Olaf and Mary Jane Anfinson

Faculty 1956-1974, 1979-1988

Olaf P. Anfinson was born in 1914 in La Crosse, Wisconsin. He received his B.A. from Winona State Teachers College, and his M.A and Ed.D. from the University of Northern Colorado. Following his education, in 1956, Anfinson began teaching in the Physics & Astronomy Department at CSULB.

While at CSULB, Anfinson developed the Physical Science program and aided in further establishing the department within the college. During his teaching career, Dr. Anfinson published three college textbooks in addition to serving as a Fellow of the American Associates for the Advancement of Science. Years later, his undeniable passion for teaching was so strong that it led him to come out of retirement and back to CSULB as a part time Physics professor.

The Anfinson’s knew early on that they wanted to find a way to leave a legacy that would support physics students in perpetuity. Each year, from 1979 until his permanent retirement in 1988, he donated half his salary to fund The Anfinson Physics Scholarship. The Olaf and Mary Jane Anfinson Endowed Scholarship in Physics was later created as a bequest to the college.

The College of Natural Sciences & Mathematics expresses gratitude to all scholarship donors who continue to enhance the quality of education students experience at CNSM.