Walter W. Stiern was a Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 California State Senator representing Kern County.

Although born in San Diego

San Diego, California

San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...

, his family was original from Bakersfield

Bakersfield, California

Bakersfield is a city near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley in Kern County, California. It is roughly equidistant between Fresno and Los Angeles, to the north and south respectively....

 and moved back soon after he was born. Stiern attended Bakersfield College

Bakersfield College

Bakersfield College is a public community college located in Bakersfield, California, USA. Bakersfield College has an official Twitter account at @bcrenegades and an official...

, then continued on to Washington State University

Washington State University

Washington State University is a public research university based in Pullman, Washington, in the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest. Founded in 1890, WSU is the state's original and largest land-grant university...

 where he received his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. He returned to Bakersfield and set up a veterinary practice catering to the local agricultural community, taking a temporary leave to serve in World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

.

Stiern was elected to the State Senate in 1957, where he advocated on education, health and agricultural issues. He is primarily known for his work in the area of expanding California's higher education system: In 1960, he co-sponsored Assemblywoman Dorothy Donohoe's Donahoe Higher Education Act

California Master Plan for Higher Education

The California Master Plan for Higher Education of 1960 was developed by a survey team appointed by the UC Regents and the State Board of Education during the administration of Governor Pat Brown. Clark Kerr, then the President of UC, was a key figure in its development...

 which reorganized the higher education system into the form it is in today: the "California State College"-system (now known as the California State University

California State University

The California State University is a public university system in the state of California. It is one of three public higher education systems in the state, the other two being the University of California system and the California Community College system. It is incorporated as The Trustees of the...

 system) was formally created, and University of California

University of California

The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...

 system, CSC system and California Community College system were coordinated in their approach to educating the population.

For his home district, the Stiern's work in the Senate produced California State College, Bakersfield, which became California State University, Bakersfield

California State University, Bakersfield

California State University, Bakersfield is a public university located in Bakersfield, California, United States which was founded in 1965. CSUB opened in 1970 on a campus, becoming the 19th school in the California State University system...

. The main building of CSUB, Walter W. Stiern Library, is named after him.