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Beck (Judge Julian) Collection
URB.JB
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Contributing Institution:
Special Collections & Archives
Title: Judge Julian Beck Collection
Creator:
Beck, Julian, 1905-
Identifier/Call Number: URB.JB
Extent:
2.34 linear feet
Date (inclusive): 1926-1986
Abstract: Julian Beck was a teacher, politician,
and judge in Los Angeles and was instrumental in the establishment of San Fernando Valley
State College, now known as California State University, Northridge. Documented in the
collection are Beck's family life, judicial and legislative services, his key role in the
founding of CSUN, and his wide-ranging involvement in community activities. Records in the
collection include assembly bills, correspondence, identification cards, newspaper
clippings, photographs, and scrapbooks.
Language of Material: English
Judge Julian Beck was born on May 13, 1905 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He moved to
California in 1923 and has been a resident of the city of San Fernando since 1935. He
obtained an A.B. degree in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1929,
followed by an M.A. degree in history from the University of Southern California and an
LL.B. degree in law from Loyola University, both in 1935.
Beck was a teacher in the Los Angeles City High School District from 1931 to 1946. During
this period, he served on the Board of Directors of the High School Teachers Association and
was Director-at-Large of the Association of California Classroom Teachers. He engaged in
private law practice in San Fernando after successfully passing the 1935 California Bar
Exam.
Beck's political career started with his election to the California State Assembly from
the 41st Assembly District in 1942. He was reelected six times and served two terms as the
Democratic floor leader in the Assembly. As a member of the State legislature, he
orchestrated a number of bills including those which secured the opening and widening of
Truman Street, establishment of the first Municipal and Superior Court in the San Fernando
Valley, initiation of the San Fernando Fair and the imposition of the death penalty for
extreme offenses by saboteurs.
In 1953, Beck was appointed judge of the Los Angeles Municipal Court by Earl Warren, then
Governor of California and later Supreme Court Justice of the United States. In November
1958, Beck was handpicked by Governor-elect Edmund G. Brown as Legislative Secretary. Nine
months later, Governor Brown appointed him Superior Court Judge of Los Angeles County in the
San Fernando court which Beck helped create.
Judge Beck was instrumental in the founding of San Fernando Valley State College, later to
be renamed California State University, Northridge (CSUN). An Assemblyman in 1952, Beck
arranged a meeting to hear testimony on the need to establish a state college in the San
Fernando Valley. The following year, he co-authored a resolution requesting the California
State Department of Education investigate sites for the construction of the college. The
resolution was approved by both houses of the legislature. Beck was one of the founding
members of CSUN's Advisory Board and assumed its chairmanship from September 1958 to May
1975.
Beck was much-admired for his contribution to CSUN by the faculty and student body alike.
His generous donation to the college generated many awards and scholarships. In 1965, Beck
was presented with the President's Distinguished Service Award. He was made an honorary
member of Phi Kappa Phi, the CSUN chapter of the National Honor Society in 1975 and named
"Distinguished Alumnus for 1983." The Judge Julian Beck Seminar Room located in Sierra Hall,
Room 202 was dedicated in his honor in 1984.
Following thirty-two years of judicial and legislative service, Beck retired from the
bench in 1975, but remained active in civic and community affairs. He was a life member of
the San Fernando Elks, a past-president of the San Fernando Lions Club, YMCA and Shrine
Club. He was also past-deputy district governor of Lions International, past-director of the
San Fernando Chamber of Commerce and a former vice-president of the San Fernando Valley Bar
Association. Judge Beck passed away in 1992.
Julian Beck was a teacher, politician, and judge in Los Angeles and was instrumental in the
establishment of San Fernando Valley State College, now known as California State
University, Northridge. Documented in the collection are Beck's family life, judicial and
legislative services, his key role in the founding of CSUN, and his wide-ranging involvement
in community activities. Records in the collection include assembly bills, correspondence,
identification cards, newspaper clippings, photographs, and scrapbooks. Judge Beck's
accomplishments and popularity are further highlighted with a number of certificates and
letters of commendation, including those from President Ronald Reagan and Governor George
Deukmejian. Of particular interest are the documents pertaining to Beck's association with
CSUN, which record his long-standing service to the University. Also of interest are the
related records on the history of CSUN from its infancy.
Digital reproductions of selected items in this collection are available electronically as
a part of the
San Fernando Valley History Digital Library
The collection is open for research use.
Copyright for unpublished materials authored or otherwise produced by the creator(s) of
this collection has not been transferred to California State University, Northridge.
Copyright status for other materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials
protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires
the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be
commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any
use rests exclusively with the user.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Julian Beck, 1987.
For information about citing items in this collection consult the appropriate style manual,
or see the
Citing Archival Materials
guide.
Robert Marshall and Xiaoquan Han, June 1987
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Documents
Photographs
Scrapbooks
Audiovisual materials