California State University, Bakersfield
Encyclopedia
California State University, Bakersfield (often abbreviated CSUB or shortened to CSU Bakersfield or Cal State Bakersfield) is a public university
located in Bakersfield, California
, United States
which was founded in 1965. CSUB opened in 1970 on a 375 acres (151.8 ha) campus, becoming the 19th school in the California State University
system. The university offers 31 bachelor's
, and 22 master's degree
programs.
As of Fall 2002, some 7,700 undergraduate and graduate students attended CSUB, at either the main campus in Bakersfield or the satellite campus, Antelope Valley Center in Lancaster, California
.
CSU Bakersfield's petroleum geology
program is the only one offered by a public university west of the Rockies
.
CSUB owes its founding to the Donahoe Higher Education Act of 1960
, which formalized the creation of the CSU-system, initially as the "California State Colleges" system. The areas in the Southern San Joaquin Valley
had been demanding a four-year university since the 1950s. After considering several locations, including nearby Delano
and parts of Kings
and Tulare County
, a steering committee decided on Bakersfield because at the time it was the largest isolated metropolitan area in the United States without a four-year university. Their decision was turned into a bill by Bakersfield's State Senator Walter W. Stiern
, ratified by the California State Legislature
and signed into law by Governor Edmund G. "Pat" Brown, Sr.
Under these rules, the school was founded as California State College, Bakersfield in 1965. It opened for classes in September 1970. In 1982 the California State College system became the California State University system and the school changed to its present name.
in downtown Bakersfield. The Women's basketball team plays on campus at the Icardo Center. The men will return to campus when the 2011-12 season begins in November.
On June 1, 2006, Cal State Bakersfield President Horace Mitchell formally announced that CSUB is raising $6 million over a five year period for the additional costs for the athletics program. Part of the additional costs is to start a baseball
program and women's golf
program. CSUB is looking to join the Big West Conference
, a primarily-Californian conference that includes several former rivals of the Roadrunners, but were denied a membership with University of Hawaii
being the most recent addition. However with University of California, San Diego
planning a move to Division I in all sports except football, CSUB and UCSD hope both have a chance to enter the conference simultaneously. In September 2011, CSUB accepted an invitation to join the Western Athletic Conference for baseball. This will allow the school to compete against Fresno State, furthering the fire for the Bakersfield-Fresno rivalvry.
Rudy Carvajal was CSUB's Athletic Director
from 1972 until his retirement on Dec. 31 2010. In 2005, Carvajal received the prestigious CSU Wang Family Award. Under Carvajal's leadership, CSUB has won over 30 national championships and received the Sears Directors Cup in 1998.
Rudy Carvajal announced his retirement effective December 31, 2010.
Nearly 60,000 people attend NCAA sporting events at CSU Bakersfield.
On May 17, 2007, CSUB announced that Bill Kernen would be the school's first baseball coach, with the school's first official season beginning in Spring of 2009.
In 2010, a fundraising effort helped save the school's golf, tennis, and wrestling programs.
On Jan. 8, 2011 Jeff Konya assumed the position of Athletic Director
.
CSUB is predominantly a commuter school, drawing its student body from a mix of recent high school graduates in the local area and working people returning to school or pursuing a degree part-time. In Fall 2006, CSUB received its highest enrollment of first-time freshmen of approximately 820. The university official credit "move to Division I" for the increase of younger students. While the majority of students live off-campus, the campus dorms can accommodate up to 324 students, or under 5% of the 2002 enrollment figure of 7,700. Space in the dorms has historically been plentiful, with single-occupancy rooms often available and one entire dorm devoted to faculty offices through the mid 1990s.
The six buildings comprising the dorm complex are each named after locations in J. R. R. Tolkien
's The Lord of the Rings novel: Rivendell, Rohan, Entwood, Numenor, Dobry, and Lorien. Dorm facilities include a first floor lounge in each building, a dining commons, a swimming pool, a sand volleyball court, a pond, and a parking lot. CSUB is in the initial stages of building new dorms (referred to as Living Residences) on the northeast side of campus.
Striving on, we face the goal,
And will not be denied.
Always knowing, courage showing,
Strength is on our side.
