Prator received bachelor's and master's degrees in history from the University of Colorado Boulder, and his Ed.D.
[1] He briefly played minor league professional baseball with the St. Louis Cardinals farm system.
[5][6][7] Prator served in this role until stepping down from the presidency in 1968.,[1][8] teaching six more years as a professor of education until his retirement in 1974.
[9] In addition, he was involved in various community organizations in Los Angeles after he resigned from the San Fernando Valley State College presidency.
[1][12] Faculty increased from 100 to 600 during Prator's tenure, and student enrollment grew from 3,500 to 16,000,[1] although there were occasional barriers to campus growth.