In 1979 Slusser joined University of California, Riverside (UCR) and organized the first annual J. Lloyd Eaton Conference of Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature, an academic symposium on the genres of science fiction and fantasy literature rather than the more prevalent fan conventions. He commented that the conference's ability to attract serious literary critics like Harry Levin spoke to the event's gravitas. Slusser helped publish an annual journal, "Bridges to Science Fiction" to publish the outcomes of each conference. With the help of UCR head librarian Eleanor Montague and Cal State San Bernardino librarian Michael Burgess, Slusser became curator of the Eaton collection and Slusser took it upon himself to radically expand the collection's holdings. Slusser had pushed for the establishment of both a science fiction studies center and a graduate program for science fiction at the University but the plan died with university chancellor Tomás Rivera.