Cal State Dominguez Hills will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony Oct. 29 to celebrate the grand opening of five campus facilities, including the Health, Wellness and Recreation Center. The ceremony will also feature the unveiling of a 6,000-pound bronze Toro statue.
The celebration will mark the completion of two years of capital projects at CSUDH. The grand opening will feature festivities at the Student Dining Commons, Phase IV Housing, the SoCal Edison Switchyard and the Orthotics and Prosthetics Center, which have all opened within the past year.
The projects were led by former CSUDH President Thomas A. Parham, who retired in December 2025. In August of that year, Parham described the construction as the “next chapter” in the university’s story.
“The projects we celebrate today illustrate a campus that has its eyes on the future, even as we strive to overcome the challenges of the day,” Parham said, referring to the budget crisis affecting the California State University system.
Facility is ‘more than a gym’
The $87 million Health, Wellness, and Recreation Center (HWRC) is among the most anticipated additions to the campus. The facility was scheduled to open before the start of the semester, but ultimately pushed back to the grand opening ceremony this month.
The 83,000 square-foot facility will house basketball and volleyball courts, pickleball and badminton courts, and an indoor running track—plus strength-training and cardio equipment.
Toros are charged a $215 fee each semester for the facility. The fee, first assessed in Fall 2026, provides students with a full membership to the HWRC, including group fitness classes and access to the pool when it opens in December.
“It will be a very accessible way for students to come here, and they can go there when other places aren’t readily available and they might charge you a little bit more,” said Mathew Reyes, a freshman.
CSUDH faculty, staff, and alumni can become HWRC members at an annual, monthly, weekly, or daily rate. Memberships will, likewise, be open to the public.
The facility will also host the ToroIM Intramural League, giving students opportunities to compete in a variety of team and individual sports. Serena Gandara, director of the HWRC, told The Bulletin the facility aims to be “more than a gym,” noting that its four multipurpose rooms will accommodate wellness services such as acupuncture and massage therapy.
“We really want the student to get the whole holistic experience that their physical health is connected to their mental health, connected to your social health, so it’s all this intertwined and integrated experience,” Gandara said.
The majority of Toros commute to campus, and Gandara believes the new facilities could give them more opportunities to socialize and build connections with one another.
“I think that this building—plus the Dining Commons, plus the Phase IV Residential Housing—it’s adding a little bit of an after-hours student life experience to this campus,” Gandara said.
The landmark Toro statue, sculpted by an artist based in Northern California, will be the centerpiece of Gil Smith Plaza outside the building. Smith was Carson’s first Black mayor, and he chaired the committee that worked to establish CSUDH in the city in 1968.
“They brought [the statue] down in one solid piece on a flatbed truck and did an installation in one day,” Gandara explained. “It was really fun to watch.”
Orthotics and Prosthetics Center brings program back to campus
The Orthotics and Prosthetics Center represents a homecoming for CSUDH. The university’s graduate degree program is one of approximately 14 accredited programs nationwide. Although the university has offered the degree for four decades, for the past 20 years it’s operated off-campus
CSUDH is home to one of only 14 accredited orthotics and prosthetics graduate degree programs in the country, a field focused on braces and artificial limbs. The university has offered the program for four decades, but for the past 20 years at a 12,000 square-foot facility in Los Alamitos.
It was a pricey operation, according to administrators, costing the university approximately $250,000 in rent every year. Mark Muller, the program director, told The Bulletin that President Parham suggested bringing instruction back to campus.
The Orthotics and Prosthetics Center is equipped with 3D printing and fabrication facilities that will allow faculty and students to create artificial limbs, running legs and bikes for dogs and cats. The center will also partner with LA28 to serve as a hub for the Paralympics, providing equipment repair services for Paralympic athletes and housing an Olympic and Paralympic Study Center.
Muller said the university hopes to open a pro bono clinic to serve patients from local communities.
“Our huge goal is to focus on adaptive sports,” Muller said, “we could go to adaptive sports events and create prosthetic and orthotic components right there, right on the spot.”
