Our History

Founded in 1994, we’re one of the youngest universities in the CSU system—but our location has more than a century of history.

Long before our school was established, this stretch of Monterey Bay was still a vibrant training ground. Built upon a historic military base, we’ve been preparing ambitious students for bright futures for more than three decades. 

Our Foundation: Fort Ord, Through the Decades 

Our campus grew out of Fort Ord, a decommissioned U.S. Army base with a rich history dating back to 1917. Between the 1950s and 70s, more than 1.5 million enlistees received basic training here—including legendary entertainers Jimi Hendrix and Clint Eastwood. The final basic training classes were held in 1975, but the Fort retained an active infantry division until it officially closed in 1994. 

Explore Fort Ord’s History
 

1994 - Our Founding 

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.

The opportunity to create a new university drew some of the most dedicated, creative and talented people in the field of higher education to Monterey Bay. Within a few months, that team adopted our founding vision statement, which set out our core values, educational philosophy, and still defines what we aspire to be.

1995 - First Day of Classes

August 28, 1995, marked the first day of classes, and as our pioneer alumni can attest, the campus was still a bit rough around the edges. Even so, then-president Bill Clinton paid a visit to the university's opening dedication ceremony. The entrepreneurial spirit and camaraderie that those early classes embodied still exists on-campus — students are empowered to get involved, start things up, and grab every opportunity they can imagine.

The 1990s through Now 

Over the years, CSUMB continued to expand and evolve. We launched new academic programs that align with workplace demands and societal needs. We added athletic teams competing in more sports. Brand new state-of-the-art classroom buildings and residence halls went up, and we started getting attention and recognition for what we had accomplished — our Service Learning program was highlighted in U.S. News & World Report, Intel praised our wireless accessibility, and the team of scholars who accredited us said, "It is our view that CSUMB is a product of scholarship at its best — rigorous, ethical, socially responsible, and respectful of the values and strengths of a diverse group of people who have adopted a common vision and sense of purpose."

Today, you'll still find pieces of Fort Ord's past across campus — in murals, in renovated buildings, and even in newer facilities like the Alumni & Visitors Center, where the lobby ceiling is made of wood recycled from demolished Army barracks. And you'll still find the wisdom and creativity of the founders in the curriculum, with a fresh focus on social mobility and career readiness, and a host of services, departments, and clubs to support students. 

Our campus has since grown dramatically, with the addition of a soaring library, an impressive student union, tasty eateries, and a renovated stadium. We’re also building new traditions, like The Plunge, a beginning-of-the-year group dip into the Pacific Ocean with the president, and the spirit, fun, and treats of Otter Thursdays. 

And you'll have a chance to weave your own story into ours, and become a part of our history as it continues to unfold.

Discover More of Our History

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. The university will be a collaborative, intellectual community distinguished by partnerships with existing institutions both public and private, cooperative agreements which enable students, faculty, and staff to cross institutional boundaries for innovative instruction, broadly defined scholarly and creative activity, and coordinated community service.

The university will invest in preparation for the future through integrated and experimental use of technologies as resources to people, catalysts for learning, and providers of increased access and enriched quality learning. The curriculum of CSUMB will be student and society centered and of sufficient breadth and depth to meet statewide and regional needs, specifically those involving both inner-city and isolated rural populations, and needs relevant to communities in the immediate Tri-County region (Monterey, Santa Cruz, and San Benito). The programs of instruction will strive for distinction, building on regional assets in developing specialty clusters in such areas as: the sciences (marine, atmospheric, and environmental); visual and performing arts and related humanities; languages, cultures, and international studies; education; business; studies of human behavior, information, and communication, within broad curricular areas; and professional study.

The university will develop a culture of innovation in its overall conceptual design and organization, and will utilize new and varied pedagogical and instructional approaches including distance learning. Institutional programs will value and cultivate creative and productive talents of students, faculty, and staff, and seek ways to contribute to the economy of the state, the wellbeing of our communities, and the quality of life and development of its students, faculty, and service areas.

The education programs at CSUMB will:

  • Integrate the sciences, the arts and humanities, liberal studies, and professional training;
  • Integrate modern learning technology and pedagogy to create liberal education adequate for the contemporary world;
  • Integrate work and learning, service and reflection;
  • Recognize the importance of global interdependence;
  • Invest in languages and cross-cultural competence;
  • Emphasize those topics most central to the local area's economy and ecology, and California's long-term needs;
  • Offer a multicultural, gender-equitable, intergenerational, and accessible residential learning environment.

The university will provide a new model of organizing, managing, and financing higher education:

  • The university will be integrated with other institutions, essentially collaborative in its orientation, and active in seeking partnerships across institutional boundaries. It will develop and implement various arrangements for sharing courses, curriculum, faculty, students, and facilities with other institutions.
  • The organizational structure of the university will reflect a belief in the importance of each administrative staff and faculty member, working to integrate the university community across "staff" and "faculty" lines.
  • The financial aid system will emphasize a fundamental commitment to equity and access.
  • The budget and financial systems, including student fees, will provide for efficient and effective operation of the university.
  • University governance will be exercised with a substantial amount of autonomy and independence within a very broad CSU systemwide policy context.
  • Accountability will emphasize careful evaluation and assessment of results and outcomes.