Fighting on we're holding strong
With victory in sight,
We will prevail, we will not fail
to win the fight!
C-S-U-B, CSUB Victory!
The blue and gold stands high for honor,
Thanks to all its pride.
We stand to pay respect and glory,
For us all to guide.
We are proud to shine above the mountains,
And across the sea.
Salute the blue and gold tradition,
Long live C-S-U-B.
Public university
A public university is a university that is predominantly funded by public means through a national or subnational government, as opposed to private universities. A national university may or may not be considered a public university, depending on regions...
located in Bakersfield, California
Bakersfield, California
Bakersfield is a city near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley in Kern County, California. It is roughly equidistant between Fresno and Los Angeles, to the north and south respectively....
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
which was founded in 1965. CSUB opened in 1970 on a 375 acres (151.8 ha) campus, becoming the 19th school in the California State University
California State University
The California State University is a public university system in the state of California. It is one of three public higher education systems in the state, the other two being the University of California system and the California Community College system. It is incorporated as The Trustees of the...
system. The university offers 31 bachelor's
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
, and 22 master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
programs.
As of Fall 2002, some 7,700 undergraduate and graduate students attended CSUB, at either the main campus in Bakersfield or the satellite campus, Antelope Valley Center in Lancaster, California
Lancaster, California
Lancaster is a charter city in northern Los Angeles County, in the high desert, near the Kern County line. Lancaster currently ranks as the 30th largest city in California, and the 148th largest city in the United States. Lancaster is the principal city within the Antelope Valley...
.
CSU Bakersfield's petroleum geology
Petroleum geology
Petroleum geology refers to the specific set of geological disciplines that are applied to the search for hydrocarbons .-Sedimentary basin analysis:...
program is the only one offered by a public university west of the Rockies
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
.
History
California Master Plan for Higher Education
The California Master Plan for Higher Education of 1960 was developed by a survey team appointed by the UC Regents and the State Board of Education during the administration of Governor Pat Brown. Clark Kerr, then the President of UC, was a key figure in its development...
, which formalized the creation of the CSU-system, initially as the "California State Colleges" system. The areas in the Southern San Joaquin Valley
San Joaquin Valley
The San Joaquin Valley is the area of the Central Valley of California that lies south of the Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta in Stockton...
had been demanding a four-year university since the 1950s. After considering several locations, including nearby Delano
Delano, California
Delano's climate is characteristic of the San Joaquin Valley. The weather is hot and dry during the summer and cool and damp in winter. Frequent ground fog known regionally as "tule fog" can obscure vision. Record temperatures range between 115°F and 14°F...
and parts of Kings
Kings County, California
Kings County is a county located in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. It is located in a rich agricultural region. Kings County is also home to NAS Lemoore, which is the U.S. Navy's newest and largest master jet air station. The county seat is Hanford...
and Tulare County
Tulare County, California
Tulare County is a county located in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California, south of Fresno. Sequoia National Park is located in the county, as are part of Kings Canyon National Park, in its northeast corner , and part of Mount Whitney, on its eastern border...
, a steering committee decided on Bakersfield because at the time it was the largest isolated metropolitan area in the United States without a four-year university. Their decision was turned into a bill by Bakersfield's State Senator Walter W. Stiern
Walter W. Stiern
Walter W. Stiern was a Democratic California State Senator representing Kern County.Although born in San Diego, his family was original from Bakersfield and moved back soon after he was born. Stiern attended Bakersfield College, then continued on to Washington State University where he received...
, ratified by the California State Legislature
California State Legislature
The California State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of California. It is a bicameral body consisting of the lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members, and the upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members...
and signed into law by Governor Edmund G. "Pat" Brown, Sr.
Pat Brown
Edmund Gerald "Pat" Brown, Sr. was the 32nd Governor of California, serving from 1959 to 1967, and the father of current Governor of California Jerry Brown.-Background:...
Under these rules, the school was founded as California State College, Bakersfield in 1965. It opened for classes in September 1970. In 1982 the California State College system became the California State University system and the school changed to its present name.
