By Glendy Ardon and
Gustavo Reveles
The Runner Staff
CSU Bakersfield has been named an exemplary institution for upward mobility, where students can rise from the bottom fifth of the income distribution to the top three-fifths, according to a study.
CSUB ranked third behind Pace University at 82 percent and New Jersey Institute of Technology at 85 percent.
A study by The Equality of Opportunity Project conducted by Raj Chetty, a professor of economics at Stanford University, along with other notable economics professors and researchers, compiled and analyzed substantiated data on 30 million college students born between 1980 and 1991.
The researchers calculated mobility report cards that compared the students’ earnings after college to their economic backgrounds.
“A defining feature of the American Dream is upward income mobility: the ideal that children have a higher standard of living than their parents,” according to the project’s website.
Upward mobility is consistent with CSUB’s values, according to Horace Mitchell, the president of the university.
“The results reflect the outcomes we’ve been hoping to achieve, and are consistent for our vision and what we aspire for our graduates,” Mitchell said.
“Our mission is to serve the students who are here and the results indicate that we are achieving those goals.”
kinesiology major Hannah Manzanares said, “It’s encouraging. You can be anybody, someone from no money, and make a life for yourself.”
CSUB also enrolls the highest percentage of low-and middle-income students. CSUB admits 39.6 percent of its students from the bottom 40 percent of the income distribution, compared to other colleges, such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology at 13.5 percent, or New York University at 14.3 percent.
“We have a very active outreach staff that work with high schools and community colleges. And we invite high school students for various kinds of programs,” said President Mitchell.
Programs such as Science Day, Math Field Day, and other additional programs provide input to students about college preparedness.
“It’s a whole culture of CSUB that’s positive, and supportive, and is affirming for our students, and it’s an environment and a culture that lets students know that you’re welcome here. We expect you to be successful, and we’re going to help you to be successful,” said President Mitchell.
“These students that are making more money are the ones that give back to the community. Many of them open businesses here in town. They’re helping the economy and giving back to the community,” said CSUB alumna Veronica Campos.
Campos grew up with parents who worked in agricultural labor, and remembers joining them on weekends for extra money. Encouraged by her parents and her ambition to continue her education, Campos took the initiative to attend CSUB.
“It was a priority,” said Campos. “Something that I knew that I had to do. I wanted to do it, since I was at high school. I knew I was going to go to college.”
Rushing between classes and her extra job at a grocery store, Campos managed to pay for her own classes, her tuition and books. Now a kindergarten teacher and a parent, Campos recognizes the value of her college education and the difference it makes in her life today.
Mitchell takes joy in welcoming students into a transformative educational environment.
“My greatest joy, which is shared by our faculty and staff, is to, in fact, have the opportunity to congratulate our students as a graduate. That’s the most fulfilling of my job, is to see students graduate and be prepared to take on the next challenges that they want to take on,” said Mitchell.
