The Board of Trustees voted to place the name of Arthur G. Coons on the College's first building to be devoted specifically to administration, thus honoring the man who had served the institution for many years, including the presidency from 1945 (his first year as acting president) until 1965. The building, financed by the gifts of alumni, friends, corporations, and foundations, was dedicated in 1968.

A native of Anaheim, California, Arthur G. Coons graduated from Occidental in 1920 and continued his formal education at the Wharton School of Economics and Finance of the University of Pennsylvania where he earned the Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy degrees. After two years of high school and junior college teaching, he was appointed to the economics faculty of the Southern Branch of the University of California, which in time became UCLA. In 1927, he returned to Occidental as an assistant professor of economics and executive secretary to the president, beginning an impressive faculty and administrative career culminating in his election as Occidental's president, the institution's only alumnus to date to hold the office.

During Dr. Coons' presidential years Occidental experienced tremendous growth in physical plant, endowment, and prestige. He became a national leader in education, active in the Western College Association and the Association of American Colleges, serving a term as president of each. He was appointed by President Eisenhower to the Committee on Education Beyond the High School and served on the boards of numerous institutions, including the Council for Financial Aid to Education. Dr. Coons' crowning public service achievement was chairmanship of the Master Plan Survey of Higher Education in California, by appointment of Governor Edmund G. Brown in 1959. After retirement from the Occidental presidency in 1965, he continued active in higher education affairs, including membership on the Coordinating Council for Higher Education in California, of which he served as president.

Dr. Coons died on July 26, 1968. He and his wife, Edna, had one son, Arthur G. Coons, Jr., '52.

By Jean Paule