Our Coachella Valley

Why the Coachella Valley

The Coachella Valley is currently home to 463,000 permanent residents and according to the Coachella Valley Association of Governments (CVAG) and the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), the population of the Coachella Valley is expected to grow to 884,000 by 2035. This projection represents a growth rate of 99.4%. 

The regional public-school system produces approximately 5,500 graduates per year with 68% Latino and 69% female. The percentage of residents living below the poverty line in 13 of the region’s 17 cities far exceeds both California and Riverside County averages.

Residents of the Coachella Valley and neighboring Imperial County do not have access to an affordable public university education. Local students who aspire to go to college are inhibited from doing so due to the lack of degrees offered locally and the distance of existing higher education options currently available.

The California State University San Bernardino Palm Desert satellite campus (CSUSB-PDC) is the only public four-year university presence in the region, and its capacity and range of degrees are limited. The CSUSB- PDC satellite campus is located 72 miles from the main CSU San Bernardino campus, 94 miles from Cal Poly Pomona, and 63 miles from UC Riverside. Additionally, the Coachella Valley does not have a comprehensive private university such as the University of the Pacific in Stockton or University of Redlands.

Shovel Ready

The Coachella Valley offers the California State University system a shovel ready project that is ready to go.

We have an existing foundation for the university at the California State University San Bernardino Palm Desert satellite campus.

We have the resources to fund building and development.

We have 170 acres of land already designated for the campus.

We have an approved Master Plan and can build a full California State University Palm Desert campus quickly.

We have access to renewable energy sources to power a green campus.