The Titan community celebrated the grand opening of Jewel Plummer Cobb Hall, Cal State Fullerton’s newest residence hall. The six-story, apartment-style building serves more than 500 students and honors the lasting legacy of former CSUF President Jewel Plummer Cobb.
The building adds approximately 155,000 square feet of new space to Housing and Residential Engagement and elevates CSUF’s total on-campus housing capacity to about 2,600 students. At Move-In Day, more than 500 students became the first residents to call Jewel Plummer Cobb Hall home.
Built on the north side of campus adjacent to the Arboretum and Botanical Garden at Cal State Fullerton, Jewel Plummer Cobb Hall incorporates a modern and wellness-focused design for continuing and graduate students as well as student-athletes. Each four-person unit is complete with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen and a living area.
The U-shaped building also features five study lounges, on-site laundry, a mailroom, and the Sequoia Café, which serves Peet’s Coffee, specialty drinks, and grab-and-go food options.
“Jewel Plummer Cobb Hall gives students a place to live, but the students who live here will turn it into a community. Friendships will begin here. Students will celebrate milestones, support each other and create new traditions together,” said Cesar Mendoza, president of Associated Students Inc.
The $130 million state-funded project included about $88.9 million from the California State University Education Student Housing Grant Program to support affordable student housing. The funding was used to launch a reduced-rate housing program, which provides 390 eligible students with 20% off their housing costs.
“Dr. Cobb understood that opportunity should not be reserved for a few; it should be available to all students who are willing to pursue their dreams,” said Khalilah Doss, vice president for student affairs and strategic enrollment management. “Students who have access to stable, supportive housing are better positioned to focus on their education, engage in campus life and take advantage of the opportunities that the university provides.”
The building’s name commemorates CSUF’s late president, who was the first African American woman to lead a major university west of the Mississippi. Cobb served as president from October 1981 to August 1990. A distinguished scientist, educator and researcher, she believed in creating environments where students can thrive.
“Jewel Plummer Cobb Hall represents a continuation of Dr. Cobb’s enduring legacy — a legacy rooted in expanding opportunity, creating pathways for success and ensuring that students have the opportunity they need to realize their full potential,” Doss said at the Aug. 28 grand opening ceremony.
Among her many accomplishments, Cobb established schools for communications, and engineering and computer science; launched a university endowment fund; and obtained state bond funding for the construction of the first on-campus student residence halls.
These accomplishments opened doors for future generations of Titans like Chrissy Washington. In addition to pursuing her bachelor’s degree in communications, Washington serves as president of the Sigma Rho chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. — the same sorority that Cobb was part of when she was a student.
“Since our sorority’s founding in 1908, we have remained committed to our core pillars of sisterhood, scholarship and service. Dr. Cobb’s extensive list of accomplishments are truly a reflection of the pioneering and community-focused ethos of Alpha Kappa Alpha,” Washington said. “I owe my scholarship and success to Dr. Cobb’s trailblazing spirit and commitment to student achievement.”