Our vision of the goals of California State University, Monterey Bay includes: a model pluralistic academic community where all learn and teach one another in an atmosphere of mutual respect and pursuit of excellence; a faculty and staff motivated to excel in their respective fields as well as to contribute to the broadly defined university environment. 

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 workforce, 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. University students and personnel will attempt analytically and creatively to meet critical state and regional needs, and to provide California with responsible and creative leadership for the global 21st century.

—September 27, 1994

Peter Smith | 1994 to 2005

CSUMB’s founding president arrived in 1994 ready to build a 21st-century university from the ground up. Peter Smith was already a seasoned politician and an education innovator. He had an insider’s experience and an outsider’s perspective.

“He was the right man for the right job. He came with particularly unique credentials,” U.S. Congressman Sam Farr told the Monterey County Weekly in 2005. “To get Peter was key, because he had been a member of Congress and had credibility in Washington. (And) he was a professional educator and administrator.”

In the 1970s Smith helped establish the Community College of Vermont and became its founding president. In the 1980s Smith shifted to politics, serving as a state senator, lieutenant governor and then a U.S. congressman for the state of Vermont. He returned to education in the 1990s as a dean at George Washington University and head of a federal commission studying college education finance.

In CSUMB’s Founding Year Catalog, Smith described the university as a “pioneering effort” and “truly a work in progress.”

“As you see our commitment to educate purposeful and humane lifelong learners through using institutional and community resources, you will realize this is no ordinary place,” he said. “You are not here simply to be taught, but to teach and learn actively as well.”

For ten years from 1995 to 2005, Smith guided CSUMB through all stages of accreditation, and student enrollment increased from 650 to 4,000. The university became known for its outcomes-based curriculum, a strong science and technology program, its focus on first-generation college students, and its commitment to service learning.

Dianne F. Harrison | 2006 to 2012

Dianne F. Harrison took the helm as CSUMB’s second president with ambitious plans for growth. She announced goals to accelerate student

enrollment, embark on an extensive building program, strengthen community partnerships, and increase private fundraising.

She possessed nearly 30 years of experience as faculty and a top administrator at Florida State University, a campus with 40,000 students. Within months of her arrival, CSUMB broke ground on two major construction projects: a baseball/softball complex and the $64 million Tanimura & Antle Family Memorial Library. Phase two of campus housing and the demolition of more than 100 old army buildings was also on the agenda.

“I plan to act as boldly as I can to move us forward as opportunities arise, to generate positive energy and enthusiasm for this university,” Harrison said in her first State of the University address in September 2006.

CSUMB needed Harrison’s optimism in a period of financial insecurity. During her six years as president, the state slashed millions in funding during an economic recession. Harrison still managed to increase enrollment by 50 percent and the number of staff and faculty by 20 percent. She also expanded undergraduate and graduate degrees from 22 to 31, including a new nursing baccalaureate program.

The Salinas Californian in August 2011 lauded Harrison for “being smart and staying nimble” in trying times. She earned a reputation for building strong relationships with public and private organizations, as well as for her commitment to students, academic excellence and strategic leadership.

Eduardo M. Ochoa | 2012 to 2022

Like many students at CSUMB, President Emeritus Eduardo M. Ochoa’s parents came to the United States seeking the American Dream for their children. They immigrated from Buenos Aires, Argentina, when Ochoa was a teen.

“We always stand on the shoulders of our forefathers,” Ochoa told the Monterey County Weekly in 2013. “My parents came here to give us a better life, and I’m reaping the benefits. I hope to share that with my kids and other immigrant kids just beginning the climb.”

Ochoa earned a master’s degree in nuclear science and engineering and a Ph.D. in economics and worked as a professor, dean and provost at multiple California universities. In 2010 the Obama Administration appointed him U.S. assistant secretary for post-secondary education.

Ochoa became president of CSUMB in 2012 and focused on the role of the university as a steward of the community. He told The Chronicle of Higher Education in 2018: “At CSUMB we take responsibility for advancing our region socially, economically and culturally … We have a strong mission of social equity and social justice and providing access (to education) for underserved communities.”

In 2014 Ochoa founded Bright Futures Educational Partnership, a collaborative initiative involving education, business and community leaders, to improve “cradle-to-career” educational outcomes in the region. Doing so would have the greatest impact by sending positive ripple effects through multiple aspects of life, including poverty, health, crime and the local economy, he said.

Furthering innovation has been another hallmark of Ochoa’s presidency. In 2015 the state bestowed two Awards for Innovation in Higher Education to CSUMB totaling $8 million. The programs honored were CSin3 — a collaboration with Hartnell College that allows students to earn a computer science degree in three years — and a developmental math course called Math Huge.

“For CSUMB, the context for innovation is in looking for ways to do what we do better, more efficiently and effectively. This is something that has been part of the DNA of the campus since its inception,” Ochoa said.

Student enrollment and graduation rates have hit new highs under Ochoa’s leadership. The university expanded to three commencement ceremonies in 2018 and graduated a record 2,348 students in May 2019. Ochoa retired in July 2022 after 10 years as CSUMB president and nearly 40 years with the CSU. For his dedicated service, the CSU honored him with the title President Emeritus.

See Eduardo’s Legacy of Service