In 1927 Leland Ghent Stanford chartered a private graduate institution called Balboa Law College in San Diego (USA), which later changed its name toBalboa University in 1945. In 1952, Balboa University again changed its name to California Western University, and a year later Dr. William C. Rust became the university’s president.
Soon after, began his search for an African campus, travelling to Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya, before finally settling on Nairobi. The United States International University – Africa was registered under the Companies Act (Cap 486) on 18th September, 1969. In 1970, he signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of Kenya that allowed him to offer business programs and any other degree programs not being offered by the public universities.