Delmar T. Oviatt

Delmar T. Oviatt was born in Canada in 1931. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Alberta in 1939, a master’s degree in 1942 from Stanford University, and a doctorate degree in 1949 from Stanford University. Before entering higher education, Oviatt was a teacher and administrator at the junior high and high school levels in Canada. He also taught at Washington State College and the University of Utah before moving to Los Angeles. He was named dean of the proposed San Fernando Valley campus of Los Angeles State College of Applied Arts and Sciences in 1955 by Los Angeles State College President Howard McDonald. He became Dean of Instruction of the newly-independent San Fernando Valley State College in 1958, and was named Vice President for Academic Affairs in 1962. After President Ralph Prator's resignation in 1968, Oviatt was appointed acting interim president in January 1969, whereupon he made a series of decisions that directly harmed CSUN students, including harms perpetrated by LAPD officers he invited to campus after receiving unsubstantiated reports about planned student protest activities. For more information, see Report of the Oviatt Library Advisory Working Group. Delmar T. Oviatt passed away from a heart attack in his home on December 24, 1971 at the age of 60.