There is a saying that permeates to every corner of the California State University, Northridge campus: “Once a Matador, always a Matador.”

Andrew J. Anagnost, president and CEO of Autodesk, Inc., one of the world’s leading Design and Make technology companies, demonstrated just how much being a Matador meant to him by donating $20 million to the university that helped transform his studies, life and career — making him the single largest alumni donor in the university’s history.

In recognition of Anagnost’s commitment to his alma mater, at the request of CSUN President Erika D. Beck, the California State University Board of Trustees approved the renaming of the university’s engineering college in his honor. The college is now known as the Andrew J. Anagnost College of Engineering and Computer Science.

“Dr. Anagnost has experienced the transformative power of a CSUN education firsthand, and his historic gift demonstrates how deeply his values align with CSUN’s,” Beck said. “Like CSUN, he’s fiercely committed to access, innovation, and nurturing the spark of inspiration that can change lives and change the world.

“Dr. Anagnost has shared with us many times how the engaged faculty and supportive academic community he found at CSUN helped propel him toward his future as an undergrad,” Beck continued. “Now, he’s ensuring that future students will have even greater opportunities to follow in his footsteps. His commitment to giving back matches our commitment to empowering the next generation of leaders and innovators.”

Anagnost, who has spoken of his journey from disengaged high school dropout to CSUN, said he spent five years of his life at “one of the country’s most important and impactful institutions,” California State University, Northridge, and another five at “one of its most vaunted and elite,” Stanford University.

“What I learned from that experience has profoundly affected how I view the world, my place in it and my duty to it,” he said. “What I learned is that while ambition and expectation are the hallmarks of our loftiest institutions, these institutions do not have a monopoly on talent or potential. I also learned that broad access to a quality education can nurture ambition and create expectations. That gratitude and grit can change your life and the lives of others.

“I would not be the person I am today, I would not have the purpose, the meaning, the opportunity for impact, and the gratitude I feel, if not for CSUN and the mission of the CSU system,” he continued. “CSUN engineering professors nurtured and encouraged me, inspired me, helped create in me the ambition to go to graduate school. This is one of the many debts I owe that I will never be able to fully repay, but that I am committed to trying to.

“My life has been changed — I’d even say saved — by a community that was there for me when I needed it the most, and without which I would be less than I am,” he said. “The debt always comes due. And the privilege and the ability to pay it back is yet another gift the institution has bequeathed upon me. I have tried hard to share the gifts I’ve been given to give back to the people and institutions that got me here. I am grateful.”

Houssam Toutanji, dean of the Anagnost College, said university officials are “profoundly grateful” to Anagnost for his dedication to CSUN’s students “and all that he has done and continues to do to open possibilities for them.”

“His incredible personal generosity, as well as the partnership we enjoy with Autodesk, has helped to facilitate opportunities for our students to become the innovators, creators and builders of tomorrow,” Toutanji said. “Andrew embodies what we hope for our students and is an example himself of what’s possible.”

Anagnost earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from CSUN in 1987 and his master’s degree in engineering science and doctorate in aeronautical engineering and computer science from Stanford University. A global innovator and thought leader in technology solutions, Anagnost is dedicated to ensuring access to STEM education for all and to creating opportunities for students to discover and achieve their highest aspirations.

Anagnost credited CSUN professors for preparing him for his career and even launching it by helping him get a job at Lockheed Martin. As a “thank you,” Anagnost and his colleagues at Autodesk, many of whom are also alumni of the university, have spent countless hours mentoring and supporting students in CSUN’s engineering college. Anagnost returns each year to CSUN to volunteer and judge the college’s Senior Design Showcase.

In 2019, Anagnost made his first major gift of $300,000 to CSUN to create and support the Teresa Sendra-Anagnost Memorial Scholarship Endowment, in memory of his late mother who graduated from CSUN in 1979 with a bachelor’s degree in health science. The scholarship supports high-achieving students pursuing degrees in the college of engineering and computer science with up to 100 percent of their total cost of attendance after other aid. Last year, the university conferred an honorary doctorate of humane letters on Anagnost for his commitment to and support of the university.

One of the largest universities in the country, California State University, Northridge (CSUN) is an urban, comprehensive university that delivers award-winning undergraduate and graduate programs to more than 36,000 students annually and counts nearly 435,000 alumni who fuel the region’s economy. Since its founding in 1958, CSUN has made a significant and long-term economic impact on California, generating nearly $1.9 billion in economic impact and nearly 12,000 jobs each year. CSUN is a Hispanic Serving Institution, ranking amongst the top twenty in the nation in graduating Latinx students. Approximately 70 percent of CSUN students are first-generation college students, and 60 percent come from historically underrepresented groups. Money magazine consistently ranks CSUN among the nation’s “most transformative” colleges for putting diverse students on the path to higher career earnings.