Professor Emeritus Henry J. Bruman, a past chairman of the Geography Department, began his career at UCLA as a hardworking undergraduate emigré from Berlin, graduating in 1935 in chemistry. He went on to earn his doctorate in geography at the University of California, Berkeley, then became a professor at UCLA. Professor Bruman played a pivotal role in the creation of the Henry J. Bruman Maps and Government Information Library at UCLA, which is now part of the Charles E. Young Research Library Collections, Research and Instructional Services. After successfully applying his geographer's academic interest in places to the fruitful business of real estate, Professor Bruman chose to share his prosperity with UCLA, and in particular with the Library. His vehicle for doing so became the Henry J. Bruman Educational Foundation Fund. This endowment provides support for acquiring and cataloging materials related to Germanic languages and cultures and German-American studies. The funds from the endowment and other generous gifts from Professor Bruman made him one of the largest contributors to the UCLA Library and a true university citizen.
