FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 20, 2003      File #371
Contact: Jean Wasp, Media Relations, (707) 664-2057

Provost Bernie Goldstein to Receive President's Medal, Honorary Degree

He is beloved wherever he goes, that Bernie Goldstein.

Goldstein, who lives with his wife Estelle in Petaluma, retires this year after nearly four decades in the California State University system. He will be honored in several ways this month by two universities.

SSU will award him an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters on May 31. A week earlier, San Francisco State University will award him the President's Medal at their commencement on May 24.

At SSU, where he has been provost and vice president of academic affairs for the past five years, he will be thekeynote speaker with a speech titled "Moments That Make A Life."

For the last four decades, Goldstein has held numerous positions within the two state universities, and the California State University system, and is the longest-serving faculty trustee in CSU history.

During his long career at SFSU which began in 1968, he has been a beloved professor and an esteemed administrator. As chair of the CSU Statewide Academic Senate, he instituted numerous changes that remain in effect today. He was named provost at SSU in 1998.

Goldstein is an expert in the field of reproductive physiology, human sexuality and evolutionary biology. He is widely recognized for his exceptional teaching skills and humor and is a much sought-after speaker known for his wit and wisdom.

His charismatic teaching style ensured long waiting lists for his science courses, most particularly his groundbreaking class in human sexuality, which today remains the cornerstone of SFSU’s highly acclaimed Human Sexuality Studies Program, of which he is co-founder.

Students enrolled in the Lifelong Learning Institute at SSU will be the fortunate recipients of Goldstein's wisdom in the future as he plans to continue teaching at the Institute after his retirement.

Goldstein earned his bachelor’s and master’s degree in biology from SFSU and a Ph.D. in zoology from UC Davis. He was twice named Outstanding Educator of America, and was named SFSU’s Alumnus of the Year in 1986.

Goldstein began his academic career in 1953 when he enrolled as a freshman at San Francisco State College. Service with the Army in Korea interrupted in his schooling; but he started back at San Francisco State College upon his return, earning his bachelor's and master's degrees in biology in 1962 and 1964 respectively.

After earning his Ph.D. in zoology from the University of California, Davis, in 1968, he returned as a faculty member to his alma mater, which by then had become San Francisco State University. He now leaves as a professor emeritus in biology.

Bernie and Estelle's son, David, is a public defender for Contra Costa County.

CAPTION: Bernie Goldstein, retiring provost of SSU.