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Founding faculty: "A crucial part of my life"

50th anniversary faculty spotlight: Dr. Jackie Kegley

By California State University, Bakersfield

September 8^th, 2020

“I can’t believe we’re already at the 50th,” said Dr. Jackie Kegley, outstanding professor of philosophy, of the 2020 anniversary celebration at California State University, Bakersfield. “It’s amazing to see how much the campus has grown.”

While she never thought she’d “be around this long,” she recalled planning the 25th anniversary alongside Dr. George Hibbard. It was complete with banners, a book, and a birthday cake. It went “quite well,” she said.

Dr. Kegley and her late husband, Dr. Charles W. Kegley, lived on Staten Island in New York City before the opportunity of moving to Bakersfield came to them.

They were visited by an old friend, Tom Watts, the first dean for the School of Social Sciences and Education at CSUB, who told them about a new university opening soon in California.

“Of course, that was a pretty exciting idea,” said Dr. Kegley.

Dr. Charles Kegley, a philosophy professor, visited and noted how interesting California was, as well as how the bedrooms were bigger than the apartment they had in New York.

In 1969, when their daughter was just a couple months old, they moved to Bakersfield and took a chance on CSUB — then called California State College Bakersfield.

“We didn’t know anything about California. We’d never been to California, except at the San Francisco airport,” said Dr. Kegley.

Founding faculty: "A crucial part of my life"

Founding faculty: "A crucial part of my life"

Founding faculty: "A crucial part of my life"

Founding faculty: "A crucial part of my life"

Founding faculty: "A crucial part of my life"

Founding faculty: "A crucial part of my life"

Founding faculty: "A crucial part of my life"

Founding faculty: "A crucial part of my life"

Moving to Bakersfield from the east coast took time to adjust, but Dr. Kegley credits the family atmosphere on campus for helping them settle in.

“It was a very close-knit community in the beginning,” she reminisced. “The atmosphere at this time was very family family-oriented.”

There were soup and salad nights at the home of first CSUB president, Paul Romberg, and his wife, Rose. There were social affairs and picnics. It was a time when everybody knew everybody.

Mrs. Romberg even picked out a house for the couple, which was ready for them to move in once they arrived in Bakersfield. The Rombergs also introduced them to a number of members in the community. In fact, Paul and Rose Romberg became the godparents to their firstborn daughter.

Although the Kegleys were willing to take a chance, they had no idea what the future held, nor that they would stay as long as they did.

When Dr. Charles Kegley first came to campus, Dr. Jackie Kegley was finishing her doctorate at Columbia University. CSUB was looking to hire someone else in the philosophy department, in her area of specialization.

However, nepotism was a strong rule on campus at the time, so hiring spouses on campus wasn’t allowed, until President Romberg recognized that there was a lot of talent — and so she was hired.

Founding faculty: "A crucial part of my life"

Founding faculty: "A crucial part of my life"

“We had to struggle at the beginning, to be honest, to get the community to accept the university. They still kind of favored Bakersfield College. We were the new kids in the block; it was a struggle to be accepted,” said Dr. Kegley.

But, the university always had the `Runner spirit of working to try new things and to keep building.

After the college officially became a university in 1987, there was a shift.

“It gave us the sense that we have finally been accepted and made it,” she said.

The main goal was to become a university, but at the beginning, they were too small and didn’t have enough programs to make it a reality. But Dr. Kegley said there was a “frontier kind of spirit that has always been present.”

In addition to becoming a university, the turning point for the community was watching CSUB Athletics become a part of the Division II family, moving on and winning national championships. Today, the university is in Division I, the highest level in intercollegiate athletics designated by the NCAA.

Founding faculty: "A crucial part of my life"

“It’s been my home, the basis of all my friendships, the basis of my professional career. So, CSUB is really a crucial part of my life.”

Founding faculty: "A crucial part of my life"

After all these years, what has CSUB meant to her?

“It’s been my home, the basis of all my friendships, the basis of my professional career,” she said, adding that her two children grew up with the university and she spent all of her career at CSUB, other than two years spent at the University of the Philippines As Rockefeller Professors. “So, CSUB is really a crucial part of my life.”

Although she’s had offers to work elsewhere, Dr. Kegley bleeds blue and gold and has remained on campus after all these years.

“Bakersfield is my home and I really did not want to leave,” she said. “I think that was the attitude of many of the founding faculty. Almost all of them stayed and built their home here.”

“I hope we will continue to maintain the sense of community. Though as we grow it’s going to be much more difficult and we need to learn to adjust to growth. And hopefully we don’t grow too fast,” said Dr. Kegley of the university’s next half-a-century. “We care about our students, they care about each other. We succeed together.”

Founding faculty: "A crucial part of my life"

Founding faculty: "A crucial part of my life"

Founding faculty: "A crucial part of my life"

Founding faculty: "A crucial part of my life"

Founding faculty: "A crucial part of my life"

VISIT THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY WEBSITE

Footnotes

Story by Shelby Parker, writer/marketing and communications specialist; Photos provided by Dr. Jackie Kegley and the California State University Chancellor's Office

FootNotes

Story by Shelby Parker, writer/marketing and communications specialist; Photos provided by Dr. Jackie Kegley and the California State University Chancellor's Office

© 2026 California State University, Bakersfield

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