California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB, Cal State Bakersfield, or CSU Bakersfield) is a

public university A public university or public college is a university or college that is in state ownership, owned by the state or receives significant government spending, public funds through a national or subnational government, as opposed to a private unive ...

in Bakersfield, California. It was established in 1965 as Kern State College and officially in 1968 as California State College Bakersfield on a campus, becoming the 20th school in the 23-campus

California State University The California State University (Cal State or CSU) is a public university system in California. With 23 campuses and eight off-campus centers enrolling 485,550 students with 55,909 faculty and staff, CSU is the largest four-year public univers ...

system. First classes were held October 1, 1970. The university offers 39 different Bachelor's degrees and 17 types of

Master's A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

degrees. The university offers a Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership (Ed.D.). As of fall 2021, there were more than 11,000 undergraduate and graduate students at either the main campus in Bakersfield or the satellite campus, Antelope Valley Center in

Lancaster, California Lancaster is a charter city in northern Los Angeles County, in the Antelope Valley of the western Mojave Desert in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 173,516, making Lancaster the 153rd largest city in the United ...

. CSU Bakersfield has more than 59,000 alumni from its four schools: Arts and Humanities; Business and Public Administration; Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Engineering; and Social Sciences and Education. The university is primarily a commuter campus serving the city of Bakersfield. CSU Bakersfield's petroleum geology program is the only one offered by a public university west of the

Rockies The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...

. The university is a

Hispanic-serving institution A Hispanic-serving institution (HSI) is defined in federal law as an accredited, degree-granting, public or private nonprofit institution of higher education with 25% or more total undergraduate Hispanic or Latino full-time equivalent (FTE) stud ...

History

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 The San Joaquin Valley ( ; es, Valle de San Joaquín) is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies south of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the San Joaquin River. It comprises seven ...

had been demanding a four-year university since the 1950s. After considering several locations, including nearby

Delano Delano or DeLano may refer to: Places in the United States * Delano, California * Delano, Wichita, Kansas, a neighborhood in Wichita and former community before merging with Wichita * Delano, Minnesota * Delano, Nevada * Delano, Pennsylvania * De ...

and parts of Kings and

Tulare County Tulare County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 473,117. The county seat is Visalia. The county is named for Tulare Lake, once the largest freshwater lake west of the Great Lakes. ...

, a steering committee decided on Bakersfield because it was the largest isolated metropolitan area in the United States without a four-year university at that time. 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

Pat Brown Edmund Gerald "Pat" Brown (April 21, 1905 – February 16, 1996) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 32nd governor of California from 1959 to 1967. His first elected office was as district attorney for San Francisco, and he w ...

. Under these rules, the school was authorized as Kern State College, in 1965, and founded as California State College, Bakersfield in 1968. First classes were held on October 1, 1970. In 1982, the California State College system became the California State University system. The school changed to its present name in 1988, when it was granted university status.

Academics

Cal State Bakersfield academics are grouped into four schools with the exception of interdisciplinary programs: * School of Arts and Humanities (A&H) * School of Business and Public Administration (BPA) * School of Natural Sciences, Mathematics, and Engineering (NSME) * School of Social Sciences and Education (SSE) Together, the four schools offer 39

baccalaureate Baccalaureate may refer to: * ''Baccalauréat'', a French national academic qualification * Bachelor's degree, or baccalaureate, an undergraduate academic degree * English Baccalaureate, a performance measure to assess secondary schools in England ...

degrees, 17

master's A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

degrees, and one educational doctorate. Popular majors for

undergraduates Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-le ...

in 2018 included Business Administration (Management and Operations) at 19.39%,

Liberal Arts Liberal arts education (from Latin "free" and "art or principled practice") is the traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term '' art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically th ...

and Sciences, General Studies and

Humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at the t ...

at 12.82% and

Psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between ...

(General) at 8.53%. While popular majors for graduates were

Education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

(General) at 35.28%, Social Work at 20.56% and Student Counseling and Personnel Services at 9.44%. On May 24, 2019, at the 49th annual undergraduate commencement ceremony, CSU Bakersfield awarded 2,312 bachelor's degrees, a 28% year-over-year increase and a record for the university. On May 22, 2019, 462 graduate degrees, including the university's first 12 doctoral degrees, were awarded at the annual hooding ceremony. The five most popular majors for 2019 graduates. * Business,

Management Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a Government agency, government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includ ...

Marketing Marketing is the process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to meet the needs of a target market in terms of goods and services; potentially including selection of a target audience; selection of certain attributes or themes to emph ...

