The oldest campus--San Jose State University--was founded as a Normal School in 1857 and became the first institution of public higher education in California. The newest campus--California State University, San Marcos--began admitting students in Fall 1990.
Responsibility for The California State University is vested in the Board of Trustees, consisting of ex officio members, alumni and faculty representatives, and members appointed by the Governor. The Trustees appoint the Chancellor, who is the chief executive officer of the system, and the Presidents, who are the chief executive officers of the respective campuses.
The Trustees, the Chancellor, and the Presidents develop systemwide policy, with actual implementation at the campus level taking place through broadly based consultative procedures. The Academic Senate of The California State University, made up of elected representatives of the faculty from each campus, recommends academic policy to the Board of Trustees through the Chancellor.
Academic excellence has been achieved by The California State University through a distinguished faculty, whose primary responsibility is superior teaching. While each campus in the system has its own unique geographic and curricular character, all campuses, as multipurpose institutions, offer undergraduate and graduate instruction for professional and occupational goals as well as broad liberal education. All of the campuses require for graduation a basic program of general education requirements, regardless of the type of bachelor's degree or major field selected by the student.
The CSU offers more than 1,500 bachelor's and master's degree programs in some 200 subject areas. Many of these programs are offered so that students can complete all upper-division and graduate requirements by part-time late afternoon and evening study. In addition, a variety of teaching and school service credential programs are available. A limited number of doctoral degrees are offered jointly with the University of California and with private institutions in California.
In Fall 1993, the system enrolled approximately 326,000 students, taught by more than 16,000 faculty. Last year the system awarded over 50 percent of the bachelor's degrees and 30 percent of the master's degrees granted in California. More than 1.2 million persons have been graduated from the 20 campuses since 1960.
The Honorable Leo T. McCarthy
Lieutenant Governor of California
State Capitol
Sacramento 95814
The Honorable Willie L. Brown, Jr.
Speaker of the Assembly
State Capitol
Sacramento 95814
To be Appointed
State Superintendent of Public Instruction
721 Capitol Mall
Sacramento 95814
Dr. Barry Munitz
Chancellor of The California State University
400 Golden Shore
Long Beach 90802-4275
Mr. Anthony M. Vitti
Chairman
Mr. R. J. Considine, Jr.
Vice Chairman
Chancellor Barry Munitz
Secretary-Treasurer
Correspondence with Trustees should be sent:
c/o Trustees Secretariat
The California State University
400 Golden Shore, Suite 214
Long Beach, CA 90802-4275
Dr. Barry Munitz
Chancellor, CSU System
Ms. Molly Corbett Broad
Executive Vice Chancellor
Dr. Peter S. Hoff
Senior Vice Chancellor, Academic Affairs
Dr. June M. Cooper
Vice Chancellor, Human Resources and Operations
Mr. Richard West
Vice Chancellor, Business and Finance
Dr. Douglas X. Patiņo
Vice Chancellor, University Advancement
Dr. Fernando C. Gomez
General Counsel
California State University, Chico
1st & Normal Streets
Chico, CA 95929
Dr. Manuel A. Esteban, President
(916) 898-6116
California State University, Dominguez Hills
1000 East Victoria Street
Carson, CA 90747
Dr. Robert C. Detweiler, President
(310) 516-3300
California State University, Fresno
5241 North Maple Avenue
Fresno, CA 93740
Dr. John D. Welty, President
(209) 278-4240
California State University, Fullerton
Fullerton, CA 92634-9480
Dr. Milton A. Gordon, President
(714) 773-2011
California State University, Hayward
Hayward, CA 94542
Dr. Norma S. Rees, President
(510) 881-3000
Humboldt State University
Arcata, CA 95521
Dr. Alistair W. McCrone, President
(707) 826-3011
California State University, Long Beach
1250 Bellflower Boulevard
Long Beach, CA 90840
Dr. Karl Anatol, Interim President
(310) 985-4111
California State University, Los Angeles
5151 State University Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90032
Dr. James M. Rosser, President
(213) 343-3000
California State University, Northridge
18111 Nordhoff Street
Northridge, CA 91330
Dr. Blenda J. Wilson, President
(818) 885-1200
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
3801 West Temple Avenue
Pomona, CA 91768
Dr. Bob Suzuki, President
(909) 869-7659
California State University, Sacramento
6000 J Street
Sacramento, CA 95819
Dr. Donald R. Gerth, President
(916) 278-6011
California State University, San Bernardino
5500 University Parkway
San Bernardino, CA 92407
Dr. Anthony H. Evans, President
(909) 880-5000
San Diego State University
5300 Campanile Drive
San Diego, CA 92182
Dr. Thomas B. Day, President
(619) 594-5000
San Jose State University
One Washington Square
San Jose, CA 95192
Dr. J. Handel Evans, Acting President
(408) 924-1000
California Polytechnic State University,
San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo, CA 93407
Dr. Warren J. Baker, President
(805) 756-1111
California State University, San Marcos
San Marcos, CA 92069
Dr. Bill W. Stacy, President
(619) 752-4000
Sonoma State University
1801 East Cotati Avenue
Rohnert Park, CA 94928
Dr. Ruben Armiņana, President
(707) 664-2880
California State University, Stanislaus
801 West Monte Vista Avenue
Turlock, CA 95380
Dr. Lee R. Kerschner, Interim President
(209) 667-3122
We are especially proud to be known as a national leader in an arena that encompasses all academic fields: welcoming and drawing strength from diversity--in faculty hiring, in our student population, and in our curriculum. We are fortunate to be located in one of the world's most international and ethnically rich cities, and in that exciting setting, we have sought to create a campus environment that prepares students to be leaders in a global and diverse society.
