CSUB alum gives $250,000 to university

Gift will go toward athletic scholarships, creation of Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation

By California State University, Bakersfield

October 13^th, 2021

Academics and athletics are on the rise at California State University, Bakersfield, thanks to generous supporters such as businessman and CSUB alumnus Chris Hayden, who has provided a $250,000 gift to the university.

Hayden has donated $150,000 toward athletic scholarships and $100,000 that will support the creation of a Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation on campus.

“Entrepreneurship is vital to our local economy, and this program plays a new and exciting role in developing young entrepreneurs for Bakersfield and Kern County,” he said.

Of the $150,000 committed to athletic scholarships, $100,000 will go toward the wrestling program and $50,000 will support golf students.

“The young athletes in these programs are our future leaders, so both the coaches and the athletes deserve our community support,” Hayden said. “I want to support those young student-athletes who have found a positive outlet for themselves while representing our community. I appreciate the self-discipline these young people are developing.”

Dr. Kenneth “Ziggy” Siegfried, director of Athletics and associate vice president of Student Affairs at CSUB, said the gift will have a significant impact on student-athletes at the university.

“We are extremely grateful for Mr. Hayden’s generous gifts to support scholarships for our wrestling and women’s golf scholar-athletes,” he said. “These two sports are on the rise, and Mr. Hayden’s gift will allow these two programs to continue to grow both in the classroom and in competition.”

Dr. John Stark, interim dean of the School of Business and Public Administration, said the gift will assist in CSUB’s existing efforts to expand its business and entrepreneurship programs and course offerings, which in turn will help boost small business growth in the community.

“But beyond this classroom learning, we need the capacity to find internships in this area, to support student efforts, to start and grow businesses and to provide support to local start-ups and small businesses,” he said. "This gift is critical in getting this work started to actually develop, and later build, an Entrepreneurship Center on campus. It is this center that will provide the infrastructure for our efforts and facilitate our work in the important area of business start-ups and growth."

The gift will help fulfill two of the priorities that CSUB has established with its first-ever comprehensive fundraising campaign, which was announced on Oct. 1. It will support future leaders by providing scholarships to student-athletes and build the community by assisting with the creation of the Center for Entrepreneurial Innovation.

The goal of the campaign is to raise $55 million by July 2024 to transform the university.

An innovation hub

The planned entrepreneurship center will be a venture accelerator through which entrepreneurs will be paired with mentors who will help them develop their business ideas. It will not only be open to students, but faculty, staff and the community as well.

The center will serve as an innovation hub for the region by connecting local entrepreneurial programs and institutions, according to the university. It is expected to offer an entrepreneurship speaker series, internships, an Innovation Expo and other programs.

“We’ve got a lot of entrepreneurial passion on campus, a lot of students who are going to be benefitted by this center,” said Dr. Jeremy Woods, who is a faculty adviser for CSUB’s Entrepreneurship Club and leads the university's entrepreneurship programs. “It’s really good to hear that it’s finally coming and is getting some funding.”

While Dr. Woods said some student entrepreneurs have already had the opportunity to be mentored by business leaders through CSUB’s existing entrepreneurship program, the development of the center will allow for more students to be able to have that experience.

“The groundswell of student support is there and has been for a long time. Now we’re starting to catch up with it,” he said.

One of CSUB’s entrepreneurs is Jaidyn Conner, who will be graduating from the university with a degree in business management this December and is already a businesswoman, having created her own private tutoring business last year called Jaidyn’s Tutoring.

Conner said she’s excited about the idea of CSUB having a dedicated entrepreneurship center.

“I absolutely love the idea of having a center like this on campus that can serve as a resource for people in the community. Having a center would allow existing efforts to grow, to really help prepare students for their business journey,” she said. “This gift will allow us to offer even more help to small-business owners. I am in awe of this opportunity for the campus.”

About the campaign

`Runners on the Rise is the first-ever comprehensive fundraising campaign at California State University, Bakersfield. The campaign is centrally focused on what is most important at CSUB: students. This ambitious effort aims to raise $55 million by July 2024, helping our students — and in turn the entire region — reach new heights of success. Join us on this upward trajectory at csub.edu/rise.