Next >

Alumni Park: A dream come true

By Mike Stepanovich

Jill Slaby sort of has to pinch herself whenever she visits Alumni Park.

Slaby (MBA, ’00), CSUB’s director of alumni relations, remembers when the park was, as she put it, “just a grassy area subject to brown spots and flooding.”

Not anymore. “We’ve taken this area of campus from a grassy area to a beautiful park with defined boundaries,” she said. “It’s beautiful.”

Jeanne Young (BS, ’77), who chaired the Alumni Park Committee, can’t quite believe it either. “It’s so exciting to see it,” she said. “It looks so good. In spring, when things start to bloom, it will be really nice.

“We had the vision of how beautiful it could be – the lush green, the trees, the pond fixed and beautified, the staging area, the benches – it feels good that the vision we worked so hard to get is a reality. It’s very comforting, it’s what we wanted.

“You know how sometimes when you have a vision it doesn’t always turn out the way you think it will, it doesn’t give you the warm feelings you thought you would get?” she said. “Well this does. All of us who have gone out there are very pleased with what the park has become. … It’s nice to see such a nice area. It’s a larger area than we originally had started with. The university gave a little more land, which made it much easier to be able to put the shrubbery around it. We were able to make it look like part of the campus, but nice enough for a private event. … So the feelings are good.”

The park has changed dramatically since it was first dedicated 20 years ago in the grassy area immediately east of the Walter Stiern Library, when the stream and waterfall were built. In 1997, the alumni board decided to formally define the park’s boundary, and began planning for its enhancement. The university expanded the area to about a half-acre and incorporated it into the campus master plan.

 Architect Robert Boro prepared the plans, and construction was scheduled to begin in fall 2003. But construction on the park was delayed because of the telecommunications infrastructure upgrade project currently under way on campus, Slaby said. “The communications lines for future buildings were laid underneath the park before the park construction began so that when new buildings are built the park will never have to be disturbed or torn up.”

Slaby said the Alumni Association consulted with several campus constituencies before beginning the $200,000 project. “We put a lot of thought into it,” she said. “The committee worked with all campus entities. We purchased plants that will be easy to maintain; we worked with campus food services for easy access to events in the park, and we worked with disability services for the same reason. We incorporated their suggestions into the plan.

“Also, we didn’t want students to have to deviate from their path (from the parking lot), so we put down a path of grass-rings underneath the sod so that the grass wouldn’t be worn down and die.”

Added Young: “There are so many things the park can be used for – receptions, garden weddings, other outdoor events. We thought of all the things people could use it for. We wanted to make sure if people wanted lighting they would have that availability. We installed bigger park lights so people will have a greater sense of security when walking through the park. There’s also space for two wheelchairs to pass by each other on the walkways. We really reached out to bring in everybody on the planning so that we didn’t overlook something important.”

And once Brown & Fowler Construction of Bakersfield began work on the project in April 2004, the former grass field took on a distinctive new look. Included in the project were landscaping, concrete borders, electrical outlets throughout the park, enhanced lighting for security and events, irrigation, trees, shrubs, upgrades to the filtration system for the stream and pond, and an arbor entry.

Jess Deegan, a CSUB alumnus (BA, ’87) and psychology professor, served on the Alumni Park committee. Now that it’s finished, he can’t wait for it to fill out. “Every time I walk by I’m impatient because bushes haven’t grown in,” he said with a laugh. “But also every time I go in there I get goose bumps because I've never done a project like this before. We’re leaving a mark for the alumni. It’s nice to go there and sit and imagine what the bushes are going to look like. I’m looking forward to Party in the Park (the Alumni Association’s annual wine-tasting scholarship fundraiser) and how much different it’s going to be. The trellis is there, the logo. We've defined ourselves on campus. It’s something that hasn’t existed before. The park is defined now.”

Deegan said the park is distinctive, that even though it’s still open, there’s a different feeling. “Once you’re inside it takes on a different character,” he said. “Which is why I can’t wait for the bushes to grow in because they will make the character more defined. You can see people walk in there and you can see they sense it’s different.”

Slaby said the Alumni Association still has some bills to pay on the park project, and encouraged alumni to continue to support the project. Anyone wishing to help should call Slaby at (661) 664-3370.

But overall, everyone connected with the project is more than pleased. The park has become a place where students, staff and faculty can relax, study or socialize. The park can also be rented for weddings, parties, concerts, outdoor corporate retreats, or receptions.

“There’s been a lot of effort and commitment that’s gone into it,” Slaby said. “Jeanne Young poured her heart and soul into this, and kept it on track. It could easily have fallen off, and we’d still be looking at a grassy area, but her perseverance kept it going and saw it through to completion.

“The most satisfying part for me is that now the alumni have a place where they can return to campus and have a place of their own, a place where they can bring their families and friends back to campus, to reflect, to reminisce. But the park is also an introduction for the students to the Alumni Association and the fact that there are more than 25,000 graduates out there.”