Walter Hawkins
Walter Hawkins was born October 12, 1948, in San Angelo, Texas before moving to San Bernardino. He attended Victor Valley High School in Victorville, California, and then proceeded to attend Diego State University where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree (BA), Master of Social Work (MSW), and Pupil Personnel Service Credential. After graduating, Hawkins became the director of the Upward Bound program at CSUSB. He was later appointed as director of the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) and accomplished several goals and developed a successful program. While director of EOP he helped develop campus policies such as financial aid and housing; wrote grants to expand services to students, which is known as Student Assistance in Learning (SAIL); and developed support systems with community organizations and parent groups. Afterward, Hawkins became the director of the Research & Policy Analysis Office (RPAO) in Undergraduate Studies until his retirement in 2007. After serving as an administrator/ director for 33 years, Hawkins was honored for his work and dedication to students and was recognized as an EOP Trailblazer during the California State University’s EOP 50th anniversary in 2019.
After retiring, Hawkins served as a member of the Rialto USD School Board for nine years and served in an appointed position with the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools. He also worked with the San Bernardino NAACP Branch, where he acted as the Chair of the Political Action Committee and worked with the Westside Action Group (WAG), which was a nonprofit community organization. Hawkins was also a Senior Research Associate with NewHawk, a consulting firm that focused on demographic research, geographic information systems (GIS), political campaign support, database management and digital imaging. He was also a consultant to California Black Media (CBM) where he collected data, analyzed it and produced “Counting Black California” a report that identified population pockets of “hard to count” African Americans to guide groups and organizations focused on increasing Black participation in the 2020 US Census. Hawkins continued to be active in the community until his passing on November 18th, 2020.