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50 Defining Moments in CSUB History

1

1956

Fresno State College, Bakersfield Center opens.

2

1965

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.

3

1967

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

4

Spring 1969

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

5

October 1, 1970

CSUB instruction begins. First schools included Behavior Sciences, Humanities, Natural Sciences and Mathematics, and the divisions of Education, Business, and Public Administration.

October 1, 1970: CSUB instruction begins

6

November 1970

Students vote for Rowdy the Roadrunner as the college mascot.

November 1970: Students vote for Rowdy as mascot

7

August 1970

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.

8

1970

Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) is brought onto CSUB.

9

June 1971

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

10

1972

New buildings open: Science I, Residence Halls.

New degrees added: Earth Science, Economics, Fine Arts, Mathematics, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, and Business Administration.

1972: New buildings open

11

1973

Nursing building is built.

12

Spring 1973

Former Chief Justice Earl Warren gives commencement speech.

13

1974

Dr. Jacob Frankel is named second president.

14

May 22, 1975

DDH is completed and dedicated to Dorothy Donahoe.

15

1975

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

16

1975

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

17

1978

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

18

1980

California State College Bakersfield celebrates ten years of service.

19

1983

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

20

1986

Kegley Institute of Ethics is founded in honor of Dr. Charles W. Kegley.

1986: Kegley Institute of Ethics is founded

21

1986

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

22

1987

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

23

1987

University status is received to become California State University, Bakersfield.

1987: University status received

24

1990

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

25

January 1991

CSUB Antelope Valley's 11,000-square-foot facility is inaugurated.

January 1991: CSUB Antelope Valley's facility was inaugurated

26

1994

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.

27

1994

CSUB Student Union opens.

28

1999

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).

29

2004

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

30

Spring 2006

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.

31

2009

CSUB Student Recreation Center opens.

2009: CSUB Student Recreation Center opens

32

January 2010

Graduate Student Center opens.

33

September 2010

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.

34

October 2010

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

35

January 2011

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).

36

March 2012

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

37

Fall 2012

Campus Programming department is established.

Fall 2012: Campus Programming department established

38

November 6, 2013

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

39

January 2015

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

40

Fall 2015

First 'Runner Nights carnival event takes place.

41

2016

CSUB Study Abroad office is founded.

42

Spring 2016

First 'Runner Nights Concert takes place.

43

Spring 2016

CSUB transitions from quarters to semesters.

44

September 1, 2017

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

45

September 19, 2017

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

46

October 2017

College 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.

47

March 21, 2018

Lynnette Zelezny is appointed fifth permanent president of CSUB and the first woman to serve in that role. (President Mitchell retires on June 30, 2018.)

March 21, 2018: Lynnette Zelezny appointed fifth permanent president

48

October 2019

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.

49

December 6, 2019

First Grad Slam Competition takes place.

50

December 2019

CSUB Dreamers Resource Center opens.

July 2020: Kegley Institute of Ethics forms Community Advisory Panel
`Runners on the Rise!
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CSU Bakersfield
California State University, Bakersfield
9001 Stockdale Highway
Bakersfield, CA 93311
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