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California State University, East Bay (also known as CSUEB, Cal State East Bay, and formerly known as California State University, Hayward) is a campus of the California State University system. Founded in 1957, the university has continuously added to its full spectrum of Baccalaureates and Master's degrees for its undergraduate and graduate students, ranging from studies in Anthropology and Biochemistry to Sociology and Urban Studies.

History

In its lifetime, the university has gone through five names, and consequently four name changes. Originally, it was a two year institution granting only Associate Degrees known as the State College for Alameda County with its primary mission to serve the higher education needs of southern Alameda County. Its construction was part of the California Master Plan for Higher Education as proposed by Clark Kerr and the original site for the school was Pleasanton, California. The campus was moved to Hayward before plans were finalized due to the efforts of Assemblymember Carlos Bee and other boosters from the Hayward community. At the time of its founding in 1957, classes were held on the campus of Hayward High School.

In 1961, the school was moved to its present location in the Hayward Hills and renamed Alameda County State College. In 1963, the name was changed to California State College at Hayward, and when it was granted university status in 1972 the name was changed to its fourth name, California State University, Hayward.

The California State University Board of Trustees approved the proposal to rename the campus to its current name on January 26, 2005. The name California State University, East Bay was chosen to reflect the university's new, broader mission to serve the region of the greater East Bay *. There was quite a bit of outrage concerning the name change from the students and the alumni. The campus' Associated Student Board went so far as to proclaim "no confidence" in University President Norma S. Rees.

At the 2005 Fall Convocation, Dr. Rees announced her retirement from the University; she will retire from her position at the end of 2006 academic year. On May 17, 2006 Mohammad "Mo" Qayoumi succeeded Dr. Rees as president of the university. Dr. Qayoumi is the first Afghan-American to lead a major American university.*.

Presidents of California State University, East Bay

  • Fred F. Harcleroad (1959-1967)
  • Ellis E. McCune (1967-1990)
  • Norma S. Rees (1990-2006)
  • Mohammad Qayoumi (2006-Present)

Overview

CSUEB's main campus is located in Hayward. Warren Hall, its signature building on top of the Hayward hills, overlooks the scenic eastern portion of the San Francisco Bay Area. The building is visible from the city of San Francisco and Oakland, serving as a landmark for Hayward and the surrounding East Bay. CSUEB also has a campus in Concord in Contra Costa County, and a professional development center in Oakland. Continuing education programs are available at all three locations.

The university is best known for its world-renowned College of Business and Economics; a strong Education Department, where a large percentage of California teachers receive their certification; and the thriving Music Department where the CSUEB Jazz Ensemble, directed by Dave Eshelman, holds annual performances in Yoshi's at Jack London Square in Oakland and frequently tours Europe and parts of South America. The Biotechnology Program developed at CSUEB affords the university a status as the center of research and development in the Life sciences, Bioinformatics and technologies for the East Bay.

CSUEB also participates in the Internet2 project, a collaboration led by over 200 U.S. universities, private industries, and governments to develop advanced network technologies for research and higher education in the 21st century.

The university publishes a weekly periodical called The Pioneer, its name referring to the school mascot, Pioneer Pete.

Since 2004, the Pioneer Amphitheatre on campus has been home of the KBLX Stone Soul Picnic, a day long festival of R&B and Adult Contemporary music, featured performers have included Ronald Isley, The Whispers, Teena Marie, the late Rick James, and The O'Jays.

Academics

CSUEB offers 38 undergraduate degree programs and 28 Masters degree programs in addition to its teacher education program. The university also has a doctoral program in Educational Leadership (Ed.D.) held in cooperation with the University of California, Berkeley, San Francisco State University and San José State University. The academic departments of the University are organized into four colleges:

  • College of Business and Economics
  • College of Education and Allied Studies
  • College of Letters, Arts, and Social Sciences
  • College of Science

Notable Achievements

The 1995 September issue of Success Magazine reported the university as one of the 25 best business schools for entrepreneurs. The ranking was based on four key criteria: qualifications of faculty, entrepreneurship curriculum, academic standards and student scores, and quality and depth of resources. The CSUEB College of Business and Economics is ranked as the up and comers of the 25 schools to watch by Columbia University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and Stanford University.

The University was also ranked 8th among Top Regional Public Schools in the West in U.S. News and World Report's 1999 America's Best Colleges guidebook. In 2003, the College of Business and Economics was ranked by BusinessWeek as one of the Top Business Schools in the West. The Princeton Review selected California State University, East Bay, as a "Best in the West" college in 2005.

CSUEB is also known for its Solar Energy Project. Solar panels were installed on four campus rooftops and are used to generate supplemental power during peak periods and is one of the largest photovoltaic systems in Northern California. Since its completion in 2004 the University has received recognition on a regional and national level for the project; those include:

  • A $3.4 million rebate from PG & E, the largest rebate issued to date for solar power installation.
  • The 2004 Business Environmental Achievement Award from the Hayward City Council.
  • The 2004 Green Power Leadership Award at the National Green Power Marketing Conference.
  • A 2005 Exceptional Project Award from the Western Council of Construction Consumers.

Athletics

CSUEB holds concurrent membership in NCAA Division III and the NAIA. The men's and women's basketball, cross country and golf teams compete in the California Pacific Conference of the NAIA. The baseball, softball, men's and women's soccer, women's water polo, women's swimming and women's volleyball teams compete in NCAA Division III as independents.

The mascot of the university is the Pioneer. At the inception of the athletic program in 1961 the student body chose a spacesuit clad Space Pioneer as the mascot. In the years since the mascot was shortened to the Pioneers and took a more terrestrial image; first as a frontiersman with a coonskin cap and then as a forty-niner who is reminiscent of Yosemite Sam. In the 1980's the student body voted to change the mascot to the Vampires, but the decision was overturned by then president Ellis McCune.

In 2005 there was talk of changing the mascot along with the recent name change. The original plan was to unveil the new mascot by the end of the 2004-2005 academic year. However, there was little student support for a mascot change as a majority of the students and faculty were in favor of keeping the Pioneer as the school mascot while supporting a redesign of the Pioneer image. A final decision on whether or not to keep the Pioneer as the mascot of the university will be reached before the 2006-2007 academic year.

Notable alumni

External links

California State University, East Bay | California State University | Universities and colleges in California | Western Association of Schools and Colleges

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "California State University, East Bay".

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