Distinguished members of the SF State community dined at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in celebration of the induction of four new members to the SF State Hall of Fame Saturday, Nov. 2.

The university’s signature purple lit up the stage as Virginia Marshall, John Stanley, Juanita Tamayo Lott and Robert Garfias were added to the list of distinguished alumni. Founded in 1994, the Hall of Fame celebrates the amazing achievements of Gators who contributed to the school’s legacy.

“The four honorees were just remarkable. They represent some of the richest points of our history with their incredible careers,” President Lynn Mahoney said. “We launch students into professional careers that are just tremendous.”

Marshall, who received her master’s degree in Educational Administration in 1988, spent over three decades as an educator for the San Francisco Unified School District. Marshall dedicated her career to success of underprivileged children in San Francisco and now acts as the facilitator for the SFUSD Office of Access and Equity. 

“It’s very exciting, exhilarating [to be nominated],” said Marshall, who said when she received her induction letter in the mail, her first thought seeing the SF State seal was that the school had come asking for a donation. 

After John Stanley graduated with a degree in literature in 1962, he went on to have a 33-year-long career as an entertainment critic. Stanley was the host of a local Saturday night TV series, “Creature Features.” 

“This is wonderful. I’ve always remembered San Francisco State with a certain reverence, because it got my career started,” said Stanley. “I was in the right place doing my B.A. degree, I was learning but I was also developing what I wanted to do.”

Juanita Tamayo Lott, who walked with the class of 1970 with a Bachelor of Arts in sociology, was an original striker in the 1968 campus strike that resulted in the founding of the College of Ethnic Studies.

Robert Garfias graduated in 1956 with a bachelor’s degree in anthropology and music. Garfias went on to become a world-renowned ethnomusicologist studying music through a cultural lens and is a professor of anthropology at UC Irvine.