Goodman, Michael, 1903-1991

Biographical Note

Michael Arthur Goodman was born on January 6, 1903 in Vilna, Lithuania. Following the Russian Revolution of 1917, he traveled from Eastern Russia to San Francisco, California, becoming a naturalized citizen in 1927. Beginning in 1925, his professional life revolved primarily around architectural and interior design. He joined the Department of Architecture faculty at UC Berkeley in 1927 where he taught until his retirement in 1971.

During his career, Goodman completed many projects on the Berkeley and other UC campuses. At Berkeley, these projects included alterations to the Faculty Club and Hearst Memorial Mining Building; the electron microscope installation, the Bio-Organic Chemistry Laboratory design and construction, the Brick Muller Room addition in Memorial Stadium, and the Farm Bureau Building alterations for the University Extension Division. Although Goodman proposed a major alteration and rehabilitation plan for the Life Sciences Building in 1957, the University withdrew the plans from their building program. This decision on the part of the University was largely regretted when, thirty-four years later, the project was reopened and in need of new plans, a credit to Goodman's original foresight and work. In addition to the Berkeley campus, Goodman oversaw various projects on the Davis campus, including the Radiobiology Laboratory, an expansion of the Clinic Building, and the Cruess Hall Unit 2 for Food Technology.

Off-campus, Goodman had a productive career designing such buildings as the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Woolen Process Laboratory in Albany, CA, the East Bay Municipal Utilities Distract branch office in Berkeley, and countless other such facilities. Additionally, he was responsible for the interior decoration and/or overall design of many Bay Area homes.

As a UC Berkeley faculty member, Goodman was extremely active in campus life serving for many years on the Committee for Public Ceremonies. He was also a dedicated member of the Berkeley Planning Commission, acting as negotiator between the university and the city. In this position, Goodman was called upon to temper the city's fears that university expansion would never cease following the release of its large-scale building plans. Goodman was also a member of many other groups and councils, including the Commonwealth Club of California.

Over the course of his career, Goodman received many professional honors and awards. He received the San Francisco Art Association Gold Medal in 1925, followed by the American Graphic Artists Society Award in 1930. Both were given on the basis of his design work. In 1945 he was made a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects. Finally, he received the Berkeley Citation in 1970 for outstanding service to the University of California. Following a long illness, Goodman died at home at the age of 88 on April 12, 1991.

Sources: DeMars, Vernon A, Sanford S. El-berg, Henry Lager, and Errol W. Mauchlan. Michael Arthur Goodman Obituary. 1993, University of California: In Memoriam . Retrieved October 2008 from the University of California History Digital Archives,

From the guide to the Michael Goodman collection, 1920-1970, (Environmental Design Archives. College of Environmental Design.)