CSUN alumnus Andrew Anagnost had many people in mind when he committed a $20 million gift to support CSUN’s College of Engineering and Computer Science — people he wanted to inspire and people he wanted to make proud. The people he wanted to inspire? The thousands of talented students whose lives are changed through higher education and earning a CSUN degree, most of them first-generation college students who are eager for their first career-defining opportunity.
Anagnost also wanted to make proud the people at CSUN who transformed his life — in particular his CSUN advisor, the late engineering professor Charles Metzler. While Anagnost was a student, Metzler told him he wanted him to return someday to teach at CSUN. Anagnost never did find a career in higher education but went on to become the CEO of Autodesk, one of the world’s leading design and make technology companies. Today, he views his support for his alma mater as one way he can pay it forward in honor of Metzler and all the professors who made a difference in his life.
“I don’t have solutions for the current problems of the world, and I don’t pretend to, but I do know that one of the things that can make a difference is a good, strong public educational system,” said Anagnost ’87 (Mechanical Engineering), Hon.D. ’24. “It is the way that we open doors to people who don’t have connections, who don’t have generational wealth, and who don’t have the roots in the world that they’re ultimately going to become a part of. I believe in that mission, with all of my heart.”
On Aug. 22, CSUN named the Andrew J. Anagnost College of Engineering and Computer Science in his honor.
Accelerated Transformation
In a brief ceremony, Anagnost dropped a red curtain that unveiled the college’s new name, emblazoned on Jacaranda Hall, the longtime home of many of CSUN’s engineering and computer science classrooms and labs.
The naming is, in part, recognition of Anagnost’s recent $20 million gift to the college, elevating his total giving to $22.1 million and making him the highest-giving alum in CSUN history. His new gift will scale up the college’s life-changing work, attracting top faculty, enabling cutting-edge research and providing students with hands-on experiences to prepare them for leadership roles.
Anagnost’s philanthropy “will help the college accelerate its transformation, elevate its visibility and expand its influence and impact in the communities we serve and beyond,” said Houssam Toutanji, dean of the Andrew J. Anagnost College of Engineering and Computer Science.
The new name celebrates the impact of Anagnost’s gift to the college — and serves as a signal to students that someone believes in them.
“I have been with Andrew on many occasions when he’s been with our students, and it is profound when he sees himself in each one of them and they know it,” said CSUN President Erika D. Beck. “It is so impactful watching them come to life with that possibility, knowing that Andrew Anagnost believes that they can follow in his footsteps. He particularly inspires those who do not yet know their potential, those who may question whether they belong, and those who need someone to believe in them before they might even believe in themselves.”
Falling Through Cracks
Anagnost believes in the transformative power of a CSUN education because he lived it.
His mom, brother and sister are all Matadors, but he almost didn’t make it to college. Dreaming of being an astronaut, he was extremely bright — but extremely distractable. He said underfunded teachers had trouble engaging him in high school, and “if there was a crack to fall through, I found every single one of them.”
After a series of run-ins with school authorities and juvenile detention officers, he searched his soul and changed his life. He started making straight A’s, but his struggles made it difficult to get into college.
Before he could fall through yet another crack, CSUN caught him.
Deepening the Talent Pool
While at CSUN, several professors recognized Anagnost’s potential and nurtured his talent. He worked at Lockheed Martin Aeronautical Systems Company straight out of CSUN, where he had participated in an honors co-op program before graduating. After a year and a half — and with CSUN’s support — he earned a master’s and doctorate in aeronautics and astronautics at Stanford University. Following his postdoc, he joined the startup Exa Corporation in Boston, further advancing his career.
In 1997, he joined Autodesk, a company known for its design and make software, such as AutoCAD, Autodesk Inventor and Revit. The company’s AI-powered software is used by architects, civil engineers, mechanical engineers, filmmakers and video game designers, among other design professionals. He worked his way up through about a dozen roles and took over as president and CEO in 2017.
There’s a shortage of people trained for all the available jobs in tech, and Anagnost believes innovation happens when the talent pool includes a wide range of backgrounds, viewpoints and life experiences. He’s living proof.
“Andrew’s ‘why’ is not just moving — it’s unforgettable,” said Wenda Fong, trustee of the California State University board of directors. “And his gift — it is not just about today. It’s about tomorrow and the day after that. It will echo far beyond this campus, into communities, into industries, into the hands of leaders we have not yet met. Its ripples will move through generations.”
—Olivia Herstein contributed to this report.
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