Celebrated for their accomplishments in their respective fields and their service and support of the university, Cal State Fullerton is recognizing four Titan alumni and one honorary alumna as the 2022 Vision & Visionaries award recipients. Established in 1994 and in its 25th year, the awards are the highest honors presented by CSUF to alumni and community supporters. 

Sometimes life has a way of taking us to unexpected places. For Cal State Fullerton alumnus Douglas G. Stewart, a 1987 graduate, it was his time as a Titan that provided him an unlikely path that led to the discovery of his true passion.

His nearly 35-year career in the arena of strategic planning and development for large institutions, including his own college alma mater, has earned Stewart the university’s 2022 Vision and Visionaries Distinguished Alumnus Award.

And it all began with a degree in music.

An avid piano student from the age of nine, Stewart left his home in Hemet in Riverside Conty to enter CSUF as a music performance major. While he had no real plans to become a concert pianist, his love for music, combined with the university’s program and faculty, drew him to Orange County.

The first-generation college student entered CSUF as a President’s Scholar, a program established in 1979 that attracts the “best of the best among California’s top high school graduates.” The designation not only came with a scholarship award but allowed Stewart to participate as a student member in a number of universitywide academic and administrative committees. He said the experience was both transformative and eye-opening.

“I really got to understand what makes a university work, and that was very appealing to me,” Stewart said. “I thought it was fascinating, and I wanted to be a part of that.”

It was during Stewart’s senior year that his career path took a bit of a left turn and his road ahead began to take shape. CSUF’s vice president of Development at that time asked him to come work in the Development and Fundraising office. He spent his final year at CSUF helping to establish a corporate relations program.

“That’s a curious thing for a music major to do, but it was something I took naturally to and had a lot of fun with,” Stewart said.

Upon completion of his bachelor’s degree, as he was deciding whether to pursue graduate studies in musicology, Stewart was offered a full-time position in CSUF’s Development Office. He extended his stay on campus for three years and was placed front and center to the inner workings of the university. He not only enjoyed the opportunity to learn institutional development, he discovered he was good at it.

The CSU took note of his work at Cal State Fullerton and reached out to Stewart about joining their team. It was the late 1980s, a time when there was tremendous awareness surrounding the low numbers of women and minorities entering science and math fields. The CSU had committed to changing that by opening a math- and science-based high school on the campus of Cal State Dominguez Hills, and they hired the Titan alum to help them do it.

Stewart was integral in establishing The California Academy of Mathematics and Science through his work in raising corporate and foundation money as the school’s director of Development.

“It was one of the most interesting and rewarding things that I’ve ever done,” Stewart said of the project.

Stewart went on to take progressively more senior roles in secondary education development, holding positions at UCLA, UC San Francisco and Stanford University. While at Stanford, he realized he enjoyed “building the program more than maintaining it,” so he pivoted toward consulting, where he could be the architect behind an institution’s development plan.

Fourteen years ago he joined Marts and Lundy, Inc., a premier international management consulting firm established in 1926 that focuses on philanthropy and fundraising. Stewart has had a number of flagship institutions as clients, such as Massachusetts General Hospital, The Smithsonian and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. In 2017, he was elected chairman.

“The variety is so stimulating,” Stewart said, “and you get to work with really smart people and help them do great things.”

Because of his unique career path, Stewart feels strongly that students shouldn’t force themselves into a field, but rather be open to other opportunities. Like Stewart, they just might find the right path through another interest.

“If you don’t take advantage of college to explore different interests, when will you?” Stewart said. “College is a great time to explore things, and a big university like Cal State Fullerton is plum with opportunities for you. Do other things and open your mind and your eyes to other possibilities.”

Surrounded by college friends he had not seen in years, Stewart accepted his CSUF 2022 Vision and Visionaries Award on Feb. 26. He now resides full time in Palm Springs, where he maintains his connection to music through volunteer work with local music organizations. He marvels at how his love for the piano and his decision to attend CSUF sent him on the journey of a lifetime.

“Cal State Fullerton really opened my eyes to something coming out of small-town Hemet and being the first in my family to go to college,” Stewart said. “I’m very humbled and very honored to receive this award. It means a great deal to me.”

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