Chancellor Glenn S. Dumke: San Francisco State College President ’57 – ‘61

Glenn S. Dumke, (1917-1989): San Francisco State College President 1957-1961. Glenn S. Dumke earned his B.A. and M.A. from Occidental College in Los Angeles and received his Ph.D. in history from the University of California, Los Angeles. A noted historian of the American West, Dumke served as President of San Francisco State College from 1957 to 1961. During his presidency, he was one of three administrators—alongside Paul Dodd and Frank Fenton—who supported the creation of the first college-sanctioned free speech platform in the United States. This redwood structure, located in the northwest corner of the Quad, gave students a formal space for civic engagement, public discourse, and the exchange of controversial ideas—a significant precursor to the broader student activism that would follow in the 1960s. Dumke played a pivotal role in shaping public higher education across the state. He contributed to the landmark California Master Plan for Higher Education and the Donahoe Higher Education Act of 1960, which provided the foundation and funding for the creation of the California State College System.Following his presidency at SF State, Dumke became the first Chancellor for Academic Affairs and later served as Chancellor of the California State University system, remaining in that role until 1982. He passed away in 1989.