, and Related Support Services at 20% *

and Sciences, General Studies and

at 14% *

at 8% *

Homeland Security Homeland security is an American national security term for "the national effort to ensure a homeland that is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism and other hazards where American interests, aspirations, and ways of life can thrive" t ...

Law Enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules Rule or ruling may refer to: Education ...

, Firefighting and Related Protective Services at 7% *

Social Sciences Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of so ...

at 7%

Research

The Office of Grants, Research, and Sponsored Programs (GRASP) provides administrative support for student and faculty research. External grant funding grew from 2014/15 to 2016/17, with active awards increasing from 54 to 70 and total funding increasing from $10M to $14.7M. Institutions that have been established as part of university research include: * Business Research and Education Center * California Energy Research Center (CERC) * California Well Sample Repository * Center for Economic Education and Research (CEER) * Center for Environmental Studies * Kegley Institute of Ethics * Political Research Center Cal State Bakersfield conducts scientific research using advanced facilities and technologies. Facilities include the Materials Science Engineering Lab, Sediment Analysis Lab, Computer Mapping and Simulation Lab, Plant Physiology Lab, and Elemental Composition Lab, Wireless Communications Lab, Robotics Lab, Power Systems Lab, VLSI/Circuits Lab, Cognitive Processes Lab, Behavioral Neuroscience Lab, Social Cognition Lab, and more. Researchers on campus have access to advanced equipment including scanning electron microscopy, high resolution CAT scanning, and 2D gel electrophoresis. Active areas of research include synthesizing polymers from renewable resources and geologic CO₂ storage. The California Energy Research Center (CERC) was announced in 2013 to foster collaborations between CSUB students, faculty, and the Kern County energy industries. Dr. Alan Fuchs became director of CERC in 2017. The California Energy Research Center will be housed in the 53,000 square-foot Energy and Engineering Innovation Center after its completion in 2023.

Rankings

* The Equality of Opportunity Project ranked CSU Bakersfield 3 on Upward Mobility and the

Business Insider ''Insider'', previously named ''Business Insider'' (''BI''), is an American financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Insider''s parent company Insider Inc. has been owned by the German pub ...

18 on colleges with the best return on investment. * In 2021, ranked 20th in th
Social Mobility Index
by CollegeNet. *In 2021, ranked 21st out of 2
most affordable four-year colleges
by Best Value Schools. *In 2021, ranked 25th for "Top Public Schools" by '' U.S. News & World Report'' in the Regional Universities West category. * In 2021, ranked 28th for schools in "Top Performers on Social Mobility", by ''U.S. News & World Report'' in the Regional Universities West category. * In 2021, ranked tied for 51 in "Regional Universities West", by ''U.S. News & World Report''. *In 2021, ranked 25 in Best Bang for the Buck, 68th in Master's University b
Washington Monthly
* In 2020, ranked tied for 92st in "Best Undergraduate

Engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

Programs" where doctorates not offered, by ''U.S. News & World Report''. * In 2020, ranked tied for 221st in Undergraduate

Nursing Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health ...

where doctorates not offered, by ''U.S. News & World Report''. * In 2020, ranked tied for 52nd overall out of 127 schools in "Regional Universities West", by ''U.S. News & World Report''. * In 2020, ranked tied for 24th out of 66 "Top Public Schools" by '' U.S. News & World Report'' in the Regional Universities West category. * In 2020, ranked tied for 31st out of 124 schools in "Top Performers on Social Mobility", by ''U.S. News & World Report'' in the Regional Universities West category. * In 2020, ranked tied for 91st of 220 schools in "Best Undergraduate

Programs" where doctorates not offered, by ''U.S. News & World Report''. * In 2020, ranked 9th in the "Best Bang for the Buck Colleges" category out of 215 schools in the U.S. western region by ''

Washington Monthly ''Washington Monthly'' is a bimonthly, nonprofit magazine of United States politics and government that is based in Washington, D.C. The magazine is known for its annual ranking of American colleges and universities, which serves as an alterna ...

''. * In 2019, ranked 17th out of 606 "Master's Universities" by ''Washington Monthly'' based on its contribution to the public good, as measured by social mobility, research, and promoting public service. * In 2017, ranked 3rd in the nation for upward mobility by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

''. * In 2014, ranked 20th in the United States by Payscale and CollegeNet's Social Mobility Index college rankings. * In 2014, ranked 39th in the United States by ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...

'' magazine in a list of the top 100 universities.

