California State University, Dominguez Hills
California State University, Dominguez Hills is a public university in Carson, California. It was founded in 1960 and is part of the California State University system.
In 2020, the university had an enrollment of 17,763 students, comprising 15,873 undergraduates and 1,890 post baccalaureates. About half of all students identify as the first in their families to go to college. CSUDH is one of the most ethnically and economically diverse universities in the western United States. It enrolls the largest number and percentage of African American students of any CSU campus.
CSUDH offers 53 bachelor's degree programs, 26 Masters programs, a variety of single, multi-subject and specialized teaching credentials, and undergraduate, graduate, and post-baccalaureate certificate programs within its six colleges: College of Arts and Humanities, College of Business Administration and Public Policy, College of Education, College of Extended and International Education, College of Health, Human Services and Nursing, and College of Natural and Behavioral Sciences. The university is accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission. It is designated as a Hispanic-Serving Institution.
The campus is carved from the historic Rancho San Pedro, the site of the First Spanish Land Grant in California. The land remained in the continuous possession of the Dominguez family through seven generations – from its concession to Juan Jose Domínguez in 1784 to its division and acquisition by the state of California for the university. The campus mascot is the Toro.
History
The foundation for what would become CSU Dominguez Hills was built in 1960 when then Governor of California Pat Brown provided state funds to begin development of the campus. It was originally to be located in Palos Verdes, California, and known as South Bay State College. The tentative name was changed to California State College at Palos Verdes in 1962. In 1964, architect A. Quincy Jones designed a master plan for construction. As the permanent campus had not yet been constructed, the first classes were held in 1965 at the California Federal Savings Bank in Rolling Hills Estates, California. The college began with an enrollment of approximately 40 students.In 1965 the designated location for the campus was moved to the Dominguez Hills in Carson. The Palos Verdes site was abandoned due to high land prices in Palos Verdes, and the Watts Riots exposing a need for a campus to serve the populations of South Los Angeles.
The university was established, in large part, as a response to the African American outcry for higher education standards and opportunities. In October and November 1969, demonstrations regarding the Vietnam War were held on the campus. In 1977 the California Postsecondary Education Commission endorsed the college trustees' desire to change the name of the school from California State College, Dominguez Hills to California State University, Dominguez Hills.
CSUDH was selected as the host venue for 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics cycling competition. Between 1981 and 1982, the Olympic Velodrome was constructed on the campus. The US cycling team won nine gold medals on the track during the Olympics. The 333.3-meter-long track was demolished in 2003 and replaced by the ADT Event Center in 2004. It remains the only Olympic-standard velodrome in the United States.
In 1992, the university opened the Donald P. and Katherine B. Loker Student Union. A major expansion was completed in 2007, adding the 800-seat Dominguez Ballroom. The CSUDH Extended Education Building was opened in 2000, followed by the completion of James L. Welch Hall in 2002. It was named after a long-time CSUDH faculty member.
In 2021, CSUDH opened three major new on-campus buildings, designed to expand the campus' academic capabilities and help transform the campus from a commuter school to a destination institution. The new Student Resident Housing complex can accommodate over 500 students. The complex includes double, triple, and quadruple bedrooms, a laundry room, study rooms, several lounges, and other amenities. It features eight 47-foot-high murals by Los Angeles artist iris yirei hu. The Science and Innovation Building houses the university's chemistry, biology, and physics programs. It is also the home of the Toyota Center for Innovation in STEM Education, which includes a fabrication lab, SMART classrooms, and labs for K-12 teacher demonstrations. The campus' Innovation and Instruction Building is the home of the university's College of Business Administration and Public Policy. The building includes a 250-seat auditorium, collaborative learning classrooms, distance learning spaces, event spaces, and faculty offices.
