Descriptive Summary
Administration Information
History/Biography
Scope and Content
Indexing Terms
Bibliography
Related Material
Descriptive Summary
Title: Heilbron (Louis H.) Papers
Dates: 1950-2006
Dates: (Bulk 1960-1985)
Collection Number: Consult repository.
Creator:
Heilbron, Louis Henry
Extent:
20 boxes
[8.34 linear feet]
Repository:
California State University Historical Archives
California State University, Dominguez Hills
Archives & Special Collection
University Library, Room G-145
1000 E. Victoria Street
Carson, California 90747
Phone: (310) 243-3013
URL: http://archives.csudh.edu/
Abstract:
This collection contains the professional papers and materials of Louis H. Heilbron, a San Francisco-based
labor law attorney who served on several boards overseeing higher education. He was instrumental in the
development of the California State University system during the late 1950’s to 1960 when it was created.
He was an astute scholar on the issues affecting higher education. The collection includes correspondence,
publications, manuals, professional organization and conference materials, and reference materials.
Language: Collection material is in English
Administration Information
Access
There are no access restrictions on this collection.
Publication Rights
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the
Director of Archives and Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special
Collections as the owner of the physical materials and not intended to include or imply permission of the
copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
Preferred Citation
[Title of item], LOUIS HEILBRON PAPERS, Courtesy of the Department of Archives and Special
Collections. University Library. California State University, Dominguez Hills.
Acquisition Information
The materials were donated to the California State University Archives at California State University,
Dominguez Hills in Summer, 2007.
Processing Information
Collection processed by Gregory Williams, 2007
History/Biography
Louis H. Heilbron (1907-2006) was a labor law attorney, educator, and civic leader who participated in
many of the great events of his time. Born in Newark, New Jersey to musicians Simon and Flora Karp Heilbron,
he grew up in San Francisco and attended Lowell High School with the future Governor Edmund G. “Pat” Brown.
He received his B.A. in Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley (1928), and graduated
with a juris doctor degree from Berkeley’s Boalt Hall (1931). With the Depression raging, he worked for
the California agencies of the Department of Social Welfare (secretary, 1932), the Emergency Relief
Administration (assistant administrator, 1933; part-time consultant, 1934-1940 when the agency’s
responsibilities were transferred to the Department of Social Welfare) and again with the Department of
Social Welfare (part-time consultant, 1940-41). Concurrently, Heilbron joined the prominent San Francisco
law firm of Heller, Ehrman, White and McAuliffe (attorney 1934-1948; principle labor attorney 1948-1978;
retired partner 1978- ) where he remained affiliated, except for a brief period during World War II, for
the rest of his life. During the war, he was the principal attorney (1942-43) for the Board of Economic
Welfare. Serving as an army officer (Captain, 1943; Major, 1944-46), he helped the military coordinate
labor relations in post-war Europe. After the war, he returned to his law practice. His interest in world
affairs, intensified by the war, prompted him to join the World Affairs Council of Northern California
(1951- ; president, 1965-67), a member of the Human Rights Commission of San Francisco (1969-75; chair,
1975), and chairman of the San Francisco Commission on Foreign Relations (1977-79). He was also a Jewish
community leader and served on the boards of the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco (member, 1930’s-
; vice president, 1949?; president, 1949-52), Congregation Emanu-El (member, 1912- ; vice president, 1951-
1954?; president, 1954-1957), and the American Jewish Committee (president, 1958-60).
Heilbron had also been involved in higher education throughout his adult life. He was the assistant to
the Dean of Men at Berkeley (1928-31), president of the San Francisco Public Education Society (1950-52),
member of the International House at the University of California at Berkeley (vice-president, 1953-77),
trustee of the Samuel I. Newhouse Foundation (1956-76), member of the California State Board of Education
(1959-60; president, 1960), member of the Board of Trustees at KQED (1959-1972; vice president, 1971-72),
member of the Board of California State College Trustees (1960-69; chairman, 1960-63), member of the Board
of Trustees at Golden Gate University (1969- ; chair, 1979-81), chairman of the advisory board at San Francisco
State University (1970-75), member of the National Commission on Academic Tenure (1971-73), member of the
Select Committee to Review the California Master Plan (1971-72), and a member of the National Council on
Post Secondary Accreditation (1972-86). When Heilbron was appointed by Governor Brown as the chairman of
the Board of California State College Trustees, he was instrumental in the implementation of the initial
Master Plan for Higher Education (1960) and the emergence of the California State University system (1960).