Athletics

CSU Bakersfield is currently an

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athletic ...

school. The Roadrunners began the transition process in 2006 and became a full Division I member in July 2010. Following a period as one of a small number of Division I independents, CSU Bakersfield joined the Western Athletic Conference in July 2013 for most sports. For

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

, CSUB competes in the Pac-12 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. The men's and women's basketball teams compete on campus at the Icardo Center. On June 1, 2006, CSU Bakersfield President, Dr. Horace Mitchell formally announced that CSUB would raise $6 million over a five-year period for the additional costs for the athletics program. Part of the additional costs were to start a

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

program and a women's

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

program. In September 2011, CSUB accepted an invitation to join the Western Athletic Conference for baseball. Rudy Carvajal was CSUB's

Athletic Director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches an ...

from 1972 until his retirement on December 31, 2010. In 2005, Carvajal received the prestigious CSU Wang Family Award. Under Carvajal's leadership, CSUB has 30 national championships and received the Sears Directors Cup in 1998. 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. On January 8, 2011, Jeff Konya assumed the position of

. Kenneth "Ziggy" Siegfried was named Director of Athletics on August 20, 2015. On November 27, 2017, CSUB President Dr. Horace Mitchell announced that CSUB had accepted an invitation to join the

Big West Conference The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The conference was originally formed on July 1, 1969, as the Pacific ...

. The Roadrunners will remain a member of the

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington, and Texas. Due to mos ...

until July 1, 2020, at which point it will begin a full membership in the Big West.

Athletic achievements

National Division II championships

*Men's

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

: 1993, 1994, 1997 *Men's swimming and diving: 1986–1993, 1998, 2000–2002, 2004 *Wrestling: 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980–1983, 1987 *Men's soccer: 1997 *Softball: 1988, 1989, 1990 *Women's volleyball: 1989 *Women's tennis: 1977 (AIAW)

Student life

Admissions

Institutional Research, Planning and Assessment
In fall of 2013, CSUB enrolled its largest freshman class of over 1,300 students. As of fall 2018 CSU Bakersfield has the largest enrollment percentage of unknown Americans and along with CSU Chico the second largest enrollment percentage of Native Americans in the Cal State system.

Clubs and organizations

CSU Bakersfield has 120 recognized student clubs and organizations (including seven Greek Organizations:

Phi Sigma Sigma Phi Sigma Sigma (), colloquially known as Phi Sig, was the first collegiate nonsectarian sorority to allow membership of women of all faiths and backgrounds. The sorority was founded on November 26, 1913, and lists 60,000 initiated members, 115 ...

Gamma Phi Beta Gamma Phi Beta (, also known as GPhi or Gamma Phi) is an international college sorority. It was founded in Syracuse University in 1874, and was the first of the Greek organizations to call itself a sorority. The main archive URL iThe Baird's Man ...

, Nu Phi Chi, Theta Sigma Chi, Kappa Delta Nu, Delta Zeta Tau, and

Kappa Sigma Kappa Sigma (), commonly known as Kappa Sig, is an American collegiate social fraternity founded at the University of Virginia in 1869. Kappa Sigma is one of the five largest international fraternities with currently 318 active chapters and col ...

) as of spring 2018. Each year, the top juniors, seniors, and graduate students receive membership invitations to join

Alpha Chi Alpha Chi National College Honor Society (or ) is an American collegiate honor society recognizing achievements in general scholarship. It was formed in 1922 by nineteen schools in the state of Texas. Since then it has expanded to 300 chapters ...

through the California Iota chapter of the national honor society. The Associated Students Inc. (ASI) is the recognized student government and is known for having an active role on campus. The Bakersfield campus has a Student Union and a Recreation Center.

Enrollment and dormitories

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. 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. However, space is now impacted and usually fills up quickly. New dorms opened in 2015. The six buildings comprising the original (West) dorm complex are each named after locations in

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlins ...

'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 has added a new dorm complex called ''Student Housing East'' on the northeast end of campus. The original dormitories have been partially repurposed for use as offices.

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.

Notable alumni

Vincent Brothers Vincent Edward Brothers (born May 31, 1962) is an American mass murderer convicted of killing his wife, their three children and his mother-in-law. Brothers was the former vice principal of John C. Fremont Elementary School in Bakersfield, Califo ...

, American mass murderer – MA, Education * Jeffery Elwell, President of

Eastern New Mexico University Eastern New Mexico University (ENMU or Eastern) is a public university with a main campus in Portales, New Mexico, and two associate degree-granting branches, one at Ruidoso and one at Roswell. ENMU is New Mexico's largest regional comprehensiv ...

– BA, English, 1979 *

Kevin McCarthy Kevin Owen McCarthy (born January 26, 1965) is an American politician, serving as House Minority Leader in the United States House of Representatives since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he served as House Majority Leader under spea ...

