By Cal State Long Beach alumna Naomi Rainey has been providing student-housing scholarships for more than 20 years.
Now, she has received a notion of kindness in return by getting a dormitory named after her.
Residence Hall building C has been renamed the Naomi Rainey House in recognition of the alumna’s generosity to CSULB. Since 1988, Rainey has provided the university with the Rainey-Pierson Scholarship to aide students who wish to live on campus but do not have the financial resources to. The money comes from the trust of her late husband and CSULB alumnus, Paul Pierson.
Cal State Long Beach dedicated and performed the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Naomi Rainey House on Nov. 1. Scholarship recipients, CSULB President F. King Alexander and Vice President for Student Affairs Douglas Robinson were all speakers at the event.
Rainey lived on the second floor of Residence Hall building C while she attended the university in the late 1960s and early 1970s. She graduated from CSULB in 1972 with a bachelor’s degree in theater arts and a minor in African American studies. Rainey also received two master’s degrees, one in education and the other in school administration and supervision, in 1982.
Rainey said that she attributes most of her success to her experiences at the university. She also holds several teaching credentials.
“I was honored that they thought that much of me for the service and support that I’ve provided for the school, but humbled because as a person, and based on my religious background in teaching, we are taught to serve not for recognition but because it’s the right thing to do,” Rainey said.
She also said that the university provided her with excellent teachers; a nurturing, warm environment; and a quality, prestigious education.
“I wanted to show my appreciation for their support, for their helping me to become a well-rounded person and for their being a resource for the rest of my life,” Rainey said.
Carol Roberts-Corb, director of housing and residential life, said that the university appreciates Rainey in her helping other students to have the chance to live on campus.
“We are grateful that Ms. Rainey recognizes the value of living on campus, and is assisting future residents in this way, and that a person of her stature values the time she spent studying at CSULB,” Roberts-Corb said via email. “Because of her gift, these future residents will have the opportunity to learn and grow, and to engage in our university in ways that they couldn’t have if they lived off campus.”
