According to a 2025 Rose Institute survey, California’s city managers are more likely to hail from California State University Long Beach (CSULB) than any other public university. Six percent of the city managers who responded to the survey earned their highest degrees there, second only to the University of Southern California. Many more CSULB graduates have gone on to become city managers in other parts of the country. The Rose survey also doesn’t include city managers who attended CSULB for undergrad, but completed a master’s elsewhere.
What makes CSULB and its College of Health & Human Services so special? The university recently spoke to city manager alumni to get the answer.
“CSULB prepares students not to theorize, but to serve,” said Oceanside City Manager Jonathan Borrego. “A lot of the professors that I had in my MPA program were practicing government administrators [with] direct, real-life experience. Some of my classes were taught by practicing city managers. Just hearing their stories and their advice was super, super valuable. It wasn't just book experience.”
The public administration program is also tailor-made for busy government professionals.
“Housed in the College of Health & Human Services — and offered fully online through the College of Professional and Continuing Education — CSULB’s Master of Public Administration (MPA) program is designed for the workaday realities of public service,” according to CSULB. “Founded in 1973, CSULB’s MPA program has graduated more than 3,000 students."
“Everywhere I go, I run into city managers who went to Long Beach,” said Arcadia City Manager Dominic Lazaretto. “It's a quiet program that turns out success.”
Read more about CSULB’s College of Health & Human Services and its city manager alumni here.