, U.S. politician,

House Minority Leader Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives, also known as floor leaders, are congresspeople who coordinate legislative initiatives and serve as the chief spokespersons for their parties on the House floor. These leaders are el ...

, Member of the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from the

California's 23rd congressional district California's 23rd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of California. The district is represented in the 118th United States Congress by Jay Obernolte The current district includes parts of the southern San Joaq ...

Scott Wilk Scott Thomas Wilk Sr. (born March 16, 1959) is an American politician who has served as the California State Senate minority leader since January 20, 2021. He is a Republican representing the 21st district, encompassing Antelope Valley, Victor ...

serving in the California State Senate. *

Roy Ashburn Roy Arthur Ashburn (born March 21, 1954) 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 Senator – BA in Public Administration, 1983 *

John W. Ayers John W. Ayers is an adjunct associate professor and epidemiologist at University of California, San Diego, affiliated both with the university's School of Medicine and its Qualcomm Institute. He researches in the field of public health informati ...

, behavioral epidemiologist – BA, Political Science, 2006 *

Kathleen O'Neal Gear Kathleen O'Neal Gear (born 1954) is an American archaeologist and writer. She has won numerous awards for her work, including the Spur Award for best historical novel of the west, and two Special Achievement Awards from the U.S. Dept. of the Int ...

, archaeologist and author *David Harrington, President and COO of Centre for Neuro Skills - MBA, 2005 *

Dushyant Chautala Dushyant Singh Chautala (born 3 April 1988) is a Jannayak Janta Party politician and current Deputy Chief Minister of Haryana. He is the president and co-founder of the Jannayak Janata Party. He represents Uchana Kalan constituency in Haryana ...

, Indian Politician, Member of Parliament – BS, Business Administration, 2014 * Rich Herrera sports radio personality *

Greg Colson Greg Colson (born April 23, 1956) is an American artist best known for works that straddle the line between painting and sculpture that address concepts of efficiency and order. Using scavenged materials, Colson allows the physicality of his ma ...

, multimedia artist – BA, Fine Arts 1978 * Austin Davis, Major League Baseball pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies * Jeff Colson, artist, recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship – BA, Fine Arts 1979 *Jeff Huckaby, President of Grimmway Farms – BS, Petroleum Land Studies, 1989 *

Tito Ortiz Jacob Christopher "Tito" Ortiz (; born January 23, 1975) is an American mixed martial artist and politician. He is currently signed to the Combate Americas promotion. Ortiz is best known for his stints with the Ultimate Fighting Championship ...

, mixed martial artist and politician. * Stephen Neal, New England Patriot, NCAA and World Champion wrestler – BS, Physical Education 1999 *

Tucker Knight Levi Rolla Cooper (born July 24, 1990) is an American professional wrestler, best known for his time in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Tucker. After signing with WWE in 2013, he was assigned to their developmental brand NXT, under t ...

, WWE Superstar, part of collegiate wrestling career took place at CSUB *

Jeremy Gunn Jeremy Gunn is an English retired association football midfielder who is the head men's soccer coach at Stanford University. He played professionally in the USISL. Player Gunn played in both the Grimsby Town F.C. and Scunthorpe United F.C. ...

, Stanford men's soccer coach – BS, Business Administration 1993, MBA 1999 *

Lyle Martin Lyle Martin (born March 25, 1985) is an American soccer player. Career College and amateur Martin made his debut in the football field in 2004, and played college soccer at California State University, Bakersfield, appearing in 79 career games a ...

, first American soccer player to play in the

Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Association Super League, commonly known as Chinese Super League or CSL, currently known as the China Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional association ...

Gyasi Zardes Gyasi A. Zardes (born September 2, 1991) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a forward for Austin FC of Major League Soccer and the United States national team. Born in Hawthorne, California, Zardes was part of the LA Gala ...

, Major League Soccer player for

Columbus Crew SC The Columbus Crew, formerly known as Columbus Crew SC, is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The Crew competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference and began play in 1996 as one ...

and member of the

United States men's national soccer team The United States men's national soccer team (USMNT) represents the United States in men's international soccer competitions. The team is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and is a member of FIFA and CONCACAF. The U.S. team h ...

* Matt Harris, American screenwriter – BA, English 1991

Notes

References

External links

*
CSU athletics website
{{Authority control Bakersfield

California State University, Bakersfield California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB, Cal State Bakersfield, or CSU Bakersfield) is a public university in Bakersfield, California. It was established in 1965 as Kern State College and officially in 1968 as California State College Bake ...

Schools accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges Educational institutions established in 1965 Education in Bakersfield, California Universities and colleges in Kern County, California 1965 establishments in California