CSU Fullerton Giles-O’Malley Center for Leadership Fullerton, California
The Giles-O'Malley Center for Leadership believes leadership extends far beyond traditional boundaries, and true leadership is a synergy of building relationships, continuous improvement and making a positive impact. This new facility is dedicated to fostering leadership skills, personal growth, and community engagement among students and professionals.
Location
Fullerton, California
Sector
Design-Build
Service
Architecture
Client
CSU Fullerton
Status
Under Construction
Size
20,000 GSF
A New Academic Hub for Leadership Education
The Giles-O’Malley Center for Leadership expands California State University, Fullerton’s commitment to leadership education through innovative curriculum, executive education, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Purposefully located adjacent to Mihaylo Hall and the College of Business and Economics, the Center establishes a new home for leadership development and professional learning in Southern California.
The Center supports undergraduate, graduate, and executive-level programs through experiential learning, research, and engagement with expert faculty whose academic and industry experience spans Fortune 100 companies, government agencies, family businesses, and nonprofit organizations. Together, these programs position CSUF as a destination for leadership education that bridges academic excellence with real-world application.
Connecting Leadership Education to the Community
The Giles-O’Malley Center for Leadership extends beyond the university to create meaningful partnerships with businesses, civic organizations, alumni, and community leaders throughout Orange County. Through mentorship, networking, corporate workshops, scholarships, and leadership initiatives, the Center creates opportunities for students and professionals to connect, develop, and serve.
By fostering collaboration between emerging leaders and accomplished executives, the Center strengthens ties between the university and the regional community while supporting workforce development, civic engagement, and lifelong learning. These partnerships create a dynamic environment where leadership is shaped through shared experience, relationship-building, and community impact.
a dynamic section
The 20,000gsf building program is packaged into a small 8,200 SF site footprint, which results in a dense 3-story hub of activity supporting academic and professional development. The Erhard Institute for Leadership Studies opens up to the lobby and activates the ground level. The auditorium on the second floor is designed to support TED style lectures and Keynote Speakers, while the third floor is the home to group training and community engagement with its flexible training lab, pre-function lobby and events terrace with views across the campus and beyond. The third floor is also home to a broadcast TV studio, which supports a variety of media and content creation opportunities. This section provides a glimpse into this density of activity in a compact volume.
an iconic landmark
The building has been conceptualized as an iconic institution with a strong presence on the CSUF campus due to its prominent location. To achieve this goal, the design employs interlinked compositional strategies comprising the following elements:
Unified Wrapper
The building facade features curved corners and is elevated from the ground, creating an impression of an object with carved openings. A terracotta colored, heavily textured, stucco facade seamlessly and efficiently navigates the curved corners, generating captivating interplays of shadows against the Californian sun. Vertical sunshades are integrated into the expansive glazing helping to mitigate glare and internal heat gain while also providing a variation in rhythm that complements the curved massing.
Floating Roof Contrasting with the building below, the relatively thin roof plane conveys apparent lightness and exhibits a sharp contrast to the massing below. The prominence of the roof edge allows the third level to visually recede, while providing definition and shade to the outdoor events terrace.
Anchoring the Building A durable, brick plinth grounds the building and extends into the immediate landscape. This design choice references the brick walls found across campus while creating a visual contrast with the materials employed in the upper sections of the building.
reading room & archives
Modeled after the CSUF Oral History Program, the library will serve as both a research resource and a living archive, giving students, faculty, and community members access to donated collections, recorded histories, and multimedia materials that deepen learning and preserve institutional memory. Purpose-built archival storage and preservation systems ensure these collections remain protected for future generations, reinforcing the Center’s role as a steward of leadership history, scholarship, and public engagement.
auditorium
Designed to support leadership coursework, lectures, and community events, the auditorium creates a flexible gathering space where students, faculty, and visiting leaders can exchange ideas, collaborate, and engage in meaningful dialogue. With seating for approximately 160 people, integrated presentation technology, and dedicated speaker support spaces, the venue elevates the Center for Leadership’s ability to host impactful programs that connect academic learning with real-world leadership and community engagement.
training room
The training room provides a flexible venue for workshops, guest speakers, and campus events, supporting both small-group collaboration and larger presentations. With adaptable layouts, integrated A/V technology, direct access to the outdoor events terrace, and the necessary infrastructure to support catering and food service, the space strengthens opportunities for leadership development, professional engagement, and community connection.
TV recording studio
The studio will serve as the home of The Leadership Voice, featuring conversations with business leaders, public officials, and other influential voices on leadership and civic engagement. At the same time, it provides CSUF students with hands-on access to professional-grade media production, helping them develop communication, storytelling, and digital content skills that extend beyond the classroom.
A History of Engagement at CSU Fullerton
The Center for Leadership is the latest in a long history of completed projects by Steinberg Hart on the CSU Fullerton campus. Our work with CSUF has evolved from supporting Student Life, to supporting Student Engagement, Health, Finance, and now supporting Professional Growth and Achievement post graduation. Our Phase II and Phase III Student Housing, this first LEED Platinum Student Housing project in California helped transform CSUF from a commuter campus to a resident campus. The award-winning Titan Student Union provides a new home for student activities and engagement central to campus activities along Titan Walk. We have been honored to be a part of the transformation of the CSUF campus and look forward to The Center for Leadership adding to this legacy of collaboration at the campus.
