Second-largest donation ever to Cal State

SAN BERNARDINO -- John Pfau devoted his life to the new California State University campus for 20 years beginning in 1962.

Now 90, Pfau has ensured that he will serve the university in perpetuity.
A more than $12 million contribution - the second largest private donation in the university's history - has been pledged by the John M. Pfau Family Scholarship Endowment, an endowment established in honor of the university's founding president.
The leading contributions to the endowment come from Pfau and his wife and their two daughters, Elly Pfau and Madelaine Pfau and her husband, Charles Jones.

About $10.8 million is designated for scholarships for high-achieving college students and $1.2 million is set for the Pfau Library at Cal State San Bernardino.

Pfau, who now lives in Napa, said being a benefactor to the university was a natural move.

"It's a family thing," he said. "We think nothing is more important than education, both for the individual and socieity as a whole. It's the very foundation for a democracy."
Both batches of money will generate interest and protect principal, meaning scholarship money and money for new library books will be generated in perpetuity, said William Aguilar, vice president of university advancement.

Pfau said times have changed since his 1962 start.

"When I was appointed, there was nothing there," he said. "We started from scratch."
Pfau also said rising tuition in the Cal State system is a disturbing trend.

"In the beginning, there was no tuition at all. Sadly, tuition has increased, making it more and more difficult for students to get a college education, and that's why scholarships have become so important."

The money will fund $5,000 scholarships for more than 100 high achieving students per year, Aguilar said. The library portion will generate $60,000 annually for new books.

"This serves as a model for other would be contributors," Aguilar said. "This means that the future of our students, high achieving students, is secured, and that our communities will be able to retain the brightest students we have."