The 2021-22 CSUSB Honorary Doctorates

Cal State San Bernardino celebrated two extraordinary people within the campus community at its spring Commencement ceremonies. The university presented an In Memoriam (Posthumous) Honorary Doctorate to Santos Manuel at its May 20 ceremony and an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters to Paulette Brown-Hinds on May 21.

Santos Manuel

Santos Manuel was the Kiika’, or leader, of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians (Serrano/ Yuhaaviatam Indigenous peoples). Born in 1814 into the village of his father in the San Bernardino Mountains, he was named Paakuma. He became the Kiika’ of the Yuhaaviatam or “People of the Pines,” a respected Serrano spiritual leader, and controlled all the resources within the Yuhaaviatam landscape. Today, Santos Manuel is revered by the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians as a visionary man who arose in their darkest hour through extraordinary leadership, ensuring the survival of their ancestors and tribe.

As a Serrano clan leader, Manuel is recognized for safely leading the tribe from its homeland in the mountains and valleys to escape militia forces that decimated the group during a 32-day battle. After being chased out of the mountains and settling within what is now known as the Inland Empire, Manuel led the band to refuge along the banks of Warm Creek. They resided here for three decades. The leader then established a permanent village in the foothills above present-day Highland, where the tribe has resided since the late 19th century.

CSUSB recognizes Santos Manuel both as a distinguished individual here in the IE along with the exceptional philanthropic acts of his descendants and of the tribe that bears his name. CSUSB is proud to have its student union named after him.

Paulette Brown-Hinds

CSUSB alumna Paulette Brown-Hinds, ’90, is a well-known and widely respected philanthropist, business and community leader who has made significant contributions to different communities throughout the state. She is the founder of Voice Media Ventures and a second-generation publisher of The Black Voice News, the 50-year-old community newspaper and first Black American online news publication on the West Coast.

Under her leadership as the publisher, The Black Voice News has chronicled some of the most important stories impacting the lives of Black Californians by giving a “voice” to the community while expanding its scope of civic involvement, and addressing issues from disparities in health, education and wealth to police violence, social justice and civil rights battles. An award-winning columnist and John S. Knight Community Impact Fellow at Stanford University, Brown-Hinds has nearly 30 years of experience in media, communications and community engagement.

Her interest in local journalism and doing work for the public good has led her to serve on multiple influential boards, including the California News Publishers Association, the largest and oldest trade association for the news publishing industry in the state. In 2019, she served as president of the board, becoming the first African American elected to lead the organization. She is also the first African American to chair the Inland Empire Community Foundation board.