Emeritus and Retired Faculty and Staff Association

Mary Helen Casamajor

Staff

Director of the Alumni Association
1968 – 1989
Deceased:  2006

Mary Helen Casamajor was the first full-time staff director of the alumni program previously overseen by part-time faculty coordinators. As Director of the Alumni Association, she built the program into a thriving organization with a $7 million annual budget and thousands of alumni members; also managed the University’s multi-site Commencement ceremonies.

Mrs. Casamajor’s crowning achievement was the successful acquisition of a stately Victorian home at Third and Normal Streets, now known as Ella Caroline Sapp Hall, for the alumni headquarters. She was the campus liaison between the administration, alumni, and students and was the Chico State Athletic Hall of Fame Committee Secretary. She was honored as the 1988 “Outstanding Staff Employee of the Year” by Staff Council and inducted into the 1989 Chico State Athletics Hall of Fame (honorary inductee).

She was active in the community and did lots of volunteerism for various organizations including the Chico Museum and Far Western Heritage Association. Mrs. Casamajor was the 1980 Grand Marshal of the Pioneer Day parade; a wonderful tribute to a grand lady who was “Little Nell” in 1941!

Portrait of Mary Helen Casamajor