Don Crane

Sane, Sage Advice

I GRADUATED FROM FULLERTON IN 1981, WENT ON TO LAW school and now have my own thriving law practice where I specialize in business transactional law. The highlight of my education at CSUF was taking classes from Don Crane, a professor in the finance department.

While I had many wonderful professors at CSUF, no one, in my opinion, compares to this man. I took every class he taught and only wish there had been more. To this day, I think of him often and what effect he has had on my life. He made the following statement in one of the many classes he taught: “If you're lucky, you'll become an expert in one area, if you're extraordinary, two areas. If you're smart, you'll hire people who are experts in areas you are not, to give you good advice or to handle the matter at issue for you.” I have used that advice in my own personal and professional life and have passed it along to friends and clients alike.

Beyond that one piece of advice, all of Don's classes were as entertaining as they were informative. He was the only professor who taught a three-hour evening course that I looked forward to. He infused all of his students with a true desire to learn and can make the most boring information interesting. He taught me to think analytically and critically, both tools that served me very well in law school and in my practice today. My words do not do this man justice. I truly feel blessed to have had him as a professor. Often, since I've left CSUF, situations have arisen in my professional career where either tools I learned from Don Crane or information I learned in his classes have been of use to me. Beyond of all this, he is just a great guy. He made learning fun and exciting. CSUF is truly lucky to have him on its faculty.