$4.5 Million Donated for New Cal State Campus

PALM DESERT — A $4.5-million contribution from the H.N. and Frances C. Berger Foundation for Cal State’s Coachella Valley campus here assures a spring groundbreaking for the first building, to be located at Frank Sinatra Drive and Cook Street.

The largest gift in Cal State’s $9-million capital campaign, the Berger Foundation donation is the most generous contribution the foundation has made since its establishment in 1961. It is in keeping with the organization’s emphasis upon education at all levels, according to foundation President Ronald M. Auen.

“The Cal State campus is going to be a needed addition to this valley,” Auen said.

Cal State’s Coachella campus has been operating on the grounds of the College of the Desert since 1986. Currently, its enrollment of more than 800 students exceeds its capacity in the temporary buildings, so Cal State San Bernardino, its mother campus, has been raising private funds for a three-building project to establish a stand-alone campus, said Albert Karnig, president of Cal State San Bernardino.

Valley leaders elected to raise funds privately rather than wait 10 to 15 years for new building monies to possibly become available through the state, Karnig added.