Janet Spidell

Honorary Degrees
 
 

​​​Janet SpidellJanet Spidell

Nurse/Volunteer/Donor

California State University, Long Beach

Janet Spidell has been a nurse, a volunteer and a friend to several community and nonprofit organizations, including California State University, Long Beach. Her efforts have made a positive impact on those for whom she has cared, groups for which she has volunteered and organizations she has befriended.

At Cal State Long Beach, Mrs. Spidell and her husband, Robert, established the Spidell Technology Endowment in 1991 to support new learning technologies for the University Library. In 1995, the Spidells received the President’s Outstanding Commitment to the University Award. Their continued interest in technology for the library led to the creation of the Spidell Electronic Classroom in 2000, a unique “handson” facility that featured many “firsts.” And, in 2007, the library opened and dedicated the Spidell Technology Center, the university’s largest
computing facility, with 235 computers, 40 additional workstations and the latest software, enabling students to conduct individual and group coursework and research.

Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Mrs. Spidell completed nursing training in 1957 and worked as a registered nurse for a year before moving to California. Arriving in Long Beach, she found a place for her nursing skills at Long Beach Memorial Hospital, and later, at Anaheim Memorial Hospital.

Outside of work, Mrs. Spidell has engaged in many civic activities. While living in Anaheim, she volunteered with the League of Women Voters and sat on the Board of Directors of the Anaheim Homeless Shelter. As a resident of San Clemente, she has been involved with the Friends of the Library, an organization that raises some $50,000 annually for the San Clemente Public Library. She is also a volunteer at Mission San Juan Capistrano, where she is able to indulge in one of her favorite hobbies—gardening.

In recognition of her selfless efforts to care for and help others and her continuous service to community and nonprofit organizations, the Board of Trustees of the California State University and California State University, Long Beach are proud to confer upon Janet Spidell the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters.

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