Butwell, Richard 1929-1987

Richard Butwell (1929-1987) was the third president of California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH). Born in Maine in April 1929, he received his bachelor's degree from Tufts University in 1951 and his master's degree from Indiana University in 1952. He achieved his doctorate as a Fulbright scholar from England's Oxford University in 1954. Before his appointment as President, he had served as vice president for academic affairs at the University of South Dakota, Vermillion, as well as vice president of academic affairs at Murray State University in Kentucky. From 1974-1978, he served as Dean of Arts and Science at SUNY's Fredonia campus after chairing the Department of Political Science at SUNY's Brockport campus three years prior. Butwell is a reknowned expert of Southeast Asian, authoring and co-authoring more than 50 books on the subject. He had also received numerous travel grants from the Southeast Asian Treaty Organization (SEATO), the American University, the U.S. State Department, and the American Enterprise Institute. Butwell was appointed CSUDH President in July 1984 and served until his sudden death in February 1987. At the time of his death, while serving as CSUDH President, Butwell was also chairing the CSU Commission on the Pacific Rim.