In 1949, Los Angeles-Orange County State College was established in Long Beach with 160 students and 13 full-time faculty members. Classes were conducted in converted apartment buildings and our campus at that time was unrecognizable by current standards. During these last 60 years, Cal State Long Beach has undergone rapid evolutionary growth and now proudly is recognized as one the nation’s best and most vibrant public universities. This is particularly relevant in an era when many universities throughout this nation, both public and private, have steadily marched away from the missions that so many were founded upon.
Since 1949, our university has experienced four name changes, witnessed the construction of 83 campus facilities and seen our campus grow to 323 beautiful acres. More importantly, however, thanks to the dedication and commitment of thousands of highly talented faculty and staff, our university has provided higher education opportunities to hundreds of thousands of Californians and other students from around the world. Today, our alumni base stands at nearly 300,000 strong, living in all corners of the United States and the globe. Our graduates have proven records in virtually every health-related field, engineering discipline, and in the dozens of liberal arts specialties ranging from political science to foreign languages. More specifically, CSULB graduates are managing multinational companies, developing alternative energies, making our cities and communities safer, producing some of the world’s best music and film, serving in the halls of Congress, leading our armed forces and teaching our nation’s children. Many of our highly successful graduates, much like our students today, were first-generation students who had no idea at the time what a difference their collegiate degrees would make throughout their lifetimes.
Throughout this week we celebrate not only our “Homecoming” and 60-year anniversary of this great public university, but also the accomplishments and achievements of our graduates who have used their CSULB educational opportunities to build new industries, transform economies and make our communities more vibrant places to live. These are the “spillover” effects to citizens everywhere of our 49er alumni and the many others who have helped to build our university into one of the best higher education destinations in California and the nation.
Yes, we have changed a great deal as a campus over the last 60 years, but as a major public university our mission of using the tools of teaching, research and public service “to graduate students with highly valued degrees” remains very much intact. This mission not only provides our CSULB students and graduates with lifelong benefits and advantages, but more importantly, provides society with the foundational element for future progress.
Go 49ers and Go Beach!