Timeline

Presidents

Current events

Fun facts

Living Memories

1899
The first campus, located at Powell Street near Clay, was equipped to handle a staff of 24 and a student body of 31.
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1900
SF State Normal School's first Circular of Information (catalog) states that "candidates for admission must be at least sixteen years of age, of good moral character, and in perfect health."
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1906
After the original campus is destroyed by the great 1906 earthquake and fire, and before the Buchanan Street campus becomes available in June, President Burk holds SF State Normal School's classes at the Grant School in Oakland.
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1910
The guidelines for acceptance to SF State Normal School in the 1913 Bulletin require that prospective students be so proficient in English that their "spoken and written language is free of blunders."
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1921
In 1921, students enrolling at SF State Normal School could expect to pay $2 for texts, $1 for student activities, and $0 for tuition.
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1931
Contenders for the SF State school mascot include the "Purple Puma," "Golden Seal," "Golden Lion," and the "Golden Panther."
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1939
Contenders for the SF State school mascot include the "Purple Puma," "Golden Seal," "Golden Lion," and the "Golden Panther."
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1946
Before his rise to prominence in national politics as John F. Kennedy's press secretary, Pierre Salinger hones his skills as managing editor of SF State's student newspaper, the Golden Gater.
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1947 For a time, SF State has actual live baby alligators named "Oogie" and "Albert" as mascots. They are donated to a private zoo in 1947 when school officials realize that baby alligators grow up.
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1950
The first building on the new campus -- the gym -- is built in 1951.
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1954
Students can turn to SF State's Bulletin for tips on how to dress: "Class is not the place for leisure dress," and "Jeans are for dirty jobs only." For those in need of serious help, the Style Service in Arts and Industry Rm. 207 is available to offer sound fashion advice.

California grows at the rate of about 400,000 people a year; approximately 180,000 children enter the elementary schools each year from 1958 to 1961.
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1957
During the same week that he is invited to participate in the Olympic high jump trials, SF State College student Johnny Mathis is discovered by a record producer: an event that will change the nineteen-year-old's life -- and pop music history -- forever.
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1967-9
Students attending SF State's Experimental College can enroll in classes ranging from "Zen Basketball" to "Sexual Growth."
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1968
Among those marching in the 1968-69 student/faculty strike is undergraduate student Danny Glover.
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1969
In the late '60s, SF State design student Charles Hall experiments with various starch and Jell-O filled versions of what will soon become the world's first waterbed.
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1975
Bob Keeshan, better known as Captain Kangaroo, is among those honored at the Broadcast Industry Conference hosted by SF State's Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts Department.
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1976
In an experiment designed to demonstrate the practical applications of hypnosis in overcoming fear and stress, SF State Biology professor and hypnosis buff Jack Tomlinson hypnotizes 40 willing student participants. While some entranced students relive their childhood and others simply fall asleep, Professor Tomlinson considers the experiment a success, though his subsequent request to be appointed the official University hypnotist is denied by the Chancellor of the CSU.
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1978
Carl Bernstein, member of the Bernstein-Woodward duo responsible for uncovering the Watergate scandal, appears on SF State's campus during a lecture tour to discuss the aftermath of Watergate.
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1979
In a stunning display of intellectual fortitude, SF State's College Bowl team advances to the finals in Miami after defeating rival Stanford University.
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1986
Students' interest in mathematics increases dramatically when SF State's Mathematics Department begins its "Problem of the Week" program, in which the first student to solve each week's math problem wins $10, with special recognition going to the student who solves the most during the semester.
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1989
The campus is a-buzz as SF State hosts the Apiculture (beekeeping) Society convention, highlighted by discussions on such topics as "African Killer Bees" and "Sibling Rivalry in the Honey Bee Colony."

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1993
SF State sponsors "A Vision for America," a conference that focuses on Robert Kennedy's vision for the nation in 1968 and his belief in the promise of America's youth. Attended by Ethel Kennedy and farm labor leader Dolores Huerta, the event marks the 25th anniversary of Robert F. Kennedy's California political campaign.

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1995
SF State launches its new electric shuttle bus, becoming the only employer in San Francisco and the first CSU campus to use an electric powered vehicle in its transportation system.
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SFSU, 1600 Holloway Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94132
Archived Information. Last modified March 20, 2009, by University Communications