Dr. Claudia H. Hampton was the first African American trustee of the California State University. She served on the board for 20 years from 1974 to 1994; three of those years as chair from 1979 to 1981.

Dr. Hampton began her educational career in 1949 as a teacher in Chicago, Illinois. In 1957, she joined the Los Angeles Unified School District as a teacher, and she retired in 1981 as director of the district's Human and School-Community Relations Resource Office. She earned both a master's and doctorate degree from the University of Southern California.

She served on numerous boards and commissions, received various honors locally, statewide, nationally and internationally, and was an appointee of President Reagan to the Advisory Panel on Financing Elementary and Secondary Education. This scholarship was established in her memory to recognize a recipient who comes from a traditionally underserved population or educationally disadvantaged community with a preference for students in the Los Angeles area pursuing a career in teaching.