John M. Pfau was appointed the founding president in 1962 before the campus formally opened to students in 1965. He was instrumental in the planning process, participating in the hiring of administrators, faculty, and staff as well as in overseeing the construction of the physical campus. Pfau remains the longest tenured president, serving the university for two decades, before his retirement on July 30, 1982. Prior to his retirement, in May 1982 the CSU Board of Trustees honored the retiring president by renaming the College Library to the John M. Pfau Library, the first building at CSUSB to be named for an individual.
Anthony H. Evans was named as the second university president on September 14, 1982 and began his new role in November of that year. During his tenure the campus earned university status and on July 23, 1984 was officially renamed to California State University, San Bernardino. Two years later in 1986 the university opened its second campus, the Coachella Valley Center, in Palm Desert, California. Other improvements to campus under Evans included the completion of Jack H. Brown Hall, Coussoulis Arena, and the Robert and Frances Fullerton Museum of Art.
Albert K. Karnig became the university's third president in 1997. The campus underwent significant growth during Karnig's presidency, expanding more than 1.5 million square feet of facilities, developing more than a dozen active research and service centers, and setitng records for enrollment. Highlights include the construction of the Murillo Family observatory and the establishment of the Veterans Success Center, both which came to fruition during Karnig's presidency. Additionally, the first building opened on the new Coachella Valley campus in 2002 and with this came the name change to the Palm Desert Campus.
On August 5, 2012 Tomás D. Morales became CSUSB's fourth president. Morales has continued to honor the university's multicultural approach by establishing the DREAMers Resource and Success Center in 2015, the Pan-African Student Success Center in 2016, and the First People’s Center in 2017. Philanthropic contributions to the university have also thrived under Morales, and in 2016 the $50 million Comprehensive Campaign for CSUSB (the largest single fundraising initiative in university history) was launched. By 2019, this campaign exceeded its initial goal raising a total of $54 million. Morales also led the acquisition of the single largest cash gift in campus history, a $10 million donation from Jack H. Brown of Stater Bros, that led to the first college naming in campus history of the Jack H. Brown College of Business and Public Administration.