Columbia State University was a California-based diploma mill that operated from the mid-1980s until its 1998 closure from a court order. Although its name implied that Columbia State was a state-supported educational institution, it was not associated with a state government. Rather, it was a private operation owned by Ronald Pellar, a professional hypnotist also known as Ronald Dante who performed on stage under the name Dr. Dante, and who had for a brief time in the late 1960s and early '70s been married to the well-known actress Lana Turner.