50 Defining Moments in CSUB History

Senator Walter Stiern introduces Senate Bill 75 in February, which recommended that the California Legislature establish a State College in Kern County. In May, Governor Pat Brown signs the bill, when it passed the Senate floor. In July, the first funding ($20,00) is given to study potential sites.

Dr. Paul Romberg is selected as the first President of California State College Bakersfield.

Board of Trustees approves the physical plans to build a university campus. College groundbreaking takes place in April.

Library opens in the modern-day Student Services Building, first floor. Books were previously held in a office building on Ashe Road. The library originally opens with 62,000 books.

Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) is brought onto CSUB.

First Commencement takes place with 100 students. The first degrees were offered in English, History, and Sociology.

Nursing building is built.

Former Chief Justice Earl Warren gives commencement speech.

Dr. Jacob Frankel is named second president.

DDH is completed and dedicated to Dorothy Donahoe.

The Runner begins, and although it's not CSUB's first newspaper, it eventually becomes the longest-running.

Science II, Runner Café, and the old bookstore are built.

First student body government fees are collected. (First student government constitution was presented to President Frankel in 1976.)

California State College Bakersfield celebrates ten years of service.

Jacob Frankel retires, and Dr. Tomas Arciniega is chosen as third president.

First annual Bakersfield Jazz Festival is held at CSUB. (The festival would run for 32 years through April 2018.)

The student government, Associated Students, Inc. (ASI), is incorporated as a non-profit.

Bakersfield Business Conference is held at CSUB (from 1990-2003).

The Walter Stiern Library opens. It was designed by Esherick Homsey Dodge and Davis, a San Francisco design firm known for designing the UC San Francisco medical school complex, the California State Archives and the Graduate Theological Union's library at UC Berkeley.

CSUB Student Union opens.

The California State University system honors Michael Flachmann with the Wang Family Excellence Award, the highest honor for outstanding teaching, research and service. Subsequent recipients were Jackie Kegley (2000), Doug Davis (2003), and Rudy Carvajal (2005).

Tomas Arciniega retires and Dr. Horace Mitchell is named fourth president.

First annual Celebrate CSUB! Event is held to welcome the community. The event was held as a resource for community members of all ages. CSUB's "open house" and also served as orientation for incoming CSUB students.

Graduate Student Center opens.

CSUB begins a new era as a full, active NCAA Division I member. The University received a letter from the NCAA Division I Administration Cabinet stating that the Division I Leadership Council approved the recommendation to elect CSUB to active Division I membership beginning with the 2010–11 academic year.

CSUB becomes host of the Small Business Development Center (SBDC), operating under the UC Merced SBDC Regional Network in Central California.

In collaboration with Fresno State, CSUB announces it will enter a six-year transitional plan to offer a Doctorate in Educational Leadership. The first CSUB cohort graduated in May of 2019 (after "joint cohorts" the previous years).

Wendy Wayne Ethics Awards are founded in honor of Wendy Wayne.

Elon Musk, CEO and Chief Designer of SpaceX and Tesla Motors, speaks at CSUB as the inaugural speaker of the Distinguished Speaker Series.

Students move into Student Housing East, a three-building housing complex on the northeast side of campus.

First 'Runner Nights carnival event takes place.

CSUB Study Abroad office is founded.

First 'Runner Nights Concert takes place.

CSUB transitions from quarters to semesters.

CSUB becomes a Smoke-Free, Tobacco-Free campus following a system-wide executive order from California State University Chancellor Timothy P. White.

CSUB Food Pantry opens to help combat food insecurity. Monthly campus food distributions would soon follow.

School of Arts & Humanities moves into a new LEED Gold equivalent, 13,865 gross square foot Humanities Office Building, a replacement for the seismically deficient Faculty Towers.

Temporary classrooms open at University Office Center, the future home of Bakersfield College Southwest on the CSUB campus. The BC Southwest / CSUB partnership is a model of collaboration in the state.

First Grad Slam Competition takes place.