branches, with student leaders. This helped create a more intimate atmosphere for church services, as previous Sunday school classes could exceed 100 students at a time. Leaving BYU McDonald constantly requested additional funding, including emotional appeals, which strained his relationship with the board of trustees. J. Reuben Clark, then a counselor in the first presidency, was also unhappy with McDonald's performance as president of BYU and harshly rebuked his behavior; as tension grew McDonald began looking for another job. In 1949, McDonald left BYU to become president of Los Angeles City College and Los Angeles State College. Educational administrator in California When McDonald became president of both Los Angeles City College and Los Angeles State College, they were housed in borrowed spaces with part-time faculty. He hired administrators to help him formally organize the colleges. He found a site within LA to house the new Los Angeles State College of Applied Arts and Sciences, which replaced the Los Angeles State College in 1949. He recruited faculty, petitioned the California state government for more funds, and met with the state architect to plan buildings. The college opened in its new location in 1958. When McDonald retired in 1962, seven buildings on the new campus were completed. The Los Angeles City College remained as a junior college under John Lombardi in 1958. College students in California began to protest the loyalty oaths that faculty in California state colleges were compelled to make in 1950. After prohibiting the student executive council at the Los Angeles State College of Applied Arts and Sciences from discussing the issue, they resigned in protest. After negotiations, McDonald rescinded the ban on discussing the loyalty oaths and the student executive council returned. He helped found San Fernando Valley State College in 1956, where he was president of the general faculty 1956–1958. He retired in 1962 and was appointed as a regional representative of the US Commissioner of Education, a position he held until 1964. LDS Church service McDonald served as a member of the San Francisco stake high council, a member of the stake presidency, and as stake president. In 1943, McDonald asked to be released as stake president so he could continue pursuing his doctoral studies. Fifteen years after leaving as BYU president, he returned to Utah and served as president of the LDS Church's Salt Lake Temple from 1964 to 1968. References External links Howard S.