William B. Langsdorf

Dr. William B. Langsdorf was the founding president of California State University, Fullerton. At the time of his appointment in 1959 the campus was known as Orange County State College. Langsdorf came to Orange County State College from Pasadena City College where he had held the position of assistant principal from 1939 to 1950 and then principal from 1950 to 1959.

Langsdorf served as president of Cal State Fullerton from 1959 to 1970 when he transferred to the Cal State System's Chancellor's Office in Long Beach and became Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. Langsdorf's tenure at Fullerton marked a period of enormous growth for the institution. During Langsdorf's tenure as president the enrollment grew from a few hundred students to more than 16,000 full-time equivalent students. This also was a period of extensive construction that transformed the college from a small collection of temporary buildings on 238 acres of orange groves to a campus with several permanent facilities including the Letters and Science Building (now McCarthy Hall), a performing arts building, a visual arts center, a library, a humanities building, a business administration building (now Langsdorf Hall), and a large physical education and athletics complex that included a gymnasium, swimming pool, tennis courts, and athletic fields.

In 1970 President Langsdorf transferred to the California State College Chancellor's Office where he served as Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs for several years. Langsdorf died at age 93 in 2002.