In honor of their accomplishments in their respective fields and their service and support of the university, Cal State Fullerton recognized four Distinguished Alumni and two Honorary Alumni on Feb. 24 as the 2024 CSUF Vision & Visionaries Award recipients. Established in 1994, the biennial awards are the highest honors presented by CSUF to alumni and community supporters.
Growing up in Placentia, the emerging campus of Cal State Fullerton was a “backyard playground” for Scott Coler when his parents moved to the area in the 1960s. As such, Coler never considered attending anywhere other than CSUF for college, and in 1984, he earned his bachelor’s degree in business.
The education Coler received from CSUF laid the foundation for a 35-plus-year career in the residential building industry, primarily as a home builder. The Titan alumnus now prioritizes giving back to the university through volunteer positions with the College of Business and Economics and the Cal State Fullerton Philanthropic Foundation.
In recognition of his contributions to the Southern California housing industry, and for his continued support of CSUF students, Coler has been named a 2024 CSUF Vision & Visionaries Distinguished Alumni award winner.
Coler entered CSUF straight out of high school, and although he lived in Norco at that time, there was no question he would attend the college that was a significant part of his childhood experience. He explored different majors until he settled on finance and never looked back.
“It’s just such a great program,” Coler said. “It has such a high degree of rigor. I really felt like I was learning a skill that I could use. I knew if I had to work hard at getting my degree, then there probably would be something good that came out of it.”
After graduating with a finance degree and a concentration in securities and investments, it was a job posting Coler found at CSUF’s Career Center that led to his first position as a financial analyst for a real estate company.
That opportunity eventually introduced him to Capital Pacific Homes in the early 1990s, and Coler has remained in the home-building industry ever since. He held the position of division president of the company’s Las Vegas division, and he led the charge behind the company’s expansion of its Southern California operations in the early 2000s.
Coler’s passion as a home builder is rooted in the idea that buying a home is the most significant and emotional purchase most people will make in their lifetime, a decision that often serves as the foundation for their family.
“I feel what we do is a very important part of creating the fabric of our society,” Coler said. “I take absolute pleasure in the design, construction and delivery of homes that people really love and embrace as a place to raise their family. So, I feel it’s an important industry, and it’s a needed industry.”
During the financial crisis of the late 2000s, when most home-building companies went through severe financial turmoil, Coler guided Capital Pacific Homes through restructuring and recapitalization as Capital Pacific Real Estate, Inc.
Coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, Coler has pressed pause on the company for now and has been enjoying the chance to fully immerse himself in giving back to CSUF, as he credits much of his success in the industry to the business finance education he received.
“I was often complimented by our financial partners and our other partners on how well we executed a lot of our business plans,” Coler said. “What I learned at Cal State Fullerton in terms of how you apply it even today was a big part of our company’s success, and so I felt like I needed to do something to give back.”
Coler has been giving back to CSUF’s College of Business and Economics as a past president and former member of the college’s Executive Council. He is also a current board member for the Center for Real Estate and a mentor participant in the Executive in Residence program. He believes the real-world experience Titan students gain in the classroom prepares them as they launch their careers.
“I can show students how you can use the skills you learned in the areas of finance to model out projections and financial estimates and pro formas that investors and builders actually use in making investment decisions to develop,” Coler said.
Additionally, Coler serves on the Cal State Fullerton Philanthropic Foundation Board of Governors and is currently the Finance and Investment Committee chair, where he oversees more than $200 million of the foundation’s funds that are invested.
Never considering himself a “standout alum,” his selection as a 2024 CSUF Vision & Visionaries Distinguished Alumni award winner took Coler by surprise. But he’s taking the recognition as an opportunity to encourage other Titan alumni to give back to the institution that has given them so much.
“It’s part of community life, and it’s being part of giving back to something that has been so important,” Coler said. “I just wholeheartedly encourage any alumnus or alumni from the university to consider doing something and not be shy about getting involved and being a part of giving back to the university. So many people I know have gone on to do so well thanks to their education that there’s just so much potential there.”
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