New Gift Will Help the Library Preserve and Protect Special Collections
George and Judy Sunga left a significant bequest to the University Library to create an endowment that will support Special Collections and University Archives (SCUA).
George ‘55 and Judy ‘58 were alumni of SDSU, though it was named San Diego State College at the time. George majored in Television and Film and was the first Filipino president of Associated Students in his senior year. Judy Parslow was an education major and a cheerleader. They met and married in college. The rest, as they say, was history. They were together until Judy’s death in 2022. George passed away in 2023.
George took his television degree to Hollywood and became the director, production manager or producer of many of the most popular TV shows in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. A full list of his credits is here. His work received numerous accolades, including several People’s Choice Awards, an Emmy nomination, and honors from the Academy for Television Arts and Sciences. In 1989, Sunga became an Academy of Television Arts and Sciences officer. He also served on the Producers’ Guild of America board for twenty years and became chairman of the Guild’s Diversity Committee. His commitment to diversity in television led to the creation of an award in his honor distributed yearly at the Media Access Awards.
The library holds the George A. Sunga Television Collection, which documents the evolution of Sunga’s four-decade career as a television producer at CBS, ABC, and Paramount. The collection consists of production binders, scripts, production notes, correspondence with network executives, photographs, schedules, invoices, awards, and other materials related to Sunga’s various producing credits, including “Dear John,” “The Jeffersons,” “All in the Family,” “The Ropers,” “Three’s Company,” and many more. The collection is arranged into three series: Production Files, Photographs and Artwork, and Awards. It can be accessed for research through the University Library’s Special Collections and Archives.
Judy used her education degree to become an elementary school teacher and, later, a docent at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
The Sungas were active with the SDSU Los Angeles Regional Council, a group of executive-level alumni and parents who support SDSU through donations, and help students and fellow alumni. The council opens doors for SDSU students through mentoring, introductions, internships, and jobs. It also acts as an ambassador, identifying and cultivating alumni to strengthen the SDSU network.
Anna Culbertson, head of SCUA, says, “News of the gift is beyond exciting, and it will support the many costs that go into processing and preserving countless collections that document the region’s rich history of popular culture, media and entertainment.”
Library Dean Scott Walter echoes Culbertson’s sentiments: “Our special collections are among our most distinctive materials and they serve as a catalyst for innovative teaching and research across the curriculum at SDSU. They also present distinctive challenges in terms of the work needed to provide access to students and scholars and to ensure their ongoing care. Gifts like the Sungas’ provide a critical foundation for the growth and use of library special collections and are essential to the continued support for the work of students and faculty at a research university.”