In retirement from his law firm (1978), he was a member of the California Historical Society (1978- ;
vice president, 1981-83; president, 1983-85) and a member of the California State University Archives Advisory
Committee (1979- ; chair, 1979-1988).
Scope and Content
This collection documents Louis H. Heilbron’s professional activities relating to higher education beginning
with the development of the California State University (CSU) system during the turbulent 1960’s as he
tackled issues that arose when changing the prevailing culture. His labor negotiation skills proved
instrumental in ending the teachers’ strike at San Francisco State College (1969) where he called on
students and teachers to condemn violent demonstrations and actions on university campuses across the
nation that occurred during that era. The collection includes drafts or completed versions of Heilbron’s
books, publications and commencement speeches which reveal his sensitivities and position on admission
standards, academic governance, education policy, collective bargaining, curriculum development, and the
role of CSU trustees—issues that permeate a substantial portion of this collection. Also included are
extensive materials with individuals, organizations and professional associations, primarily related to
the interaction of the CSU trustees and the students and faculty. These elements are detailed in his
publications, with drafts or copies in this collection, including
Remarks of Louis H. Heilbron, Chairman
of the Board of Trustees of the California State Colleges, 1960-63
(published 1963),
The Uses and Abuses
of Trustees
(1970),
The College and University Trustee: A View from the Board Room (1973),
Confidentiality
and Accreditation
(1976) and
From the Beginning: Commencement Addresses and Selected Papers (1983).
The collection also contains materials, primarily from the 1970’s to the mid-1980’s, on his affiliations
with the University of Texas, Golden State University, San Francisco State University, California State
University Archives and the California Historical Society. In addition, there is correspondence, reports
and other materials during his tenure with the Council of Post Secondary Accreditation. There is also a
substantial body of reference materials, primarily reports and booklets, concerning the same academic issues
Heilbron confronted during his involvement in higher education.
Whenever possible, original folder titles have been retained and the folders kept in their original order.
Arrangement
Indexing Terms
Subjects
California University Master Plan
Baccalaureate Addresses
College Trustees
Education, Higher – California
Education, Higher – United States
Personal Names
Heilbron, Louis, 1907-2006
Corporate Names
California Historical Society
California State Colleges
California State University
California State University and Colleges
California State University - Board of Trustees
Council on Postsecondary Accreditation
California State University, Bakersfield
California State University, Dominguez Hills
California State University, Long Beach - Art Museum and Galleries
California State University, San Francisco
Golden Gate University
University of Texas
Titles
Remarks of Louis H. Heilbron, Chairman
of the Board of Trustees of the California State Colleges, 1960-63
The Uses and Abuses of Trustees
The College and University Trustee: A View from the Board Room
Confidentiality and Accreditation
From the Beginning: Commencement Addresses and Selected Papers
Bibliography
The following works were used in the creation of this finding aid:
Grenier, Judson.
Louis Heilbron, First CSU BOT Chair, Dies at 99. CSU-ERFA Reporter, March 2007.
Heilbron, Louis H.
Most of a Century: Law and Public Service, 1930s to 1990s. Regents of the University of California, 1995. Accessed from http://www.archive.org/details/mostofacentury00heilrich on
August 29, 2007.
Pine, Dan.
Louis Heilbron, lawyer and community leader, dies at 99 (obituary), The Jewish News Weekly. January 8, 2007. Accessed from http://www.jewishsf.com/content/2-0-/module/displaystory/story_id/31303/edition_id/585/format/html/displaystory.html
on August 29, 2007.
Tucker, Jill.
Louis Heilbron - early CSU official, specialist in labor law (obituary), San Francisco Chronicle. December 29, 2006.
Louis Henry Heilbron, 12 May 2007 - 20 December 2006 Memorial service brochure: 13 February 2007; Temple Emanu-El, San Francisco.
Past President Louis Heilbron Dies at 99. The Temple Chronicle, Vol. CLIV, No. 6 (February 2007): Accessed from http://emanuelsf.org/downloads/chronicle/chron_feb07.pdf
on August 29, 2007.
American Jewish Committee. Accessed from http://www.ajcsanfrancisco.org on August 29, 2007.
Who's Who in America, 1994.
Related Material
California State University Board of Trustees Minutes and Agenda
An oral history is available through the California State University Oral History Project,
held in the CSU Archives at California State University, Dominguez Hills.
See also the Louis Heilbron Papers, held in the Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
An oral history is also located at the Bancroft Library.