Creative & Scholarly Excellence
A premiere comprehensive university, San Francisco State attracts world-class faculty dedicated to the pursuit of excellent teaching, the development of students' potential, and the advancement of discovery, understanding and expression.
Winners of prestigious teaching awards, professional honors and competitive fellowships, our faculty advance teaching and society by furthering the understanding of the natural sciences, history, music, biology, mass communication, the classics, social dynamics, ethnic studies, mathematics and much more.
Faculty and staff have developed exemplary programs in the biosciences, film, broadcast, creative writing and journalism, along with excellence in business, teacher education, physical therapy, multimedia studies, and unique offerings in such areas as human sexuality and Jewish studies.
Students come to SF State with a range of experiences and talents. Those whose academic and personal accomplishments set them apart from their peers are competitively selected for Presidential Scholarships. The scholarship and enrichment program is the most distinguished academic award that an incoming freshman at SF State can receive. Up to 25 Presidential Scholars are selected each year and supported with up to eight semesters of full tuition fees, aid for textbooks and supplies, and priority course registration. They also take two general education courses together as a cohort and attend special seminars and cultural events to develop academic skills and expand their intellectual experiences.
Research, curriculum development and community service at SF State are supported by more than $50.5 million in external grants, contracts and awards. SF State ranks No. 1 among comprehensive (master's level) colleges and universities for total grants in the biological and physical sciences, according to the Research Corporation's "Academic Excellence Sourcebook."
SF State ranks 4th among master's level colleges and universities for the total number of graduates who go on to receive research doctorates according to the 1997-2006 Survey of Earned Doctorates, a study sponsored by several federal agencies including the National Science Foundation.
Noteworthy among our faculty are the distinguished endowed chairs and artists-in-residence who contribute special expertise and perspectives to our campus. Nationally known constitutional and legal historian Christopher Waldrep is the Jamie and Phyllis Pasker Endowed Chair in History. Jewish history and ethics scholar Marc Dollinger is the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Chair in Jewish Studies and Social Responsibility -- the nation's first endowed chair in Jewish studies and social responsibility. Gerardo Ungson, a scholar of organizational theory and international corporate strategy, holds the Y.F. Chang Chair in International Business.
Our artist-in-residence programs bring world-renowned performers to campus to serve as role models and instructors. The nationally renowned Alexander String Quartet is the official quartet-in-residence at SF State. Former Artists-in-Residence include saxophonist Branford Marsalis gave personal lessons to jazz students and helped develop the jazz curriculum; and Danongan "Danny" Kalanduyan, master of the popular traditional kulintang music of the Filipino American community.
Advanced facilities for learning and research at SF State include the Romberg Tiburon Center for Environmental Studies (the only academic research facility on San Francisco Bay), the Treganza Museum of Anthropology, the Henry D. Thiers Herbarium, the SF State Fine Arts Gallery, the Conservation Genetics Laboratory, and the advanced studios of the Cinema and Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts departments.
Faculty
Caitlin Ryan presented pioneering research in a special session of the XVII International AIDS Conference in 2008, that demonstrates how family acceptance during adolescence affects the well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) young adults. Ryan's presentation, "Family acceptance: rethinking prevention and care for LGBT youth and young adults," highlighted research Ryan and her community research team conducted for the Family Acceptance Project at SF State that shows the critical role families play in promoting the well-being of their LGBT children. In addition, Ryan is initiative director at Cesar E. Chavez Institute.
One of the first seven recipients of the U.S. Department of Defense's new Minerva Research Initiative Awards, psychology Professor David Matsumoto, was awarded a $1.9 million grant to examine the role of emotions in ideologically-based groups. The Minerva Initiative was established by the Secretary of Defense in 2008 to bolster the department's intellectual capital in the social sciences and build collaboration with the academic community. The five-year project will include seven studies including psychological experiments and historical analysis of written and video records. In addition to national defense, Matsumoto’s groundbreaking research on emotion, facial expressions and bodily gestures is being applied in fields as diverse as immigration, athletics and business.
