VENTURA COUNTY NEWS : $5 Million Pledged to Establish CSU Library : Philanthropy: Oxnard rancher John S. Broome’s gift to the local state university is expected to speed creation of a state-of-the-art facility.

In one of the largest charitable donations in county history, Oxnard rancher and philanthropist John S. Broome has pledged $5 million to establish a new library at Ventura County’s emerging state university.

The gift will speed creation of a state-of-the-art library and media center at the Cal State Channel Islands campus, now under development at the former Camarillo State Hospital complex, officials said.

The money, they said, will allow university administrators to immediately start planning design of the building and later aid in construction of the facility, which when completed is expected to be larger than the main library at Cal State Northridge.

In recognition of Broome’s generosity, university trustees later this month will consider naming the facility after the 81-year-old farmer, whose family has lived and worked in Ventura County since before the turn of the century.

“The donation speaks for itself,” Cal State Channel Islands President Handel Evans said Tuesday.

“He’s been incredibly supportive of the university--he has an interest in the future of the county and certainly the future of education,” Evans added. “And what is, of course, absolutely remarkable about this gift is that it’s for a university that is in its formation.”

Indeed, the announcement comes days after Cal State University officials launched the inaugural phase of the campus. Classes began Monday at the new home for the 1,800 students at CSUN’s satellite center, which is expected to evolve in two years into an autonomous institution.

Broome’s donation is considered significant for several reasons.

University trustees have made it clear the only way the campus will expand is if CSU planners find the money. Local officials are proposing a range of development projects to generate the needed cash, but these types of private contributions deliver a much-needed boost to those efforts.

Moreover, university boosters are hopeful Broome’s gift will spur a wave of generosity by others interested in helping the campus reach its potential.

“He set a mighty good standard; not too many people can afford to do that,” said Carolyn Leavens, a longtime friend of Broome’s and a fellow rancher. “It provides the foundation on which this university will be built. This is his kind of thing--a long-term investment that will really make a difference.”

Broome could not be reached for comment Tuesday. And friends say he probably would not have had much to say anyway.

They described the Chicago native, whom they call Jack, as modest and self-effacing, a man who has devoted his life to his family, raising vegetable crops and doing good for others.

His parents, Thornhill and Cary Broome, were principal landowners of what today is Point Mugu State Park and Thornhill Broome State Beach. His family entered the farming business in 1880, and he followed in 1946, producing a range of crops in Ventura, Kern and Monterey counties.

He is an accomplished pilot and has served on a number of boards and commissions, including the Ventura County Harbor Commission, Pleasant Valley County Water District and the board of directors of Pepperdine University.

Broome’s ties to the developing university run deep. His family’s ranch is adjacent to the campus, and he serves on the university’s steering committee. And years ago, when Camarillo State Hospital was still in operation, he served as chairman of the board of trustees for the facility.

Twenty-five-year friend and neighbor Richard Rogers said he was not surprised that Broome had made such a sizable donation to the campus.

“This is completely in character,” said Rogers, owner of sod producer Pacific Earth Resources. “Jack is very concerned about education and about children and about our community.”

Plans call for the library to be housed in an old hospital laboratory, known as the Research and Development unit, where psychiatrists once studied mental disorders. It will be built in two phases, so that in the early years the building will include some classrooms and offices.

When completed, the library will encompass 283,000 square feet and hold a sizable collection.

Broome’s donation provides a significant boost to the university’s private fund-raising efforts. The Cal State Channel Islands Foundation has generated about $500,000 in private contributions in recent years, and university officials are hopeful that type of community support will continue.

“Part of my challenge is to try to create a university with nonpublic money, so these kind of gifts are very significant,” Evans said. “They show that people believe in the dream and want to join in that dream.”