On Oct. 1, 2020, CSUB hosted our virtual 50th Anniversary Celebration. Aired on multiple social media channels, we brought guests and supporters in from all over the world to come together in the virtual space and mark this momentous occasion. In order to make this event worthy of such an important milestone, we combined our plans to kick off our anniversary year, feature a world-class speaker for our Presidential Speaker Series, and start a new tradition of Giving Day. The two-hour-long program was packed with content. From messages of congratulations from prominent community members to a question-and-answer session with Sir Richard Branson moderated by Rep. Kevin McCarthy, viewers were able to see how much of an impact our university has had on our community, and how we continue to work to bring opportunities to our students.
Marking the date of our first day of classes five decades ago, we highlighted how far we have come in that short amount of time. We included historical photos of our campus as it has grown, accompanied by music from student performers. Bakersfield has a rich music tradition, and we incorporated that into our program by featuring a Grammy-winning musician from the area, as well as pre-recorded performances from prominent alumni musicians. All of this content highlighting our impact was the perfect way to introduce our first annual Giving Day and offer our viewers a chance to make an impression on the next 50 plus years by donating toward student success.
