Former
Beach president honored with building renaming
By Amy Cucinella
On-line Forty-Niner
With
the recent approval of the California State
University Board of Trustees, Cal State
Long Beach will rename its North Campus
Center to the Steve and Nini Horn Center,
after the former CSULB president and his
wife.
Horn was president of CSULB from 1970 to
1988 and was elected to Congress in 1992
where he served the Long Beach area, including
the university, for a decade until his retirement
from the U.S. House of Representatives last
month. His wife, Nini, has been active in
the community and on campus, particularly
with the Fine Arts Affiliates and the International
Community Council.
“We are both totally amazed and completely
surprised and very honored,” Nini Horn said.
“The center has the Art Museum and the library,
which are both very dear to our hearts.
Plus it is a gorgeous building and a close
friend of ours designed it.”
The proposal to rename the center was made
possible only after Horn’s recent retirement
from the U.S. House of Representatives.
The building could not be renamed to honor
the Horns previously because of a CSU policy
that prevents schools from naming buildings
after incumbent officials, said Armando
Contreras, executive assistant
to President Robert Maxson.
The momentum for the renaming project did
not come from one individual but from a
group of Horn’s supporters who felt he should
be honored for his years of service to CSULB
and the local community, Contreras said.
The group presented their idea to Maxson
who strongly endorsed the proposal and made
introductory remarks in support of renaming
the building at the trustees meeting on
Jan. 29, Contreras said.
The choice of the North Campus Center is
appropriate because it was one of the last
buildings approved while Horn was president
of the university. It also houses much of
what Horn and his wife have spent their
life supporting, such as the arts and technology,
Contreras said.
The North Campus Center is also a fitting
choice because it exemplifies Horn’s dedication
to students, said Jon Regnier who worked
with Horn as the associate vice president
of physical planning and development and
as Horn’s government liaison.
“The North Campus Center is a good example
of how he paid attention to students because
it was students who approached him and said
they needed computer access and a place
to study without having to walk half a mile
up hill to the Main Library,” Regnier said.
In the time Horn was president of the university,
he put in more buildings than the rest of
the CSU system, a total of 11, Regnier said,
whose job at the time was to oversee the
planning and development of these new university
buildings.
Horn’s history of support for academics
is yet another reason the North Campus Center
is an ideal building to rename in his honor.
“It’s a very appropriate act that his name
be on the [North Campus Center] because
he was extremely supportive of student and
faculty research and academic excellence,”
said Charles Noble, chair of the political
science department, a position once held
by Horn.
Noble, who was hired in 1987 while Horn
was president, said Horn played an important
political role for the university because
he was very supportive of higher education
while he was in Congress. He also provided
students with internship positions and helped
faculty obtain congressional materials for
their research projects, Noble said.
The next step in the renaming process will
be the launching of a $500,000 fund-raising
campaign to endow the establishment of the
Steve Horn Archives and the Steve and Nini
Horn Center, said Toni Beron, assistant
vice president of public affairs at CSULB.
The money raised will go not only to the
maintenance of the building but also to
create the Steve Horn Archives, which will
involve the organization and archiving of
Horn’s congressional papers so that they
are available for research to students and
faculty, Beron said.
CSULB can now officially push ahead with
its fund-raising efforts because the trustees
authorized the renaming project, said Bob
Bersi, vice president for university relations
and development. In order to raise the money
need, the university is seeking individual
and corporate donation, Bersi said.
“It is never easy to raise cash, especially
these days with the massive loss of wealth,
but I feel confident that a lot of people
care about the project and will come through,”
Bersi said.
The final step of the renaming project will
be next fall, when the unveiling ceremony
will most likely take place. A large donor
wall will also be constructed in the center
to acknowledge the names of donors, Bersi
said.
Those interested in possible donations to
the Steve and Nini Horn Center can contact
Joy Phillips in the university relations
and development office at (562) 985-2478.
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