Posted on March 26, 2010 - by Brian

Portraits of a Real American Hero

I just had the honor of taking  portraits of a real American hero. William Rolland has donated five million dollars to build a new football stadium on the north campus of California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, CA. Anyone who has gone to see a football game at CLU is well aware that we have been in dire need of a football stadium for many years. Our current field is woefully inadequate for a university of our caliber – in fact, most high schools have football fields superior to ours.

His donation of just more than $5 million is the largest single gift in the history of the university – to call it generous is a gross understatement. As an instructor at CLU, I often ask my students what attracted them to our school, and our facilities and infrastructure is a big factor. This new stadium will make us much more competitive with other private universities.

The money will be used in the construction of a first-class $8 million stadium. The more than 3,000-seat facility will include locker rooms, coaching offices, meeting rooms, a press box, VIP lounge and clock tower. The stadium will also house an art gallery where Rolland’s extensive collection of bronze statuary and other works will be exhibited.

Construction will begin this summer with the installation of artificial turf and should conclude in time for the opening of the 2011 football season.

Rolland, who played football in the Army, rose from humble beginnings to achieve great success. He spent four decades as a real estate developer in Ventura County and was a founding resident of Westlake Village.

He also served as a Los Angeles City firefighter for 17 years. Rolland, 76, received the department’s Medal of Valor for his efforts during a mudslide rescue in the Hollywood Hills. In 1988, he established the William Rolland Firefighters Foundation. As president, he has helped direct its philanthropic efforts to aid the families of firefighters injured or killed in the line of duty and facing life-threatening medical challenges and to provide reward money for arson crimes. He also founded the William Rolland Firefighter Educational Institute in Hollywood.

In addition, Mr. Rolland and his wife Kay are the most down to earth and friendly people I have ever met. They were gracious enough to have me over to their estate, where we discussed art, architecture and philanthropy.

I hope to one day  get a ride in their Ferrari!

Mr. Rolland on the site of the new CLU football stadium