We rank fourth in the nation as a producer of ethnic minority university graduates; we won recent praise from our regional accrediting agency as "an institution that cares deeply about its students, a campus committed to multiculturalism, and to opportunity for a wide range of students."
Our faculty are challenged and rewarded by the exceptional diversity they find in every class, where students vary in age, life experience, ethnicity, beliefs, and aspirations. "When you walk across SFSU's campus, you walk across the world," one faculty member says, adding that teaching here is "a great opportunity to learn about other cultures and values. We teach the students, and they teach us."
The faculty are committed teachers first, but they are also active scholars, many of whom have created programs and projects that demonstrate another of SF State's special qualities: its involvement with the community and its active partnership in the solution of community problems. More than 100 centers and institutes, dealing with such varied issues as inner city schools, homelessness, teen health and counseling, small business success, affordable housing, and environmental restoration give faculty--and students--a chance to use their talents and apply their academic knowledge to real-life challenges.
We give our students exceptional opportunities to work side by side with faculty--in laboratories, theatres, editing rooms, K-12 classrooms, in the estuaries of the San Francisco Bay, and in the neighborhoods of the City.
San Francisco State is a cosmopolitan and challenging urban campus that can take a student as far as he or she is willing to go.
Robert A. Corrigan, President
San Francisco State University
THE MAKING OF A UNIVERSITY
"Almost 100 years ago, when San Francisco desperately needed a source of well-trained, truly professional teachers for its children, San Francisco State led the way. The teacher training curriculum developed by founding President Frederic Burk set the standard for the day.
"Today, our community has more numerous and more complex needs. And San Francisco State University is still a leader, growing and changing with the City and the Bay Area, responding to and anticipating the issues that shape our daily lives and will influence our future."
--President Robert A. Corrigan
Since San Francisco State Normal School opened in 1899 as a teacher training center, it has changed its name four times--to San Francisco State Teachers College, San Francisco State College, California State University, San Francisco and, in 1974, San Francisco State University--each change reflecting its expanding academic scope. The first class of 36 women was graduated in 1901. SFSU now graduates some 4,200 men and women a year.
After the earthquake of 1906 destroyed the original campus on San Francisco's Nob Hill, San Francisco State moved to Upper Market Street in the City. Climbing enrollment led to another move and in 1954, SF State officially dedicated the first buildings on its present 94-acre site near the shores of Lake Merced in the southwest corner of San Francisco.
In 1961, an ambitious and socially progressive new master plan reshaped California higher education, and San Francisco State became one of the founding campuses of The California State University and Colleges, now known as The California State University. The CSU is the largest system of higher education in the nation, currently serving almost 326,000 students in bachelor's through joint doctoral programs.
The central campus landmark is the Cesar Chavez Student Center, with its two dramatic leaning pyramids. The center houses restaurants, a pub/coffee house, the bookstore, student government and other student organization offices, indoor and outdoor lounge areas, and meeting rooms.
New buildings and signs of current construction demonstrate San Francisco State's success in creating the up-to-date facilities its academic programs need. The five-story creative arts addition, opened in 1993, includes an art gallery, sound stage, theatre (bringing the arts complex total to four), facilities for the new computer-aided design and animation programs, video film and sound editing laboratories, offices, and classrooms.
Moving the center of the campus westward is the humanities building, scheduled to open in fall 1994. The campus' largest classroom building, it provides specialized facilities for each of the humanities, including museum exhibit and conservation space, seminar rooms, and spaces for the nationally-known Poetry Center and Video Archives.
Burk Hall is in the process of gaining updated computer facilities, specially equipped spaces for nursing, counseling and special education, and even a small restaurant to be run by students in the hotel/restaurant management program.
Nearby is a five-story center housing ethnic studies, psychology and other social sciences, and the physical education complex, which includes three gymasiums, a swimming pool and a 6,500 seat stadium, as well as tennis, basketball and racquetball courts and playing fields.
