California State University, Bakersfield President Lynnette Zelezny has awarded the university’s highest honor — the President’s Medal — to business leader, philanthropist and alumnus Thomas Hardt for his extraordinary support of CSUB students.
“Tom has shown his love for the Roadrunner family in countless ways since the earliest days of Cal State Bakersfield, when he was a student,” Zelezny said. “His support has helped students from all corners of the university, and his passion for our baseball program transformed a dirt lot into a field of dreams.”
Students, faculty and staff gave Hardt a standing ovation when Zelezny conferred the award on April 11 at a recognition dinner for the university’s research supporters.
“I am extremely humbled and thankful for the recognition given by President Zelezny,” Hardt said. “Generations of community leaders have led by example of giving and I am pleased to be able to contribute in a meaningful way.”
A standout catcher in high school, Hardt graduated from Cal State Bakersfield with a degree in business in 1973 and launched a successful career in real estate acquisition, development and the construction of single and multi-family homes.
In 2005, when CSUB launched a regional campaign to transition to Division I competition, Hardt stepped up with a gift that allowed CSUB to meet that goal and field its first baseball team.
“And Tom’s support did not stop after he signed the check,” Zelezny said at the awards ceremony. “With the clock ticking down to the first CSUB home game in February 2009, Tom mobilized a squad of scholar-athletes, coaches and community volunteers to turn a 100,000-square-foot dirt lot into a Division I baseball facility.”
In December, Hardt pledged an additional $1.5 million to upgrade Hardt Field, improving the experience for fans and players, and elevating CSUB’s reputation as a major competitor in the Big West Conference.
CSUB Athletics Director Kyle Conder said Hardt’s gift reflects Bakersfield’s reputation as a baseball community.
“We are so grateful to Tom Hardt for his continued support and investment in our program,” he said. “Tom’s philanthropy is a model that is representative of what we can achieve in Bakersfield with vision and dedication.”
Hardt, who was inducted into the CSUB Alumni Hall of Fame in 2016, has contributed $2.6 million in support to CSUB and surprised the audience at the recent event by pledging an extra $10,000 for research.
“I am all about research and how it is required in everyday life,” he said. “Research is not only a project but a way of thinking that enables us to find solutions. I was once given a sign that read, ‘The road is always under construction.’ This statement has shifted my perspective on life and confirms my belief in the continued need for research in all fields.”
The President’s Medal was presented at the annual President’s Associates Recognition Dinner on Tuesday. It is an opportunity for supporters of CSUB research to meet student research scholars and learn more about their projects, which touch on relevant regional topics like energy, pollution along the Kern River, building a pipeline for STEM teachers and more.
“Research is the bridge that connects a university classroom with the real-life opportunities, concerns and aspirations of the surrounding communities that support, inspire and sustain us,” Zelezny said. “Through research, our students are given the life-changing opportunity to work alongside experts in the field, leaders who have moved our region forward for generations and earned Kern County its identity as an innovator, trailblazer and incubator of talent.”
Click here to learn more about the President's Associates.
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