The different Drs. Parshall, Switzer, and Fead.

"The professors I remember most are threefold rather than just one. Those three are Drs. Parshall, Switzer, and Fead. My recollection of each of them is different for each. I attended CSU from 1960 to 1963 when I earned my BSCE.

"Dr. Max Parshall was nearing the end of his teaching career and seemed quite old to me at the time. His delivery in the classroom is what sticks with me the most. It was as if there was a teleprompter located at the line of the back wall and the ceiling of the classroom. His eyes focused on that point, hardly ever veering away to look at us, and he spieled off his lecture as though he was reading it. I had him for Hydrology and didn't realize the amount of information that he was imparting until I had to use it in practice designing storm drains at Long Beach, CA some years later. Dr. Max Parshall was the son of the inventor of the Parshall Flume and an extremely intelligent man.

"Dr. Herbert Switzer was my Static's teacher. I didn't before nor after have a professor that came across so clearly with his subject matter. He still had a bit of a German accent at the time but it wasn't his speech that was so clear but the subject. I believe that clearness assisted me throughout my engineering education. He taught me a great deal about the connectivity of the various engineering disciplines.

"Dr. William Fead was my favorite teacher. I think I had him for every structures class that I had from Timber Design to Steel Design to Concrete Design, and including Indeterminate Structures. He seemed somewhat aloof, yet he was always willing to help and answer your questions. He gave tests which were not unlike the registration test questions. They too were not direct and always made you think. His most outstanding quality was his ability to take complex matters and make them very practical.

"These professors each in their own unique way taught basic problem solving and provided me with an assortment of tools and an understanding of their use. With these tools and knowledge of their use I was set for a very satisfying career in Civil Engineering. I retired from the Port of Long Beach in November 2000 after 38 years of professional civil engineering, nearly all in design. I've been lucky enough to participate in the most exciting of work with the Port of Long Beach to the mundane of maintenance engineering with a Standard Oil Refinery; from the very high cost of elaborate marina developments to a low cost drainage repair. Each project bringing new challenges and new rewards, thanks in great detail to groundwork provided with the likes of Drs. Parshall, Switzer, and Fead.