California State University, San Bernardino’s Office of Alumni Relations has announced their inaugural Alumni Hall of Fame Awards. Nominations will open Friday, Jan. 13, for the proposed Sept.15 celebratory event.

The three university-wide awards are Distinguished Alumni, Rising Star/Emerging Leader, and Coyote Spirit. The college-linked awards are called the Paw Print Awards. They will honor esteemed alumni from each college.

The general criteria for the awards will include having earned at least 45 units at CSUSB, having reached and maintained a pinnacle of a recipient’s career and possessing a high degree of character. Elected officials are not eligible. The specific criteria for each award can be found at the CSUSB Alumni Hall of Fame 2023 webpage.

Crystal Wymer-Lucero, director of Alumni Relations, emphasized the importance of these recognitions for the greater CSUSB community. 

“We have alumni in all 50 states and 109 countries (including the U.S.) doing amazing things. And, while individual colleges have recognized their graduates in the past, we have never done so as a full university community,” she said.

CSUSB President Tomás D. Morales echoed Wymer-Lucero’s comments. He observed that the ongoing achievements of CSUSB alumni were a point of pride for him personally and professionally.

“Our students are an outstanding group of achievers while they are enrolled, and they are continuing their accomplishments as they’ve moved into their post-college lives,” said Morales. “It is so important to celebrate their achievements and share their stories, as these can inspire future generations to say, ‘Yes, I can do that, too.’”

CSUSB alumni have an out-size effect on the region. More than two-thirds of the university’s alumni remain in the Inland Empire, helping to attract and fill jobs in key industries that drive our local economy, including: computer science, business, health care, accounting and finance, education, social work and government.

CSUSB’s IE alumni earned incrementally higher incomes of nearly $2 billion in 2019 due to their CSUSB degrees. This increased spending power of CSUSB alumni in the IE supported an additional 10,500 jobs, and generated $1.5 billion in industry activity, as well as $118 million in state and local tax revenue.

Wymer-Lucero said that CSUSB alumni are key to turning the Inland Empire’s potential into actual economic drive and success.

“I can’t say it enough,” she added, “Cal State San Bernardino’s alumni are building the future of our region, of our state and of the country.”

CSUSB’s Office of Alumni Relations provides opportunities for alumni to connect with each other and their alma mater. It also provides opportunities for CSUSB graduates to mentor and support current students through volunteer opportunities.