A check presentation ceremony was held on Oct. 19 at the CSUSB Palm Desert Campus to celebrate the $79 million state budget allocation to build Phase I of a new Student Services Building at the California State University, San Bernardino Palm Desert Campus.

State assemblymembers Eduardo Garcia, 56th District, and Chad Mayes, 42nd District, shared remarks and presented a $79 million check from the state of California to the California State University, San Bernardino Palm Desert Campus.

Remarks were also provided by Jan Harnik, mayor, city of Palm Desert; Steven Hernandez, mayor, city of Coachella; Joe Wallace, president/CEO, Coachella Valley Economic Partnership; Dick Oliphant, chairman, PDC Advancement Board; Robert J. Nava, vice president, CSUSB University Advancement and executive director, CSUSB Philanthropic Foundation; Jake Zhu, dean, CSUSB Palm Desert Campus; and Sarah Lopez, vice president, Associated Students, Inc., CSUSB Palm Desert Campus.

When complete, the new 23,700 square-foot building will include an advising/tutoring center, career center, expanded campus library, group study space, a cross cultural center, campus bookstore, food services, a student health center and a recreation and wellness center, and provide enhanced services and support for students at the Palm Desert Campus.

It will vacate approximately 10,200 square feet of existing space in the campus’s Mary Stuart Rogers Gateway Building, Indian Wells Center for Educational Excellence and Palm Desert Health Sciences Building. That space will be re-purposed for the expansion of academic programs on the campus, including additional faculty offices and classrooms.

The new Student Services Building will accommodate up to 4,000 students and is designed for maximal flexibility as the campus continues to grow.

With the campus seeing a significant increase in student enrollment, this investment of $79 million to fund a student center as part of the efforts to expand the CSUSB Palm Desert Campus is the next step in creating a more commutable and inviting campus for those in the region.

For more information about the CSUSB Palm Desert Campus, contact Mike Singer in the Office of Strategic Communication at msinger@csusb.edu or (760) 341-2883, ext. 78107, or visit the PDC website at www.csusb.edu/pdc.

From left: Jake Zhu, dean, CSUSB Palm Desert Campus; Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia; Assemblymember Chad Mayes; Sarah Lopez, vice president, Associated Students Inc., CSUSB Palm Desert Campus; Andrew Hunter, CSUSB Palm Desert Campus student; Sasha Baltazar, Rancho Mirage Student Center coordinator; Yunuen Cerano, CSUSB Palm Desert Campus; and Robert Nava, vice president, CSUSB University Advancement.
From left: Jake Zhu, dean, CSUSB Palm Desert Campus; Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia; Assemblymember Chad Mayes; Sarah Lopez, vice president, Associated Students Inc., CSUSB Palm Desert Campus; Andrew Hunter, CSUSB Palm Desert Campus student; Sasha Baltazar, Rancho Mirage Student Center coordinator; Yunuen Cerano, CSUSB Palm Desert Campus; and Robert Nava, vice president, CSUSB University Advancement.