History About the Foundation
Dr. H. Lynn Sheller, then President of Fullerton College, founded the Fullerton College Foundation in 1959 as a nonprofit organization. To many, Dr. Sheller was the guiding hand of the Foundation and spent much of his time developing personal contacts with faculty, friends and community members who shared his enthusiasm in supporting the educational goals of Fullerton College students. Even after his retirement in 1969, Dr. Sheller frequently returned to campus for Foundation business until his death in 1984. Because of his commitment to better serve the students of Fullerton College, students today continue to benefit from the numerous endowed scholarships that he helped to establish.
In 1959, two donations of $500.00 each were the beginnings of such scholarships. Ten years later, the Foundation received a bequest of $304,000.00 from one of two sisters, Faye Reynolds, who left the money to the college in honor of her sister Lena Reynolds, a former math teacher at Fullerton College.
Some years later, in 1987, Joel Hail, a former physics instructor, willed his estate to Fullerton College. The $300,000 gift was used to create an endowment fund for students with temporary financial needs as well as a scholarship for student’s studying physical science.
Through bequests, gifts, individual and corporate donations, the Foundation currently has nearly 200 scholarship funds, each with a minimum principal balance of $1,000.00.
Today, the Foundation exists to promote Fullerton College and enhance the educational experience of its students by raising and accepting resources for scholarships, grants, programmatic and institutional support.