Students officially return to Cal State San Bernardino on Thursday, Sept. 21, for the first day of classes of the 2017-18 academic year.

Officials from the CSUSB Office of Institutional Research estimate that the fall quarter will see a total enrollment of 20,458 students with, so far, 2,531 first-year students and 2,126 transfer students. CSUSB received a total of 15,647 applications from first-year students.

The university kicked off the academic year on Sept. 18 at its Convocation ceremony, where 15 members of CSUSB’s Class of 1967, called the Golden Grads, returned to campus to celebrate their 50th anniversary and reaffirm their commitment to the university.

As part of the convocation keynote address, President Tomás D. Morales, now in his fifth year of leading the university, unveiled CSUSB’s new identity initiative: “We Define the Future.”

“Those four words explicitly convey this university’s vision, purpose and legacy,” Morales told faculty, staff and administrators gathered at Coussoulis Arena for Convocation. “It will be embedded in everything we say and do, elevating the identities of the San Bernardino and Palm Desert campuses, firmly establishing this great university as the intellectual, social and economic driver of the Inland Empire and Coachella Valley.”

The president also talked about the university’s five-year strategic plan, now in its third year of implementation, and its five goals: student success, faculty and staff success, resource sustainability and expansion, community engagement and partnerships, and identity.

Along with the start of classes, the new school year will see the grand opening on Sept. 27 of the university’s 24-hour, seven-day-a-week study center dubbed “The Cave.” The center, located in the wedge of the John M. Pfau Library, will provide a safe study environment with access to the computer lab. After midnight, students can access the study center using their Coyote ID cards.

The university will hold a ribbon cutting on Friday, Sept. 22  for its First People’s Center, which is dedicated to supporting the academic achievement and personal success of indigenous students, while celebrating their traditional heritage. The center, located in the Cross Cultural Center of the university’s Santos Manuel Student Union, will provide a welcoming, diverse and culturally sensitive environment to all of CSUSB’s student body.

This year Cal State San Bernardino will see the opening of two new centers, the CSUSB Faculty Center for Excellence and the CSUSB Staff Development Center. Each center is geared toward promoting and encouraging opportunities for professional growth for faculty and staff development.

The CSUSB Staff Development Center opened earlier this month and is located in the wedge of the John M. Pfau Library. The CSUSB Faculty Center for Excellence will have its ribbon cutting on Sept. 27 at 9 a.m., and is in the Pfau Library in PL-4005.

The university has also created the CSUSB Staff Council, which is dedicated to serving the campus community through the sponsorship and support of programs, services and events, which promote positive communication among staff and enhances staff recognition. The council will seek to facilitate communication and cooperation across the campus on issues of interest and concern to staff.

For more information, contact the CSUSB Office of Strategic Communication at (909) 537-5007 and visit news.csusb.edu.