trip
to Europe in May. Merlino continues to mountain climb, ski and hits the
pool almost daily.
“I learned to golf
at 75,” Merlino said. “I never take a cart, but I seem to be a bit more
wobbly than I used to be. My husband says, ‘You know what’s wrong with
you Maxine, you just move too fast.’”
We should all have
that problem at 86.
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