Gordon Samuel Watkins (March 9, 1889 – May 5, 1970) was an educator, author, and leading figure in the field of labor economics during the early to mid-twentieth century.
Under Provost Watkins' leadership I do not doubt for a moment that we shall achieve at UCR a college that will become as noted for its moral development of character as for its intellectual eminence.
[3] In 1925, Watkins joined the faculty at the University of California, Los Angeles as a professor of economics and went on to serve as the dean of the College of Letters and Science from 1936 to 1946.
[4] The University of California, Riverside opened in February 1954 as a result of Watkins's successful efforts to not only integrate the new campus with the pre-existing Citrus Experiment Station but to also gain widespread local public acceptance of the initiative.
[5] In his memoirs, UC President Clark Kerr portrayed Watkins as a tragic figure who died a broken man.