In the beginning, all who received their degrees from what was then Stanislaus State College could be considered first-generation graduates of the new higher education institution.

Many of those pioneer graduates from the early years have gone on to establish traditions that have carried on through second, third, and soon-to-be fourth generations over the 50-year history of what is now California State University, Stanislaus. More than 41,000 students have earned their degrees during those five decades as the ethnic and cultural diversity of graduates has evolved with the ages.

Families who have established second and third generation graduate traditions at CSU Stanislaus note that their accomplishments would not be possible without having access to a quality higher education institution that their children and grandchildren are also eager to attend.

“We’re very grateful as a family that the University was here and gave us the opportunity to pursue degrees in a timely manner,” said Joseph “Dave” Fliflet, a longtime Hilmar educator and administrator from Turlock, ’67 MA Education Administration.

Fliflet’s daughter, Jan Tucker, ’08 Sociology, of Turlock and her two daughters, Jillian, ’04 History, and Ashley Tucker, ’09 Mathematics, followed in his footsteps. Jan Tucker returned to college after her children were grown, was active in the University’s Service Learning Program, and works in Turlock’s “We Care Program,” an emergency homeless shelter. “CSU Stanislaus is a community university where we live, and that has been the beauty of it for our family,” Jan Tucker said.

Mark Duncan, ’81 Art, of Oakdale, his wife, Deborah McPherson, ’78 Teaching Credential, and his brother, William Duncan, Jr., ’72 Sociology, followed their late father, William Duncan, Sr., ’70 Sociology, to CSU Stanislaus. Mark and Deborah took a lot of pride in seeing the third generation link accomplished when their daughter Megan Duncan, ’08 Biology, graduated.

“A lot of our family members have graduated from CSU Stanislaus, and we have encouraged each other along the way to stick with it and earn our degrees here, and that has helped make a difference for us,” Mark Duncan said.

Ruth Puffer, ’67 Sociology, of Turlock treasures CSU Stanislaus where three of her children, Susan Maynard, Bob Puffer, and Laura Steichen, and Bob’s stepson, Alex Tejada, have earned degrees after attending elementary and high school campuses just a few blocks from the University.

“It was a dream come true when we moved to Turlock,” Ruth Puffer, a retired social worker, said. “I’m extremely proud of my family, and the fact that they took advantage of the opportunity to earn their degrees here and used them to establish productive careers.”

Joining the grandchildren of the pioneer CSU Stanislaus graduates who are carrying on the multi-generation tradition are new waves of first-generation students whose parents and grandparents never attended college or earned a degree. More than 40 percent of CSU Stanislaus freshman students fall into the first-generation category with hopes of establishing their own multi-generation college graduate traditions. Some already have.

Ron Noble, CSU Stanislaus Associate Vice President and Dean of Students currently managing the University’s entire Student Affairs division, can strongly identify with both groups. The first in his family to go to college, the CSU Stanislaus administrator earned his bachelor’s degree in Psychology in 1977 from CSU Stanislaus. His entry into college started the Noble college-going tradition, but prompted his mother to beat him to degree completion.

After Ron enrolled in college, his now retired mother, Betty Noble, was inspired to go to college in Southern California. She earned her nursing degree before her son graduated from CSU Stanislaus, going on to become a charge nurse at a major hospital. Noble and his wife, Lynn (Braithwaite), ’78 Liberal Studies, were pleased to see the multi-generation tradition extended when their daughter, Roslynn, receive her Psychology degree in 2006.

“The whole idea of what we tell first-generation students here at CSU Stanislaus is that earning that degree and demonstrating to their families that it can be done becomes what it’s all about,” Noble said.