In Memoriam: Professor Emeritus and Former Dean Jere French
The College of Environmental Design is mourning the loss of Professor Emeritus and former dean Jere Stuart French, FASLA, whose decades of service and leadership helped establish and shape what we now know of as the College of Environmental Design at Cal Poly Pomona.
French, who was 97, joined the university in 1957 as a landscape architecture instructor in the Ornamental Horticulture Department within the School of Agriculture. A passionate advocate for the discipline and its growing importance, he became chairman of the Environmental Design Department in 1968 and championed efforts to establish environmental design as its own academic entity.
Those efforts culminated in 1970 when the Chancellor’s Office approved the creation of the School of Environmental Design. French subsequently became acting chairman of the Department of Landscape Architecture and led the program through accreditation by the American Society of Landscape Architects, a milestone that further strengthened Cal Poly Pomona’s reputation in the profession. His leadership later earned him an appointment to the ASLA Education Committee.
Throughout his distinguished career, French was recognized as a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects and received the Bradford Williams Medal for Literature in Landscape Architecture. In 1982, he was named a Distinguished Member of Sigma Lambda Alpha, the landscape architecture honor society. He was also a prolific writer whose work appeared in environmental publications in the United States and abroad.
Beyond his professional accomplishments, French was remembered by family as a lifelong learner and observer of beauty.
“A man lives 97 years, there is certainly going to be a lot that can be said about him,” his daughter, Susan Balzer, wrote in an obituary honoring her father. “He explored, he traveled, he taught, he learned. He raised his kids, loved his family, and found beauty in even the smallest things.”
French’s daughter recalled how he would pause during travels to admire details that others might overlook — the shape of a bench in Italy, a decorative door knocker, the shimmer in a bird’s wing. French served in the Navy, designed parks and gardens, authored textbooks and novels and was an avid birdwatcher who could identify plants by their Latin names and sing every lyric to songs from beloved musicals.
Yet among his many accomplishments, his family knew how deeply he treasured his work at Cal Poly Pomona.
“He loved every minute he was working at Cal Poly, even the tough ones,” Balzer, wrote. “It was the greatest honor of his life. We were his kids, but his students were as well, and we shared him only grudgingly.”
French’s impact extended far beyond the classroom. Through his vision, leadership and dedication to teaching, he helped build the foundation of the College of Environmental Design and influenced generations of landscape architects and educators.
He is remembered not only for his professional achievements, but for his generosity, curiosity and appreciation for the world around him.