Associate Professor of Astronomy Debra Fischer (M.S., '90) is one of the world's most prolific planet finders. In addition to being a seasoned planet hunter, she also served on the NASA-commissioned Exoplanet Taskforce. As part of its advisory committee, she co-authored a 300-page report, just released to Congress, outlining a strategic plan for finding Earth-like planets in our galaxy.
In his 2007 book, "Why Can’t We Be Good?", philosophy Professor Jacob Needleman answers the title question. He explores why humans continue to make bad choices, including simple discourteous acts such as drivers cutting off other drivers. Needleman, a nationally recognized scholar who has taught at SF State since 1962, said he found the answer to this societal moral dilemma while observing his SF State students, who helped him discover the value of listening to others.
Professor of Communication Studies Joseph "Just Joe" Tuman is also a political analyst for CBS5 television and KCBS radio. Tuman launched his career in punditry as one of CNN’s two analysts for the presidential debates in 1984 has since been in demand among television and radio stations across the country. Tuman's newest book, "Political Communication in American Campaigns" (Sage, '08), dissects addresses by, among its most timely figures, Senators John McCain and Hillary Clinton.
For her dedication to opening the geosciences field to other minorities, Lisa White, associate dean of the College of Science and Engineering, was honored with the first Randolph W. "Bill" and Cecile T. Bromery Award for the Minorities in 2008. The award recognizes and supports individuals from minority backgrounds who have made significant contributions to research in the geological sciences or those who have been instrumental in opening the geosciences field to minorities.
Since coming to the University in 1997, Laura Burrus has made a name for herself in biotechnology research, focusing on how intercellular signaling pathways participate in embryonic development as well as cancer. Honored by her peers, Burrus received the California State University Program for Education and Research in Biotechnology (CSUPERB) 2009 Biotechnology Faculty Research Award. Each year the CSUPERB award honors one professor from throughout the 23-campus CSU system for outstanding scientific achievement in molecular life science and biotechnology research. Burrus is the third recipient from SF State in the 18 years of the award.
One of five "world class" faculty featured as "the Bay Area's brain trust" in the San Francisco Chronicle Magazine, biology professor Dennis Desjardin is a foremost international expert on fungi and fleshy mushrooms, leading research expeditions worldwide and entrusted by the National Science Foundation with a grant to train the next generation of mushroom taxonomists.
The School of Music and Dance's Professor Emeritus Wayne Peterson won the Pulitzer Prize in 1992 for his composition "The Face of the Night, The Heart of the Dark." In addition, Peterson and fellow composition faculty member Ronald Caltabiano have been awarded prestigious commissions from Harvard University's Fromm Foundation.
Professor of English Michael Krasny hosts Northern California's highly successful and popular public affairs program, "Forum," broadcast on KQED public radio. Krasny's guests over more than a decade of broadcasts have included former President Jimmy Carter, Cesar Chavez, Hillary Clinton, Spike Lee, Rosa Parks, Robert Redford, Salman Rushdie, Gloria Steinem, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and others.
Jassen Todorov, a violinist and assistant professor of music, won a 2006 Crystal Lyre Award, the highest honor for achievement in music and dance in his native Bulgaria. Todorov’s accomplishments include being the youngest musician, at 26, to record all six violin sonatas of Eugene Ysaye, a visionary Belgian composer and violinist known for his difficult compositions and his fiery individualism as a player. Dubbed "a player to watch" in 2001 by music journal The Strad, Todorov has played and taught master classes throughout Europe, Asia and the United States and garnered much acclaim for his intense, original musicianship.
Martin Linder, assistant professor of design and industry, won a 2006 Industrial Design Excellence Award (IDEA) for the Reveal Imaging Technologies CT-80 Explosive Detection System. Linder received a bronze medal in the Business and Industrial Products category. Linder's students helped him design the system, which screens checked airport baggage for explosives. Linder's entry competed among a field of 1,494 entries from 29 countries.
One of the country's top scholars on race and politics, political science Professor Robert C. Smith edited what is thought to be the first encyclopedia on African American politics. For the first time in scholarly history, the "Encyclopedia of African American Politics," published in 2003, provides a comprehensive reference book on the people, events and ideas that shaped life for millions of black Americans.