Across the commons are the buildings housing business, sciences, and additional social sciences. Among the special facilities are modern laboratories for teaching and research in biotechnology and genetic engineering, advanced computing work stations, a planetarium and observatory, electron microscope laboratory, animal care facilities, and the laboratories of the Wheeled Mobility Center.
The J. Paul Leonard Library holds more than 3.5 million items, including books, periodicals, microform, and CD-Rom materials. The library also houses the celebrated Frank V. deBellis Collection of Italian culture. Other specialized library facilities include the Sutro Library, a branch of the state library system, and the Labor Archives and Research Center.
Off-campus study centers include the Romberg Tiburon Center, 35 acres on the shores of San Francisco Bay where faculty and students conduct environmental research; the Sierra Nevada Field Campus, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada range; and the new SFSU Downtown Center, located in the heart of the City at 425 Market Street. The Downtown Center, operated by the College of Extended Learning, offers the nation's largest multimedia studies program, classes for personal and professional development, and meeting/conference facilities.
Extended Learning is a self-supporting arm of the university that provides all programs and courses not funded through the university's state budget. Such programs include Summer and Winter Sessions, continuing education courses, Open University, travel study, contract courses, professional training, and certificate programs.
In these and scores of other programs, San Francisco State demonstrates its role as an urban university: one which devotes much of its faculty expertise and student talent to community-focused applied research. San Francisco State is an active community partner in addressing such crucial issues as homelessness, health needs of immigrant families, youth gangs, keeping at-risk middle school students in school, the special stresses of new inner-city school teachers, environmental restoration, and more.
In its recent reaccreditation of the university, the Western Association of Schools and Colleges praised San Francisco State as "an institution that cares about its community and that contributes regularly and substantially to the quality of life in the Bay Area." The university's urban projects stem from and return to the classroom; all offer exceptional opportunities for students to become involved in real-world activities, gaining experience that is both personally and professionally enriching.
At San Francisco State University, there are many such encounters. On a bare stage, in a science laboratory, around a seminar table or in a faculty office, undergraduate and graduate students have close contact with their teachers, from the newest assistant to the most senior professor.
Excellent teaching is the first responsibility of faculty, yet scholarly and creative work--a deliberately broader phrase than "research"--is also necessary for them to retain their intellectual vitality and professional currency. One result of their success: SFSU won more than $17 million in 1993-94 to support faculty's scholarly projects.
Some reflections of faculty excellence are very public: The faculty includes winners of the Pulitzer Prize, MacArthur "genius" grant, Guggenheim Fellowships, and Presidential Young Investigator Award, among others. Others may show more privately, in enthusiastic student evaluations, or in class projects that give students exceptional responsibility and creative opportunities.
The women and men who teach at San Francisco State are challenged and rewarded by the diversity they find in their students, the stimulation of the Bay Area's richly multicultural environment, and the engagement with the community that is a natural part of an urban university's expression of its mission.
The university's almost 26,000 students currently come from every state and over 100 countries, though the majority are from the Bay Area. Like the City of San Francisco itself, our students are increasingly ethnically diverse, with some 62.5 percent of undergraduates representing ethnic minority groups.
The university's urban setting, the life experience of its many older and reentry students, and the faculty's involvement in applied, community-focused research combine to give our students exceptional opportunities to create independent projects and to develop real-world experience that will give them an edge when they graduate into the full-time workplace. At SFSU, students design their own majors, share in research projects--and sometimes research credit--with senior faculty, train each other, and operate a complex volunteer program.
Despite full lives and often-conflicting demands, our students excel. The varsity forensics team was recently ranked #1 in the state, #2 in the nation. The cinema program has produced Academy Award nominees--and winners. Students completing the post-baccalaureate pre-med program achieve an 85% medical school acceptance rate.
In these and many other ways, San Francisco State's students are fulfilling the promise of the university's mission to them--and to the community.
| Program | Agency |
| Art | National Association of Schools of Art and Design |
| Business | American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business |
| Chemistry | American Chemical Society |
| Clinical Science | National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences |
| Communicative Disorders | American Speech-Language-Hearing Association |
| Computer Science | Computing Science Accreditation Board, Inc. |
| Counseling | Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs |
| Dietetics | American Dietetic Association |
| Education | National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education |
| Engineering | Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (Civil, Electrical, Mechanical) |
| Home Economics | American Home Economics Association |
| Journalism | Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication |
| Music | National Association of Schools of Music |
| Nursing | Board of Registered Nursing; National League for Nursing |
| Physical Therapy | Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education |
| Recreation-Leisure Studies | National Recreation and Park Association |
| Rehabilitation Counseling | Council on Rehabilitation Education |
| Social Work | Council on Social Work Education |
| Theatre Arts | National Association of Schools of Theatre |
last modified aUGUST 9, 1995