FULLERTON COLLEGE CENTENNIAL
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FULLERTON COLLEGE HALL OF FAME
FULLERTON COLLEGE HALL OF FAME
The Fullerton College Hall of Fame honored its first class of inductees on May 17, 2014 at the culminating celebratory event of the Fullerton College Centennial. 500 people assembled for dinner, musical entertainment, nominating videos, the presentation of oil portraits of the inductees, and dancing under the stars on the Fullerton College quad.
The Hall of Fame seeks to draw special recognition to outstanding alumni and staff who have impacted the greater communities they serve by creating exemplary lives of value and significance.
In our first Hall of Fame class, we chose a visionary college administrator, an electronics innovator who changed the world of contemporary music, a secretarial student who became the First Lady of the United States, a student government president who became a beacon for human rights as an attorney and jurist, an opera singer who became an outstanding voice instructor, and a legendary football coach.
Portrait by David Mastrejuan
Leo Fender
- 1909–1991
- Born in Anaheim, California
- 1923–1930 Attended Fullerton College; joined the Kayak Club, earned a degree in Accounting
- 1938 Opened the Fender Radio Service
- 1950–1960 Inventor, Jazz Bass, Stratocaster, Telecaster, Precision Bass, Bassman Amplifiers, and Esquire/Broadcaster
- 1965 Sold Fender company to CBS
- 1985 Fender Exhibit at the Fullerton Museum Center opens
- 1992 Inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
- 1998 Fender Museum of Music & Art, Corona, CA opens
- 2009 Receives the Technical GRAMMY Award
Portrait by Claudia Kilby
Sara McFerrin
- 1924–
- Born in Washington, D.C.
- 1950 Touring member of Broadway show “Lost in the Stars”
- 1958 Performs in the film “Porgy and Bess”
- 1973–1993 Instructor, Music Department Fullerton College; Chairperson, Voice Department; Chairperson, Music Department
- 1993 Fullerton College Staff of Distinction Award
- Member, Board of Directors, Los Angeles Master Chorale and Opera Pacific
- Master class teacher/conductor, Wittenberg University and San Diego State University
- Adjudicator, New York Metropolitan Opera, Southern California Opera Guild, San Francisco Opera
Portrait by David Mastrejuan
Patricia Nixon
- 1912–1993
- Born in Ely, Nevada
- 1931–1932 Attended Fullerton College
- Participated in the Nightwalkers drama club.
- Starred in the campus production of the Broadway hit, “Broken Dishes”
- 1937 Graduates from USC cum laude
- 1940 Marries Richard M. Nixon
- 1953–1961 Wife of the Vice President of the United States
- 1969–1974 First Lady of the United States; became most traveled First Lady in United States history
- As First Lady, she championed the rights of the disabled and encouraged volunteerism
Portrait by Claudia Kilby
Louis Plummer
- 1883–1952 Born in Ottoville, Ohio
- 1904–1909 Teacher, Public Schools, Ottoville, Ohio
- 1909 Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Commercial Science, Ohio Northern University
- 1909–1918 Head of Commerce Department, Fullerton College and Fullerton Union High School
- 1915–1918 Vice Principal, Fullerton College and Fullerton Union High School
- 1919–1941 Superintendent and Principal, Fullerton College and Fullerton Union High School
- 1935 Earns Master of Science in Education, University of Southern California: His master’s thesis outlines the construction plan for the new Fullerton College campus
- 1972 Fullerton High School Auditorium renamed Plummer Auditorium
Portrait by David Mastrejuan
Cruz Reynoso
- 1931–
- Born in Brea, California
- 1949–1951 Attended Fullerton College
- Freshman Class President and Student Body President
- 1976 First Latino Associate Justice, California Court of Appeal
- 1982 First Latino Associate Justice, California Supreme Court
- 1994–2004 Vice Chair, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights
- 2000 Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Bill Clinton
- Professor of Law at University of New Mexico, UCLA and UC Davis
Portrait by David Mastrejuan
Hal Sherbeck
- 1928–
- Born in Montana
- 1961–1992 Football coach, golf coach, Athletic Director and Dean of Physical Education at Fullerton College
- 1964 Start of the 47-game winning streak
- 1965, 1967, 1983 Football National Championships
- 1992 Coach Sherbeck’s 240 wins and three national titles make him one of the most successful coaches in community college history
- 1992 Athletic field renamed Sherbeck Field
- 2001 Hall of Fame, Commission on Athletics
- 2005 Fullerton College Athletics Hall of Fame
- Over 500 of his athletes continued their football careers at the university and professional levels, and many became high school, college and professional coaches