University Advancement

Public Relations and Strategic Communications

NEWS RELEASE

John J. Guarrera, Founding Director of CSUN’s Center for Research and Services
in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, Has Died

(NORTHRIDGE, Calif., Dec. 7, 2006) -- Pioneering Cal State Northridge engineering professor John J. Guarrera, whom university officials credit with saving the college from elimination more than 30 years ago, has died.

Guarrera, who retired only two years ago at age 82, died Wednesday near his home in El Cajon.

CSUN President Jolene Koester said Guarrera’s death will be felt throughout the campus.

"His reputation for teaching, research and service is well known nationally," she said. "The well-being and success of our students were at the core of everything he did while at CSUN. He touched so many lives in such a positive way. John will be sorely missed."

S.K. Ramesh, dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science, agreed.

"John Guarrera has left an indelible mark on our community through his commitment to education," Ramesh said. "The impact that he had on the lives and careers of the faculty, staff and students of the college will continue to resonate for years to come."

University officials said it was Guarrera’s commitment to the field of engineering and the career opportunities it presented to Cal State Northridge students that fueled his determination to save the college in the early 1970s when the CSU Chancellor’s Office threatened to eliminate it in an effort to streamline the campus.

Guarrera, then president of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, the largest professional society in the world, rallied professional support for the college. He was instrumental in convincing the CSU Board of Trustees that Cal State Northridge needed a College of Engineering and Computer Science, recalled dean emeritus Rick Ratcliffe, who headed the college from 1981 to 1992, in an interview two years ago.

Ratcliffe said the experience with the Chancellor’s Office convinced former dean Charles Sanders that the college needed to strengthen its ties with local industrial and professional communities, and in 1976 he created the Center for Research and Services. Guarrera was appointed its first director, a position he held until his retirement in 2004. Guarrera continued to volunteer at the center and the college until earlier this year.

During his years at the university, Guarrera played a key role in connecting engineering students with opportunities to get real world experience with local businesses and industries. Among his many efforts was the development of a design program that placed students with industry professionals.

Two years ago, Guarrera’s family created a $100,000 scholarship endowment in his honor at the university in honor of his tireless efforts to ensure that students had every opportunity to get first-hand experience with the latest technology so that they had the skills needed in engineering careers.

"John was always ready to assist faculty throughout the campus in getting grants and in finding ways to administer those grants to the advantage of the faculty, college and university," Ratcliffe said Thursday. "He brought with him significant professional experience and thus contributed to strengthening our academic program. In addition, through his efforts, any senior professionals in the surrounding community joined our program as guest lecturers and adjunct faculty.

"What he did for CSUN would be hard to replicate," Ratcliffe added.

He is survived by his wife, Jo; daughter, Mary Ann Golembesky of San Diego; son, Frank Guarrera of Century City; daughter Rosemarie Guarrera-Estes of Southborough, Mass.; son James Guarrera of St. George, Utah; eight grandchildren; two great-grandchildren and sister, Marie Ryskowski of Palm Desert.

A funeral mass will be said for John Guarrera at Saturday, Dec. 16, at The Church of St. Luke, 1980 Hillsdale Rd. in El Cajon. The time is pending. Call the College of Engineering and Computer Science at (818) 677-6658 to find out when the services are.

Guarrera’s family asks that donations be made to the John and Jo Guarrera Endowment in Engineering in CSUN’s College of Engineering and Computer Science. Checks should be made payable to CSUN Foundation, with a notation referring to the endowment. Contributions should be sent in care of Tammy Glenn, Director of Development, College of Engineering and Computer Science, California State University, Northridge, 18111 Nordhoff St., Northridge, CA 91330-8295.