Walter W. Stiern

Walter W. Stiern (1914-1987) was a Democratic California State Senator representing Kern County.

Although born in San Diego, his family was original from Bakersfield and moved back soon after he was born.

Stiern attended Bakersfield College, then continued on to Washington State University where he received his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. He returned to Bakersfield and set up a veterinary practice catering to the local agricultural community, taking a temporary leave to serve in World War II.

Stiern was elected to the State Senate in 1957, where he advocated on education, health and agricultural issues. He is primarily known for his work in the area of expanding California's higher education system: In 1960, he co-sponsored Assemblywoman Dorothy Donohoe's Donahoe Higher Education Act which reorganized the higher education system into the form it is in today: the "California State College"-system (now known as the California State University system) was formally created, and University of California system, CSC system and California Community College system were coordinated in their approach to educating the population.

For his home district, the Stiern's work in the Senate produced California State College, Bakersfield, which became California State University, Bakersfield. The main building of CSUB, Walter W. Stiern Library, is named after him.