Athletics
CSUB is currently a NCAA Division I school. They began the process to move from Division II in 2006 and became a full Division I member starting in the 2010-11 school year. For wrestling, CSUB competes in the Pac-10 conference. CSUB wrestling is the institution's original Division-I sport and has placed 3rd (1996) and 8th (1999) in the NCAA D-I Wrestling Championships. Men's basketball team compete at the Rabobank ArenaRabobank Arena
Rabobank Arena is a 10,000-seat multi-purpose arena, Bakersfield, California, USA. Located downtown at the corner of Truxtun Avenue and N Street, it was built in 1998, and was originally known as Centennial Garden. The city-owned arena sold naming rights to the Dutch cooperative bank Rabobank in...
in downtown Bakersfield. The Women's basketball team plays on campus at the Icardo Center. The men will return to campus when the 2011-12 season begins in November.
On June 1, 2006, Cal State Bakersfield President Horace Mitchell formally announced that CSUB is raising $6 million over a five year period for the additional costs for the athletics program. Part of the additional costs is to start a baseball
College baseball
College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. Compared to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a less significant contribution to cultivating professional players, as the minor leagues primarily...
program and women's golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
program. CSUB is looking to join the Big West Conference
Big West Conference
The Big West Conference is an NCAA-affiliated Division I mid-major college athletic conference. When the conference began in 1969, its name was the Pacific Coast Athletic Association . After nineteen years, in 1988, its name was changed to the Big West Conference. The conference stopped...
, a primarily-Californian conference that includes several former rivals of the Roadrunners, but were denied a membership with University of Hawaii
University of Hawaii
The University of Hawaii System, formally the University of Hawaii and popularly known as UH, is a public, co-educational college and university system that confers associate, bachelor, master, and doctoral degrees through three university campuses, seven community college campuses, an employment...
being the most recent addition. However with University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
planning a move to Division I in all sports except football, CSUB and UCSD hope both have a chance to enter the conference simultaneously. In September 2011, CSUB accepted an invitation to join the Western Athletic Conference for baseball. This will allow the school to compete against Fresno State, furthering the fire for the Bakersfield-Fresno rivalvry.
Rudy Carvajal was CSUB's Athletic Director
Athletic director
An athletic director is an administrator at many American colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and related staff involved in intercollegiate or interscholastic athletic programs...
from 1972 until his retirement on Dec. 31 2010. In 2005, Carvajal received the prestigious CSU Wang Family Award. Under Carvajal's leadership, CSUB has won over 30 national championships and received the Sears Directors Cup in 1998.
Rudy Carvajal announced his retirement effective December 31, 2010.
Nearly 60,000 people attend NCAA sporting events at CSU Bakersfield.
On May 17, 2007, CSUB announced that Bill Kernen would be the school's first baseball coach, with the school's first official season beginning in Spring of 2009.
In 2010, a fundraising effort helped save the school's golf, tennis, and wrestling programs.
On Jan. 8, 2011 Jeff Konya assumed the position of Athletic Director
Athletic director
An athletic director is an administrator at many American colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and related staff involved in intercollegiate or interscholastic athletic programs...
.
National Division II Championships
- Men's basketballCollege basketballCollege basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....
: 1993, 1994, 1997 - Men's swimming and diving: 1986-1993, 1998, 2000–2002, 2004
- Wrestling: 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980–1983, 1987
- Men's soccerCollege soccerCollege soccer is a term used to describe association football played by teams who are operated by colleges and universities as opposed to a professional league operated for exclusively financial purposes...
: 1997 - Softball: 1988, 1989, 1990
- Women's volleyball: 1989
Student life
CSUB has more than 90 official student clubs and organizations (including 10 Greek Organizations). The Associated Students Inc. (ASI) is the recognized student government and is known for having an active role on campus. CSUB's campus has a Student Union and a 75000 sq ft (6,967.7 m²) Recreation Center.CSUB is predominantly a commuter school, drawing its student body from a mix of recent high school graduates in the local area and working people returning to school or pursuing a degree part-time. In Fall 2006, CSUB received its highest enrollment of first-time freshmen of approximately 820. The university official credit "move to Division I" for the increase of younger students. While the majority of students live off-campus, the campus dorms can accommodate up to 324 students, or under 5% of the 2002 enrollment figure of 7,700. Space in the dorms has historically been plentiful, with single-occupancy rooms often available and one entire dorm devoted to faculty offices through the mid 1990s.
