California State University, San Bernardino

About

California State University, San Bernardino (Cal State San Bernardino or CSUSB) is a public research university in San Bernardino, California, United States. Founded in 1965, it is part of the California State University system. The main campus sits on 441 acres (178 ha) in the University District of San Bernardino, with a branch campus of 169 acres (68 ha) in Palm Desert, California, opened in 1986. Cal State San Bernardino's fall 2025 enrollment was 19,049. In fall 2025, it had 1,084 faculty, of which 436 were on the tenure track. Total staff (excluding student employees) were 952. The university offers 232 degrees; a full list of all available bachelor's, master's, doctoral, and certificates can be found online at the above links. CSUSB's sports teams are known as the Coyotes and play in the California Collegiate Athletic Association in the Division II of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The nickname was inspired by the coyotes that inhabit the area around the campus, which lies in the foothills of the San Bernardino Mountains. Men's sports include Baseball, Basketball, Golf, and Soccer. Women's sports include Basketball, Cross Country, Soccer, Softball, Volleyball, and Track and Field. The university is a Hispanic-serving institution and a Minority-serving institution.

California State University, San Bernardino was created by the state legislature on April 29, 1960, as the San Bernardino-Riverside State College. On February 8, 1963, the California State College system's board of trustees chose a 430-acre (170 ha) site in the city of San Bernardino and the college's official name was changed to California State College at San Bernardino. It opened in 1965, with 293 students and 30 faculty members. CSUSB earned its university status in 1984, officially becoming California State University, San Bernardino. Today, the university has more than 19,000 students and over 130,000 alumni. It includes two campuses, one in San Bernardino County and one in the Coachella Valley (the Palm Desert Campus), each of which is a four-year campus offering undergraduate and graduate degrees. The campus' five presidents from its founding are: Dr. John M. Pfau, Dr. Anthony "Tony" Evans, Dr. Albert "Al" K. Karnig, Dr. Tomás D. Morales, and Dr. S. Terri Gomez.

Built atop 441 acres (178 ha) of bedrock on the city's north side, CSUSB is framed to the north by the San Bernardino Mountains. Under President Al Karnig, more than 1,300,000 square feet (120,000 m2) of new facilities were built to meet students' academic and social needs. Under President Tomás D. Morales, an additional 552,612 gross square feet, total, were added to both the San Bernardino and the Palm Desert campuses.

Since 2013, the new buildings or additions include: The Center for Global Innovation; the Performing Arts Center (opened in 2026); the Student Union Expansion also known as SMSU North; Coyote Walk; at the Pfau Library, the Faculty Center for Excellence, the Staff Development Center, the Cave 24/7 Study Space, and Starbucks; Coyote Commons; Coyote Village’s Cajon Hall and Running Springs; Einsteins Bagels at the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences; the Alumni Center as well as the renovation of the old Commons into a home for CSUSB’s Alumni Office; the electrical substation and other related campus infrastructure—projects that literally help to keep the lights on; electric vehicle charging stations and charging ports at the Palm Desert Campus; and the PDC’s forthcoming Student Success Center, the first state-funded project on that campus. The John M. Pfau Library, named after the university's first president, sits at the very center of the campus. Other distinctive university landmarks include: the clock tower above the Santos Manuel Student Union, the Robert V. Fullerton Art Museum, the James & Aerianthi Coussoulis Arena, Legacy Fountain, and the Wild Song statue that students rub for luck before exams. In 2009, the university received a major donation from the Pauline Murillo family to construct a $2 million research observatory on the campus. The W.M. Keck Foundation and the California Portland Cement Co. also made substantial contributions. The university is a Hispanic-serving institution and a Minority-serving institution.

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Photography via Wikimedia Commons.