The lower courtyard of the Jean and Charles Schulz Information Center on the Sonoma State University campus will be named the George E. McCabe Plaza in dedication ceremonies at 4 p.m. on Friday, April 6.
Biography of George E. McCabe
George E. McCabe has been called the father of Sonoma State University.
In the late 1950s, he was director of the off-campus center of San Francisco State University in Santa Rosa. When the new Sonoma State College was founded, McCabe became chairman of the Division of Education and Psychology, one of the earliest departments of the new campus. He enjoyed a long and illustrious career at SSU and was named professor emeritus in 1990.
George attended St. Helena High School in Napa Valley. He also wrote for the St. Helena Star. His byline read G. Elwood McCabe.
In the 1970s, McCabe's commitment to education and his excellence as an administrator were recognized by CSU Chancellor Glenn S. Dumke, who appointed McCabe to an exploratory statewide commission on external degrees. Eventually, the CSU External Degree Program was born and McCabe was the system-wide dean of what become known as
the "Thousand Mile Campus," the largest extended education program ever developed.
George McCabe enjoyed a reputation far beyond SSU and the California State University. In addition to his critical role as one of the founders of SSU, he participated in numerous civic activities. In 1959, he and his wife Kay made national news when they adopted Melba Beals, one of the "Little Rock Nine" whose life had been threatened by the Ku Klux Klan.
McCabe even enjoyed a brief career in politics. In 1964, he ran for a seat in Congress against incumbent Don Clausen.
McCabe was adored by his students. His quiet generosity towards them was non-stop. He founded the university's first assistance program for disadvantaged students, and often reached into his own pockets to help them.
George McCabe earned a B.A. degree from UC Berkeley where he was editor of the campus newspaper. He earned a doctorate in education from Columbia University.
The George E. McCabe Memorial Scholarship was established in 1996 to benefit graduate students at SSU who are majoring in psychology.
Longtime associate and friend Red "Hobart" Thomas says "George paved the way for a lot of the early creative efforts of the psychology department. He had a unique ability to translate some of our ideas into terms other administrators could understand. And that endeared him to many of us."
George E. McCabe passed away in 1996. His wife Kay still lives in Sonoma County and continues to be active in the community.
