Memorial Pending for Former CSULB President and U.S. Congressman Steve Horn

A campus memorial service for former California State University, Long Beach president (1970 to 1988) and U.S. congressman (1993 to 2003) Steve Horn will be held on either March 19th or April 7th. Horn died Thursday, February 17, 2011 at the age of 79 in his Long Beach home from complications due to Alzheimer’s disease.

As president of CSULB, Horn instituted numerous campus programs including student learning assistance, services for disabled students, the honors program and faculty development. It was during Horn’s presidency that CSULB experienced a structural boom, which included construction on the Social Sciences/Public Administration building, Brotman Hall, the Engineering and Computer Sciences buildings, Industrial Technology, Microbiology, the music buildings, International House, Parkside Residence Halls and the Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden. Even after retiring as president of CSULB, Horn remained on campus as a political science professor until 1992. CSULB publicly acknowledged Horn’s ongoing dedication to the University in 2003 when he and his wife were honored with the naming of the Steve and Nini Horn Center.

“Steve Horn was the consummate public servant,” says Dean Gerry Riposa of the College of Liberal Arts at CSULB. “He demonstrated to his students the invaluable role public service plays in a civil society. We hope his students, colleagues, constituents and friends have internalized his philosophy and life’s example and will step up to make a contribution to civil society.”

Horn may best be remembered for his service to California’s 38th district as a moderate Republican known for his bipartisanship. He served a liberal-leaning Long Beach district from 1993-2003. During his tenure, he chaired the subcommittee on government management and concentrated his efforts on balancing the budget, reforming campaign finance, and increasing funding to the arts, humanities and sciences.

John Stephen Horn was born on May 31, 1931 in San Juan Bautista, California. He is survived by his wife of 57 years Nini Horn, their two children Marcia Horn and Stephen Horn Jr. and grandson Jonathan Horn.