CSUDH Opens $231.5 Million Buildings as Faculty Bargain

Cal State Dominguez Hills cut the ribbon Thursday on five buildings funded through a $231.5 million campus expansion, opening an electrical switchyard, a prosthetics lab, a freshman residence hall, a residential dining hall and a recreation center to students and visitors. The university also unveiled a statue of Toro, its mascot, in a new plaza.

The additions are aimed at changing the school's long-standing commuter profile. The residence hall opened in August with 200 students living in it, and the Dining Commons began serving meals the same month. Meals are now available three times a day, seven days a week, and residents of the hall are required to buy meal plans.

The Health, Wellness and Recreation Center covers 82,000 square feet and holds basketball courts, a running track, a pool, fitness rooms, and massage and light therapy stations. The building also houses satellite offices for psychological services, student health and nutrition counseling, along with a relaxation room. Tiffany Herbert, the interim vice president for student affairs, said students designed, named and funded the center. "It reflects the needs and aspirations of our students," Herbert said.

The residence hall has four floors with single, double and triple rooms and can hold 288 students, plus a lounge, laundry room and courtyard. The Dining Commons has eight food stations and seats for more than 350 people indoors and out. Residential life coordinator Daryl Robinson said on-campus options before this were limited to grab-and-go cafes.

The Orthotics and Prosthetics Science and Technology Hub opened in the spring, moving the university's master's degree program back from Los Alamitos. The lab includes a makerspace, plaster room, machine room and a CAD-Mechatronics room where students print prosthetics in 3D. The school's website says the space is also expected to serve as an equipment and repair site for the LA28 Paralympics.

The electrical switchyard, built with Southern California Edison, is designed to conserve energy. Its 203 charging stations give the campus more EV chargers than any other CSU campus, officials said.

The courtyard outside the recreation center carries the name Gil Smith Memorial Plaza. Smith, Carson's first mayor, pushed for the campus to be built there in the 1960s after the Palos Verdes Peninsula was chosen as the site. He died in November 2024. His widow, Shirley Smith, said he learned of the planned honor before he died. "In the 1960s, Gil was among the first to recognize the potential of what many saw as an abandoned (agricultural and industrial area)," she said.

State Sen. Laura Richardson, whose district includes Carson, said the campus has moved from a last choice to a first option. "You've taken this university to be a university of choice," she said.

California Faculty Association members picketed on the sidelines of Thursday's event as part of statewide "Cost of Living is a Nightmare" rallies. The union is bargaining over a higher minimum base salary, wages and protections against artificial intelligence replacing counselors and faculty, said Paul Fornelli, a communications lecturer and co-president of the CSUDH chapter. The previous contract expired in 2024, he said, and the union is preparing a possible strike vote.