L. Donald Shields

Loran Donald Shields (born September 18, 1936) is an American academic. He was the president of California State University, Fullerton from 1971 to 1980, and of Southern Methodist University from 1980 to 1986.

Early life and education Loran Donald Shields was born on September 18, 1936, in San Diego, California. He received a B.A. in chemistry from the University of California, Riverside, and a PhD from the University of California at Los Angeles in 1964. At the time of his appointment to the presidency of California State University, Fullerton in 1971, he was the youngest president of a public college or university in the United States. He resigned in 1986 because of health issues, at the time of the Southern Methodist University football scandal.

In 1974, President Gerald Ford appointed him to the National Science Board. In 1989, he became the executive director of the California Council on Science and Technology, and remained in that position until 1995. He also served on the board of the Research Corporation for Science Advancement from 1983 to 1986, and on the National Commission for Cooperative Education.