| When California
State College, Bakersfield (CSCB), opened for classes on October
1, 1970, it marked the fulfillment of a twenty-year dream—the
dream of a baccalaureate-degree granting institution in the Southern
San Joaquin Valley and High Desert. Chartered in 1965 as part
of a bill authored by Bakersfield’s own Senator Walter Stiern,
CSCB became the 19th campus of the CSC system. The first president,
Dr. Paul F. Romberg, was hired in 1967. Groundbreaking ceremonies
took place on
April 11, 1969, presided over by then-Governor Ronald Reagan. CSCB became California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB) in
1988 during the tenure of the third president, Dr. Tomás A.
Arciniega.
CSUB is the only four-year-degree-granting
campus within a 100-mile radius. It serves a vast region encompassing
Kern, Tulare, Inyo, and Mono counties, as well as parts of Los
Angeles and Kings counties. The main campus is located on a 375-acre
site which was donated to the State of California for the university,
a remarkable demonstration of the community's commitment to and
support for the institution. A satellite campus in the Antelope
Valley serves close to 1,000 students.
CSUB awards bachelor’s degrees
in 31 subject areas. The master's degree is awarded in 22 subject
areas. Some 7,755 undergraduate and graduate students attend CSUB
at either the main campus in Bakersfield or the satellite campus
in Antelope Valley. There are over 27,000 living alumni, 70% of
whom continue to reside in our service region.
CSUB is distinguished by an outstanding
faculty, excellent academic programs, and by the extraordinary
accessibility of the faculty to students. Small classes and close
interaction between students and faculty enhance the learning
environment. Over 90% of the tenured faculty earned doctorate
degrees in their fields of study. CSUB has the highest percentage
of faculty in the CSU with terminal degrees. The student-to-faculty
ratio is 18:1.
The university is committed to
being a comprehensive regional university and strives for excellence
in its four schools: Humanities and Social Sciences; Business
and Public Administration; Natural Sciences and Mathematics; and
Education. The university is fully accredited by the Western Association
of Schools and Colleges. CSUB hosts numerous centers and institutes
which promote scholarly research and publication and give students
an opportunity to conduct research, as well as provide invaluable
scholarly and research resources to the community.
As we celebrate the inauguration
of our fourth president, Horace Mitchell, Ph.D., the past will
be linked to the future by the themes of Excellence, Partnerships,
and Community.
To learn more about California State
University, Bakersfield through the years, visit the CSUB
History website.
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Students on Campus
Walter W. Stiern Library
Frances B. Dore Theatre and Todd Madigan
Gallery
Business Development Center
Instructional Television and Distance Learning
Student Union
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