Dr. Philip J. Schlessinger died at age 96 on September 22, 2010. He had taught political science at Los Angeles City College (LACC) for more than 60 years.

Originally from Minneapolis, he received his bachelor's and master's degrees at the University of Minnesota, where he and Hubert Humphrey were teaching assistants together. Schlessinger received his doctorate in public administration from the University of Southern California in 1943. He started teaching at LACC in 1947 and also taught courses over the years at Fullerton Community College, California State College in Los Angeles, and California State College at Northridge. He formally retired from LACC in 1986 but continued teaching courses there into his 90s.

His scholarship included authoring multiple editions of Elements of California Government. He motivated students to participate in government, taking students on field trips to observe the California legislature and inspiring many of his students to seek careers in public office.

Dr. Schlessinger was a political activist. He served on the Democratic Party's State Central Committee in the 1950s and ran for the California state assembly several times, losing by only 190 votes in 1958. His most important success as a lobbyist on behalf of his school was getting the Los Angeles Community College District separated from the Los Angeles Unified School Board. He served on the University of California Regents advisory committee. He was appointed in 1987 as a public member of the California Psychology Examining Board. He served as the secretary to the board and as the chair of its Legislation Committee, acting as liaison between the board and the legislature in successful efforts to change the board's name to the Board of Psychology and establish mandatory continuing education for psychologists.

He was married to his wife Phyllis for 60 years before she predeceased him. They enjoyed cruising around the world several times. My cousin proudly showed me Dr. Schlessinger's architecturally significant house in the Los Feliz area of Los Angeles, a house that was designed for the couple in 1952 by Viennese-born architect Rudolf Schindler.

Philip Schlessinger was recognized in 2001 by the Los Angeles Community College with their Outstanding Humanitarian Award. In accepting that award, he explained that LACC was his dream college, because “it discriminates against no one, puts up no forbidding financial barriers, and sets up its operations for the many students who must work to attend college.”