In Memoriam

Ralph Shaffer

The Department mourned the news of the passing of Emeritus Professor Ralph Shaffer on April 27, 2023. His former colleague, CPP Emeritus Professor John Moore, penned the following retrospective about Shaffer's career and impact:

"Ralph Shaffer was one of the first faculty members I met as a much too-young graduate student tasked to teach at Cal Poly long before there was a History Department. He invited Linda and me to his home for dining, discussion, and assurances. I will never forget that kindness, nor his mentoring over the many years that followed as we became life-long friends as well as academic colleagues.

Ralph was one of a kind. He took his job seriously, savored being part of Cal Poly, and was often on campus. He was constantly writing, and he published extensively, most frequently on California history (I am privileged to have—on my specified shelf of colleagues’ works—a signed copy of his “Crazy Shaw”: Southern California’s Forgotten Dreamer).  At the same time, he worked diligently to make his classes exciting and relevant—and demanding. He was one of the first to operationalize a “learning through discussion” technique that utilized primary sources and brought students deeply into the study of history.  I learned from him much about teaching and much about the joy of an academic life.

In retirement, Ralph continued to be more active than most emeriti. Specifically, he was always composing and publishing essays which often became op-eds. He understood how to write them and how to get them published. In the event, he befriended some of our finest historians—such as the late Joyce Appleby, editor of the History News Network. On one occasion, he asked me to co-author with him an op-ed on the incoming Obama administration that eventually got published. I really learned a lot from that experience!

Ralph always shared with CPP faculty and retirees his latest projects. They were consistently interesting, well researched, and pleasing to receive. Over time, and even recently, I heard from him over email, a platform he mastered although his eyesight deteriorated as he aged.

A Cal PhD, Ralph was a founding member of our History Department. He belongs on our Mount Olympus. He was one of the giants who bequeathed to us a department of special character. As a first-rate teacher, a rigorous scholar, a lifelong learner, and a deeply committed friend to all of us—and to the department—he personified the essence of what I think is the finest history department in the Cal State system.

 
We should celebrate his being among us and keep his memory at the front of our vista."

David Levering 

The Department mourned the passing of Emeritus Professor David Levering (second from right) July 11, 2021. Dr. Levering came to Cal Poly Pomona in the early 1960s, and was one of the founding members of the Cal Poly Pomona History Department (as a separate department from the general Social Sciences). He helped engineer one of the earliest collegiate transitions (at CPP) from teaching "Western" history to "World" history. He was an active scholar and beloved teacher, known affectionately as the "Rev Lev." For a more extensive remembrance of Dr. Levering, see the obituary that appeared in Polycentric on July 16, 2021.

Jerry Voorhis

The Department noted with sadness the passing of Jerry L. Voorhis in December 2018. Dr. Voorhis was a professor of History at Cal Poly Pomona for 10 years, between 1965 and 1975. His wide knowledge and infectious sense of humor are missed by all who knew him.
 

Bill Evans

The History Department was saddened to share the news that Bill Evans (pictured at far right in the photo at the top of the page), who taught Civil War and Reconstruction at Cal Poly Pomona for many years, passed away on October 1, 2017, at the age of 94. Dr. Evans, who began his career at Cal Poly Pomona in 1968, was a wonderful teacher, a nationally renowned scholar of Reconstruction, and a passionate advocate for racial justice. Those who knew him miss him dearly.  

Werner Marti

Werner Marti, a longtime professor of American history and the first chairman of the official Cal Poly Pomona History Department, passed away October 24, 2013, in Upland, California. Despite losing his eyesight in his late teens, Marti graduated earned a B.A. from UCLA in 1943; with the indispensable aid of his wife Pat, whom he married in 1944, Marti became the first blind Ph.D. student to graduate from UCLA when he earned his doctorate in 1953. a Ph.D. in History at UCLA in 1953 (and was the first blind Ph.D student to graduate from that institution). He taught at Cal Poly Pomona from 1956 until 1977, and was the first chair of the History Department when it was created in 1968. His colleagues remember his incredible generosity and kindness.