California State University Monterey Bay

When Congress decided to shut down Fort Ord, the local community proposed the base be converted into a university. In June 1994, that plan was approved and Cal State Monterey Bay began. Hank Hendrickson, then Executive Dean of CSUMB, signed the deed on August 29, 1994.

California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB) is envisioned as a comprehensive state university which values service through high quality education. The campus will be distinctive in serving the diverse people of California, especially the working class and historically undereducated and low-income populations. It will feature an enriched living and learning environment and year-round operation. The identity of the university will be framed by substantive commitment to multilingual, multicultural, gender-equitable learning.

Under a cooperative agreement with the NASA Ames Research Center, the university performs remote sensing, ecosystem modeling, and geospatial research for earth system science and health. CSUMB researchers work in 10 areas, including coral reef monitoring, land use, carbon modeling and disease transmission.

Our graduates will have an understanding of interdependence and global competence, distinctive technical and educational skills, the experience and abilities to contribute to California's high quality work force, the critical thinking abilities to be productive citizens, and the social responsibility and skills to be community builders. CSUMB will dynamically link the past, present, and future by responding to historical and changing conditions, experimenting with strategies which increase access, improve quality, and lower costs through education in a distinctive CSU environment.