Paul Longmore, professor of history and director of SF State's Institute on Disability, has helped establish the analysis of disability as a field in academic research and teaching, much as women studies and ethnic studies were shaped in prior decades. Longmore won the 2005 Henry B. Betts Award from the American Association of People with Disabilities. In 2006, he was one of five CSU faculty and administrators to receive a Wang Family Excellence Award for his extraordinary commitment and outstanding achievements in his discipline.
Pamela Vaughn, associate dean of faculty affairs and professional development, was honored with the most coveted teaching award for a classics scholar in the United States, the Excellence in Teaching award of the American Philological Association (2001 recipient).
The study of children of divorce that sent shock waves throughout the nation in 2000 was co-authored by Psychology P rofessor Julia Lewis, with Judith Wallerstein, and Sandra Blakeslee. “The Unexpected Legacy of Divorce: A 25-year Landmark Study” (Hyperion 2000) examined 25 years in the personal lives of nearly 100 adults who were children when their parents divorced. It is the only close-up study of divorce ever conducted, and a work that Oprah Winfrey commented "will forever alter how we think about divorce and its long-term impact on American society."
A groundbreaking high school mathematics program developed by Dan Fendel and Diane Resek, now professors emeritus of math, was named one of the nation's top five "exemplary" mathematics programs by the U.S. Department of Education in 1999. Called the Interactive Math Program (IMP), its problem-based approach to learning mathematics was developed with colleagues at Sonoma State University.
One of the 100 most influential Hispanics in the country, according to Hispanic Business magazine, is biology Professor Leticia Marquez-Magaña. Recipient of the 2002 Mentor of the Year Award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science, she was recognized for her extraordinary leadership in increasing the participation of underrepresented groups in science and engineering.
Rafael Diaz is a leading expert on the affect of social inequality and discrimination on health. Diaz was principal investigator on a ground-breaking project that studied HIV risk in Latino gay men in Los Angeles, Miami and New York. He helped create and serves as director of research for the SF State Institute on Sexuality, Social Inequality and Health and now leads SF State's Cesar E. Chavez Institute for Public Policy, one of only a few centers in California that focus on educational, social and economic issues facing Latinos in the state.
Programs
The outpouring of our Creative Writing department fills bookshelves nationwide. Graduates include best-selling authors Anne Rice, Po Bronson and Ernest Gaines. In 2008, alumnus Philip Schultz won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry for his book "Failure" and alumna Carol Muske-Dukes was appointed California's poet laureate. Over the years, students of fiction, poetry and playwriting have benefited from the mentorship of such renowned faculty as Wright Morris, Kay Boyle, Gina Berriault, Molly Giles, Brighde Mullins, Frances Mayes (also an alumna) and Gail Tsukiyama (also an alumna). Each year the highly competitive program receives more than 500 student applications for just 100 openings.
Named by Fortune Magazine as "a premier training ground," the Multimedia Studies program was one of the first of its kind and today offers one of the largest and most comprehensive courses of study in all aspects of multimedia. With facilities in the heart of San Francisco's business district, the program gives students unique access to the tools, business and culture of multimedia. Its 14 technology partners include Apple, Adobe and Dell.
Groundbreaking work by SF State's Human Sexuality Program addresses the changing role of sexuality in today's society and advances the understanding of sexuality across all ages and cultures. The program launched a master's degree in human sexuality in 2001 -- the first program for the advanced study of sexuality in the Western United States. In 2003, the National Sexuality Resource Center, directed by professor and chair of human sexuality Gilbert Herdt, was created to disseminate accurate information and evidence-based research on sexual health, education and rights.
Founded in 1993, the Jewish Studies Program attracts a diverse group of students from many racial and ethnic backgrounds, along with participants in SF State's elders programs and other community members. Students learn a variety of Jewish history, thought and culture from a world-renowned faculty that includes Associate Professor Fred Astren, who has enjoyed visiting fellowships at UC Berkeley and the University of Oxford, and Professor Marc Dollinger, the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Chair in Jewish Ethics and Social Responsibility. The Marvin L. Silverman Jewish Studies Reading Room, named after one of the program's founding faculty, contains a special collection of more than 2,000 academic, reference and historical books on Jewish subjects. The program offers a bachelor's degree in Modern Jewish Studies and a minor in Jewish Studies.
