Students celebrate 30th anniversary of CSUSB’s Palm Desert Campus

The Palm Desert Campus of Cal State San Bernardino is celebrating 30 years of providing access to public, four-year degree opportunities and is poised for significant expansion in the next ten years.

According to campus official Mike Singer, a master plan that was recently approved by the California State University system is incorporating a new student union, additional academic buildings, mixed-use residence hall facilities, and health and wellness centers.

The City of Palm Desert donated land that will give the Palm Desert Campus the capability to serve as many as 8,000 students and play as a major role in Coachella Valley high school graduates working to get college degrees, Singer said in the release.

In honor of the 30 year anniversary, the campus will host, ‘The Next 30 Years’ luncheon on Thursday, February 23 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tickets cost $30 and can be purchased by contacting Michelle Newsman at michelle.newman@csusb.edu or by calling 760-341-2883, ext. 78140.

Campus officials said the luncheon will give guests the opportunity to see the programs and build-out of the PDC for the next generations. As the only public university campus to be built as a result of personal and municipal donations, the next 30 years is reliant upon local communities to commit to the only four-year public university option in the Coachella Valley.

CSUSB opened its first branch campus in the Coachella Valley in 1986 at College of the Desert. In 1994, Palm Desert donated the first parcel of land, which today houses the first part of the permanent campus. The second phase of the campus opened in 2005, and encompasses the Indian Wells Center for Educational Excellence and the Indian Wells Theater. Both buildings were primarily funded by the City of Indian Wells, according to the release.

The newest addition to the campus is the Palm Desert Health Sciences Building, which opened in 2008.