The six buildings comprising the dorm complex are each named after locations in J. R. R. Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
's The Lord of the Rings novel: Rivendell, Rohan, Entwood, Numenor, Dobry, and Lorien. Dorm facilities include a first floor lounge in each building, a dining commons, a swimming pool, a sand volleyball court, a pond, and a parking lot. CSUB is in the initial stages of building new dorms (referred to as Living Residences) on the northeast side of campus.
Tradition
The CSUB Fight Song and Alma Mater were selected through a structured contest initiated by the student government, Associated Students Inc. (ASI). The winner of the Fight Song Contest was a current music student, Gwendolyn Wilcox, and the winner of the Alma Mater Contest was a CSUB alumnus and current high school music instructor, Bill Ingram.Fight song
CSUB Victory!Striving on, we face the goal,
And will not be denied.
Always knowing, courage showing,
Strength is on our side.
Fighting on we're holding strong
With victory in sight,
We will prevail, we will not fail
to win the fight!
C-S-U-B, CSUB Victory!
Alma mater
Long Live CSUBThe blue and gold stands high for honor,
Thanks to all its pride.
We stand to pay respect and glory,
For us all to guide.
We are proud to shine above the mountains,
And across the sea.
Salute the blue and gold tradition,
Long live C-S-U-B.
Vision of Excellence
In September 2004, CSUB adopted a new mission statement, referred to as the "Vision of Excellence," under the leadership of the university President, Dr. Horace Mitchell."By 2014-15, CSU Bakersfield will be the leading campus in the CSU system in terms of faculty and academic excellence and diversity, quality of the student experience, and community engagement. Realization of our vision will be advanced by recruitment, development and promotion of excellent and diverse staff within an organizational culture committed to excellence in all areas."http://president.csub.edu/index.cfm?fuseaction=menu&menu_id=65
Notable alumni
- Roy AshburnRoy AshburnRoy Arthur Ashburn is an American politician from Kern County, California. A Republican, he served as a California State Senator from 2002 to 2010 representing the 18th district. He previously served three terms in the California State Assembly, representing the 32nd district and 12 years on the...
, California State Senator - Big Poppa EBig Poppa EBig Poppa E is a performer of slam poetry. His live performances combine poetry, stand-up comedy, and dramatic monologue in high-energy rants about relationships, pop culture, and hot button issues of the day. He has appeared on three seasons of HBO's Def Poetry series and is a National Poetry Slam...
, professional slam poet - Kathleen O'Neal GearKathleen O'Neal GearKathleen O'Neal Gear is an American writer. Gear is a former state historian and archaeologist for Wyoming, Kansas, and Nebraska for the U.S. Department of the Interior. She has twice received the federal government's Special Advancement Award for "outstanding management" of our nation's cultural...
, archaeologist and author - Lyle MartinLyle MartinLyle Martin is an American soccer player, currently playing for Beijing Baxy in China League One.-College and Amateur:...
, professional soccer player - Kevin McCarthy, U.S. Politician
- Stephen NealStephen NealStephen Matthew Neal is a former American football guard who played his entire career for the New England Patriots of the National Football League. He is a former national champion amateur and collegiate wrestler at Cal State-Bakersfield...
, New England Patriot, NCAA and World Champion Wrestler - Tito OrtizTito OrtizJacob Christopher "Tito" Ortiz is a Mexican-American mixed martial artist and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, having held the title from April 14, 2000 to September 26, 2003. Along with fighters like Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell, he was one of the sport's early stars...
, UFC Fighter - Kebu StewartKebu StewartKebu Stewart is an American professional basketball player, formerly in the NBA. He was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2nd round of the 1997 NBA Draft, and played 15 games averaging 2.7 points per game and 2.1 rebounds per game...
, professional basketball player - Josh WicksJosh WicksJosh Wicks is an American soccer player who currently plays for IFK Mariehamn.-Early Life and Amateur:Wicks was born on a US Army base, Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, in Landstuhl, Germany, but grew up in San Bernardino, California...
, professional soccer player