Honoring the memory of Dr. Ralph Segalman

Scholar, professor, activist, father, and husband.

Anita Segalman has established a research fund for Jewish Studies faculty in memory of her husband. Ralph Segalman, who taught in CSUN's Sociology Department from 1970 until his retirement in 1986, dedicated his professional career to research on the community and family. A widely published and respected scholar, Prof. Segalman's books, edited volumes, and articles are characterized by their insight into and challenge of popular assumptions. He demonstrated how families teach the values of nurturing, individual responsibility, and mutual respect, while certain government welfare policies actually undermine the family and community and lead to a destructive cycle of dependence and dysfunction. Ralph translated his sociological theory into action by serving as Jewish Federation director in three U.S. cities; served in Europe after World War II aiding Holocaust refugees; and was an active participant in campus affairs while on the faculty of University of Texas at El Paso and CSUN. He and Anita, the primary caretaker of their family, raised three children and inculcated them with their values of individual responsibility, respect for others, and educational achievement. Proud sister, aunt, grandmother, and great-grandmother, Anita currently resides in Northridge and continues her life-long work as a painter.

If you would like to make an impact on the College of Humanities, please contact Suren Seropian, Director of Development at 818-677-7135 or suren.seropian@csun.edu.