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Guide to the University Archives at CSUSB: History of CSUSB

CSUSB History

Significant milestones and dates in the history of California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB) are presented below. Links to resources documenting these milestones are included when available. For a narrative history of CSUSB please visit the University website, https://www.csusb.edu/about-csusb/history-csusb.  

References: 
Burgess, M. (2010). The coyote chronicles : a chronological history of California State University, San Bernardino, 1960-2010 (1st ed.). Borgo Press.

Historical Milestones

April 29, 1960: California Governor Edmund G. "Pat" Brown signs Senate Bill 4 into law, creating a State Master Plan for Education that authorizes the establishment of San Bernardino-Riverside State College.

January 19, 1962: John M. Pfau (Chair of the Social Sciences Division at Sonoma State College) is selected as the first president of San Bernardino-Riverside State College by the California State Colleges System (CSC) Board of Trustees.

February 8, 1963: The CSC selects San Bernardino as the site for the new campus and renames it California State College at San Bernardino (CSCSB).

December 1, 1964: Groundbreaking is held for the first three buildings to be constructed at CSCSB.

January 21, 1965: The CSCSB Master Development Plan is approved by the CSC Board of Trustees (Master Plan: California State College at San Bernardino, 1965).

August 16, 1965: The campus is officially occupied by the pioneer class of 293 students.

October 5, 1965: The first term on campus begins and classes officially start.

November 9, 1965: The first issue of the campus newspaper, Communique, is released (Communique Vol. 1, No. 1).

April 5, 1966: The St. Bernard dog is selected as the campus mascot

June 10, 1967: CSC Chancellor Dumke delivers the keynote address at CSCSB's first annual commencement ceremony honoring fifty-nine graduates (1967 Commencement Program).

April 1969: The Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) is established with the passage of California Senate Bill 1072 (A Brief History of the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) at California State University, San Bernardino)

July 25, 1968: The campus is renamed California State College, San Bernardino by the CSC Board of Trustees.

January 22, 1971: The University's first department chairs are appointed by President Pfau (Friday Bulletin, January 22, 1971).

June 16, 1973: The campus awards its first Master of Arts degree, in Elementary Education (1973 Commencement Program).

May 17, 1977: The Pfau Library celebrates the acquisition of its 250,000 volume.

February 1, 1978: The 15,000-square-foot Student Union Building opens.

November 1, 1982: Anthony Evans takes office as the 2nd President of CSUSB, which has 5,060 students in 36 undergraduate and 8 graduate programs (Friday Bulletin, September 15, 1982).

November 15, 1983: Students approve an increase to the instructionally related activities fee in order to help fund an intercollegiate athletics program.

February 17, 1984: President Evans approves the coyote as the new official mascot.