Within contemporary history, in the year 2022 Cal State Dominguez Hills had the distinction of having five of its graduates simultaneously serving as mayors of cities in LA County. They are Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson, Compton, California Mayor Emma Sharif, Carson, California Mayor Lula Davis-Holmes, Hawthorne, California Mayor Alex Vargas and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
Presidents
Since its establishment in 1960, the university has had eight permanent presidents. While eleven people have served as president, four served interim terms: John A. Brownell from 1987 to 1989, Herbert Carter from 1998 to 1999, Boice Bowman in 2007, and Willie J. Hagan from 2012 to 2013. However, Hagan was appointed the seventh permanent president and served an additional five-year term as president from 2013 to 2018. Thomas A. Parham served as president from . Mary Ann Villarreal is the current interim president.By name and years of service, they are:
- Leo F. Cain
- Donald R. Gerth
- Richard Butwell
- John A. Brownell
- Robert C. Detweiler
- Herbert Carter
- James E. Lyons, Sr.
- Boice Bowman
- Mildred García
- Willie J. Hagan
- Thomas A. Parham
- Mary Ann Villarreal
Academics
CSUDH has been designated a Hispanic-Serving Institution and is a member of the Computing Alliance of Hispanic-Serving Institutions. Its College of Education & College of Arts and Humanities offers training in Spanish for bilingual education teachers. As of 2018, CSUDH had the third largest percentage of Latino Americans that are not Mexican-American in the CSU system.. The university ranked first in California in 2021 for the number of bachelor's degrees conferred on Black students.
The campus is home to the American Indian Institute, which has the goal of increasing the number of Indigenous students who enroll and graduate from the CSU system. Starting in 2011, CSUDH and the AII began hosting the "Honoring the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas" Pow Wow.
CSUDH students conduct research and present their findings at the campus' Annual Student Research Day. The annual event is open to undergraduate and graduate students. Outstanding research projects are selected for inclusion at the CSU Statewide Student Research Competition.
CSUDH's McNair Scholars Program was established in 2004. It is named after NASA mission specialist Ronald McNair, who died in the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger explosion. The program's goal is to support and fund first-generation, low-income, and/or underrepresented students preparing for future doctoral studies. The program provides a variety of academic support and services., the program has achieved a 93% graduate school acceptance rate.
In 2014, following its acquisition of 21 new Steinway-designed pianos, CSUDH was named an All-Steinway School, the first public four-year university in California to receive the designation. These instruments are subject to periodic inspections by Steinway factory representatives.
Sixty-five percent of CSUDH students engage in service learning, both through the formal curriculum and the university's service learning hub, the Center for Service Learning, Internships & Civic Engagement. The university was Presidential Winner of the 2014 President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. The Presidential Award is the highest federal recognition an institution can receive for its commitment to community, service-learning, and civic engagement.
The university focuses on the STEM disciplines, hosting the Annual STEM in Education Conference, offering the First-Year Undergraduate STEM Experience, and in 2014 hosting the Women in STEM Conference. Its Center for Innovation in STEM Education was established in 2014 by a donation from the Annenberg Foundation and aims to improve local education with various STEM initiatives. CSUDH offers a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, a Bachelor of Arts in Computer Technology with an option to concentrate in Homeland Security, and a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology. In 2017, it received a $4 million grant from Toyota to create an 87,000-square foot Science and Innovation Building to prepare students for careers in science, technology, engineering and math. The Toyota Center for Innovation in STEM Education, housed inside the building, includes a fabrication lab, high-tech classrooms, collaborative workspaces, and labs for K-12 teacher training.
Undergraduate programs
Fall freshman statistics| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | |
| Freshman applicants | 16,860 | 16,741 | 18,101 | 20,351 |
| Admits | 14,947 | 14,999 | 15,752 | 16,066 |
| % Admitted | % | % | % | % |
| Enrolled | 1,874 | 2,048 | 2,254 | 2,533 |
| GPA | 3.22 | 3.22 | 3.16 | 3.17 |
Popular majors for undergraduates in 2018 included Business Administration at 18.04%, Psychology at 11.29%, Sociology at 8.01%. While popular majors for graduates were Education, General at 24.22%, Public Administration at 11.18%, and Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing at 10.31%