SF State ranks first nationwide in the number of biological sciences undergrads who go on to earn biology Ph.D.s according to the most recent National Science Foundation report.
SF State is among the top 201 colleges and universities that offer "real world," job-focused services and skill development, according to Great Colleges for the Real World by Michael P. Viollt (Octameron Associates, 2002). SF State is cited for appealing to the new breed of student-consumers who evaluate potential colleges based on such criteria as placement services, retention to graduation, years to complete degree and early skills development.
"One of the nation's top film schools" according to Entertainment Weekly, SF State's Cinema department has produced leading filmmakers, including Academy Award winners Steven Zaillian (Best Screenplay, "Schindler's List," 1994), Steve Okazaki (Best Documentary, "Days of Waiting," 1991), Gloria Borders (Best Sound Effects Editing, "Terminator 2: Judgment Day," 1991) and Christopher Boyes (Best Sound Effects Editing, "Pearl Harbor," 2002; "Titanic," 1998; Best Sound Mixing, "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," 2004), In addition, Ethan Van Der Ryn (B.A., 1984) and Boyes shared the sound editing Oscars for "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" (2002). Van Der Ryn won for Sound Editing for “King Kong” (2006); Boyes won for Sound Mixing for “King Kong.” Most Recently, Alum Daniel Robin (B.A. '92, M.F.A. '07) won the 2008 Sundance Film Festival Special Jury Prize in Short Filmmaking for his film titled “My Olympic Summer.”
The largest and most influential program of its kind in the West, our department of Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts (BECA) has graduated some of the top names in broadcast journalism, entertainment television and new media, including Bay Area news anchors Ken Bastida and Frank Somerville, "Frasier" producer Peter Casey and Bay Area broadcast legend Dave McElhatton.
Alumnus Jose Antonio Vargas' reporting contributed to The Washington Post's six Pulitzer Prize wins in 2008. Vargas, a 2004 political science graduate, also attended SF State's Bay Area Multicultural Media Academy (BAMMA) for high school students.
Each year SF State's College of Business awards more business degrees than Stanford, UC Berkeley and the University of San Francisco -- combined.
Consistently ranked one of the top 20 physical therapy master's programs in the country by U.S. News and World Report, SF State expanded its offerings in 2002 with launch of a new doctoral program in physical therapy, offered jointly with the University of California, San Francisco. As the only California State University campus with a doctoral program in physical therapy, it will serve as a model in establishing future doctoral programs in the discipline.
With one of the most prolific graduate history programs in the country, SF State sends more master's graduates into Ph.D. programs than any other master's-only (comprehensive) university in the country.
The only university in California to offer a bachelor's degree in technical and professional writing, SF State prepares students for careers as technical editors and writers, desktop publishers and communications managers. Students may also opt to pursue a minor or certificate of study in technical and professional writing.
The Academy of Management, the leading professional association for management scholars in the world, honored the College of Business' Ohrenschall Center for Entrepreneurship for its innovations in advancing the teaching and understanding of entrepreneurship. The Center was awarded the McGraw-Hill/Irwin Innovation in Entrepreneurship Pedagogy Award in 2002.
The only American Bar Association-approved paralegal studies program in San Francisco, the College of Extended Learning's Paralegal Studies Program offers a 30-unit certificate in practical legal skills and substantive law.
SF State was one of the first CSU campuses to offer a doctorate of education, beginning in 2007. The Ed.D. is the first independent doctorate for the CSU system. The University has a long history of excelling in teacher education. In 1899, the San Francisco State Normal School, SF State's precursor, became one of the first in the country to require a high school diploma.
Students
In 2008, MFA student Phoebe Tooke received a Student Academy Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for "Circles of Confusion," an alternative film about the events surrounding Hurricane Katrina, told parallel to the experience of award-winning New Orleans filmmaker Stevenson Palfi, who committed suicide in the months after the hurricane. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognizes student films that represent excellence in education through form, content and style. The Annual Student Academy Award is the only student film competition sponsored by the Academy and is the most direct means for students to demonstrate their filmmaking skills to industry professionals. Tooke was one of two recipients in the alternative film category, selected from more than 500 student applications.
