June Margaret Cooper, the former executive vice chancellor for the Cal State University system, died on Jan. 10, 2012. She was 78.
Cooper became the first black female acting president for Cal State Long Beach in 1988.
On Jan. 20, 2012, a memorial service was held at the Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden at Cal State Long Beach because it was one of Cooper’s favorite places on campus.
It lasted for approximately an hour and a half. The service featured music, various speakers, photo slideshows and a poetic reading.
Herbert Carter, a long-term friend and chair of the CSU Board of Trustees, spoke about how he convinced Cooper to take the position as acting president of CSULB as a temporary replacement for Stephen Horn.
She served as acting president for a few months until Curtis L. McCray filled the position.
Carter then convinced Cooper to take a position in the Chancellor’s Office. He said that she belonged there because she would be the one to make changes.
“She was a leader,” Carter said. “She understood it was important to give back.”
Outside of her professional career, Cooper was a mother to two daughters and a grandmother to three granddaughters.
Julia Diane Whitley, her youngest daughter, gave a speech about how her mother influenced her life. She also told a story about her mother dancing on a table at her wedding. She recalled her mother jokingly saying that she may be a grandmother, but she’ll never look like one.
“She was always dressed as if she walked out of a Saks Fifth Avenue or Neiman Marcus catalogue,” Whitley said.
Thelma Drew, her sister, shared stories about the Cooper family and how they were raised. Drew said that Cooper’s love of music and dancing, and her habit of always being well dressed came from her mother; but her individualism and independence came from their father.
Cooper was born on April 3, 1933 in Corona, N.Y. to William Fred Cooper, Sr., and Margaret Cooper. She was one of seven children.
Cooper was raised in Queens and West Babylon, N.Y. Her father was her biggest role model, and he encouraged her to excel in academics.
Cooper received her bachelor’s from Queens College, master’s from Brooklyn College, and Ph.D. from New York University. She was voted Outstanding Doctoral Student in 1964.
Two years later, Cooper moved across the nation for the start of what was a 30-year long career in the CSU system.
She began as a professor in the department of speech communication and communicative disorders at Cal State Long Beach.
In 1972, she was promoted to chair of the department of communicative disorders, and then she became the associate vice president for Academic Affairs in 1975.
Her success continued to grow at CSULB when she became vice president of Faculty and Staff Relations, acting president and, finally, vice president for Student Services.
Cooper also kept busy with community service work.
She won various awards, such as the National Conference Humanitarian Award, Woman of the Year from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and Citations of Appreciation from the cities of Compton, Long Beach, Los Angeles and Lynwood, the County of Los Angeles and the state of California.
Cooper is survived by her two daughters and three granddaughters.
Disclaimer: The Daily 49er is not responsible for Postings made on www.daily49er.wpengine.com. Persons commenting are solely responsible for Postings made on this website. Persons commenting agree to the Terms of Use of the website. If Postings do not abide by the Rules of Conduct or Posting Regulations as listed in the Postings Policy, the Daily 49er has all rights to delete Postings as it deems necessary. The Daily 49er strongly advises individuals to not abuse their First Amendment rights, and to avoid language suggestive of hate speech. This site also encourages users to make Postings relevant to the article or other Postings.