The California State University (CSU) system selected Laura Millar, a master’s degree student, to receive the William Randolph Hearst/CSU Trustees' Award for Outstanding Achievement in 2008. As a child growing up in East Africa, Millar witnessed the discrimination of people with disabilities. Later as a college student in California, she became legally blind due to a degenerative eye disease and now seeks to use these unique life experiences to help others to lead fulfilling lives. The CSU Trustees' award, partnered with the William Randolph Hearst Foundation, provides $3,000 scholarships to students who have demonstrated financial need, experienced personal hardships and have attributes of merit including superior academic performance, exemplary community service and significant personal achievements.
The Golden Gate [X]press, the weekly student newspaper, is nationally recognized and regularly receives high honors. In 2007 and 2008 alone, the [X]press won four prestigious national awards – including consecutive first prize awards in the Online Pacemaker category for the [X]press Online -- from the Associated Collegiate Press and College Media Advisors, competing against more than 150 other student-run newspapers. The [X[press also received ten Mark of Excellence awards, including Best All-Around Non-Daily Student Newspaper, from the Northern California chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), a 9,000-member national association that promotes freedom and ethics in journalism.
The SF State Speech and Debate Team has won many debates and individual events over the years, including the 2004 first place trophy for sweepstakes in the Western region at the Cross Examination Debate Association national tournament and 2001 National Forensics Association championship in duo oral interpretation. In 2003, three students were named to All-American teams -- Tony Bernacchi and Julie Yu for debate, and Marina Whitchurch for individual events -- bringing the total number of SF State students to achieve this honor from the Cross Examination Debate Association and American Forensics Association to five. The team has also performed particularly well in debates against prestigious universities, defeating Stanford in 2003, Dartmouth in 2002 and Harvard in 2001.
Graduate student Kerri Gawryn won the 2006 Jean Rouge Award from the Society of Visual Anthropology for "Exposing Homelessness," a documentary she made in a visual anthropology course at SF State.
Broadcast and electronic communication arts major Mary Sue Woodbury won first place in a 2003 national student competition for her full-length script for a hypothetical episode of the sitcom Frasier. The competition was sponsored by the Broadcast Education Association, the leading professional association for teachers, students and researchers of electronic media. Woodbury's entry was selected as the best television series in the script-writing category.
SF State student films screened at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival include "Little Failures," a short film created by Oakland native John Dilley while an undergraduate student (2003), and "Birju," a short film by graduate student Heeraz Marfatia (2002). "Birju" was also nominated for a Student Academy Award. The San Francisco Chronicle named Marfatia one of 14 Bay Area artists "on the verge." Graduate student Yael Braha's "The Waves" screened at the 2004 Cannes International Film Festival.
In sports, 2008 marked the SF State women’s soccer team’s first appearance in the NCAA Division II Women’s Soccer Championships in six years. The Gators finished the season with a 12-7-3 record, which ties the school record for wins in a season.
Biology graduate student Mary T. Wuerth received the nation's highest honor for high school math and science teachers, the 2002 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching, presented by the White House and National Science Foundation in 2003. The award recognizes outstanding math and science teachers who serve as role models for their colleagues and will be leaders in the improvement of math and science education. This elite group includes one teacher from each state and the four U.S. jurisdictions.
MFA student Bohdanna Kesala was nominated to show her works at the fourth Biennale Internazionale dell'Arte Contemporanea in Florence, Italy, in December 2003. Kesala is an abstract painter who works in oil and wax.
"Chuck's Wheels," a video production created by SF State graduate students about wheelchair basketball competitors, triumphed in a field of 456 entries to win first prize in the Christophers national video contest. The award honors student work that shows acts of service, courage and inspiration. Chuck's Wheels was created for KTVU-TV's "Bay Area People" program as part of their coursework for Professor Ron Compesi's advanced production class. The video was produced by graduate students in Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts.
An inventive design for a new type of hospital intravenous pole won a 2005 Industrial Design Excellence Award (IDEA) for two students in the Design and Industry Department. In the student designs category, graduate students Dan Xiong and Feng Hao Yu received a bronze medal for their Dyuan IV Pole. Xiong and Feng competed among a field of 1,380 entries from 30 countries. Two SF State students also won IDEAs in 2003.
