San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State, State and
SFSU) is a public university located in the southwestern San Francisco,
California, bordering Lake Merced and Lowell High School, near Fort
Funston and Daly City, near the San Mateo County line. The university, part of the 23-campus California State University system, offers 112 areas of study for bachelor's degrees, 96 for
master's, 27 credential programs and 34 certificate programs, from eight academic colleges.[2]
In the fall of 2006, approximately 29,628 students were enrolled in the university, of which
80.4% were undergraduate students and 19.53% were graduate students.[3]
Since 1999, graduates wear purple caps and gowns as part of celebrating 100 years of SFSU.
History
- 1899 - Founded as San Francisco State Normal School
- 1901 - First graduating class
- 1906 - The 1906 earthquake and fire
forces the school to relocate from Nob Hill to a new campus at
Buchanan and Haight Streets.
- 1921 - Renamed San Francisco State Teachers College
- 1923 - First bachelor of arts degree awarded
- 1935 - Renamed San Francisco State College
- 1953 - Present campus near Lake Merced opens; it is
formally dedicated in October, 1954.
- 1966 - Beginning of the era of campus protests led by student organizations including the
Students for a Democratic Society, the Black
Students Union, and the Third World Liberation Front. The protests against college
policies and off-campus issues such as the Vietnam War included sit-ins, rallies, marches, teach-ins, and on several occasions
violent conflicts with police. The protests were marked by counter-protests and widespread charges of corruption and election
fraud in the student newspaper.
- 1968 - A lengthy student strike erupted that developed
into an important event in the history of the U.S. in the late 1960s. It was as significant, or more so, than events that
occurred at UC Berkeley. The strike was led by the Third World Liberation Front, supported by Students for a
Democratic Society and the Black Students Union, and it demanded a Black Studies program
as well as an end to the Vietnam War. This became a major news event for weeks in the
aftermath of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. At one point,
University president S.I. Hayakawa famously pulled the wires out of the speakers on top
of a van at a student rally. During the course of the strike large numbers of police drawn from many jurisdictions occupied the
campus and over 700 people were arrested on various protest-related charges.
- 1969 - In March, the strike officially comes to an end, with the administration retaining
control of hiring and admissions, and the creation of the School (now College) of Ethnic Studies.
- 1972 - Received University status as California State University, San Francisco
- 1974 - Renamed San Francisco State University
- 1993 - Downtown campus opened
- 1999 - Celebrated 100th birthday
Academics
The university's colleges are:
- Behavioral and Social Sciences
- Business
- Creative Arts
- Education
- Ethnic Studies
- Health and Human Services
- Humanities
- Science and Engineering
In addition, the university features an extended learning program [4], open university [5], and for mature learners. [6]
The university awards bachelor's degrees in 112 areas of specialization and master's degrees in 96. It jointly offers three
doctoral programs; a doctorate in education in partnership with UC
Berkeley for aspiring principals and school administrators, and two doctorates in physical therapy with UC San Francisco.
The Cinema department, in the College of Creative Arts, was named one of the nation's "top film schools" by Entertainment Weekly in 2000 [7]. Alumni of the program have worked on such films as Titanic,
Schindler's List, and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
Accreditation
The university is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities, a subgroup of the
Western Association of Schools and Colleges.
Athletics
The school's athletic teams, called the Gators, compete in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (except in wrestling, that is in the Rocky Mountain
Athletic Conference), in the Division II of the NCAA. SFSU fields eleven sports for men and women for the fall, winter, and spring seasons. Fall
sports for men include cross country and soccer. Fall sports for women include cross country and soccer. Winter sports for men include
basketball and wrestling. Winter sports for women include basketball and indoor
track and field. The spring sport for men is baseball. Spring sports for women include outdoor track and field and softball.
SFSU has produced three major league baseball players, of which two later
became All-Stars (former Mets shortstop Bud
Harrelson, and former Brewers and Red
Sox outfielder Tommy Harper).
Campus buildings
Classes and services
- Administration
- Burk Hall
- Business Building
- Creative Arts Building
- Fine Arts Building
- Gymnasium
- Hensill Hall
- HSS Building
- Humanities Building
- J. Paul Leonard Library
- Psychology and Ethnic Studies Building
- Science Building
- Student Health Center - An underground building with a center open-air court area.
- Student Services Building
- Student Union - a unique building with an unusual floor plan. The ground floors are shaped like hexagons, containing open
areas, concessions, the book store and the cafeteria. Each hexagon is topped by a thin pyramid approximately five stories tall.
Both pyramids lean at approximately 45 degrees towards each other. The inside of the pyramids contain a stacked set of
ever-higher living-room-like areas with couches and tables.
- Thornton Hall
Residence Buildings and Communities
- Mary Park Hall [8]
- Mary Ward Hall [9]
- The Village at Centennial Square [10]
- The Towers at Centennial Square [11]
- Science and Technology Theme Community (STTC) [12]
- University Park North [13]
- University Park South [14]
Controversy
Recent controversies have included accusations of racial profiling surrounding the
2005 arrest of Dr. Antwi Akom, at the time a tenure-track assistant professor of Africana Studies. Akom was arrested by campus
police outside his office. He had previously expressed his concerns regarding police conduct to the administration in a letter.
In reporting on the incident, the university’s paper [15] also cites another controversial incident in 2004. The local ABC news affiliate
reported that Akom was charged with two felonies in the incident [16] and that some
witnesses corroborate the University Police department's version of events. Charges against Akom were eventually lifted by the
San Francisco district attorney.
The incident prompted supporters to create a website that advocates the end of what they term racial profiling at San
Francisco State. [17] The
administration defended its role in the entire incident. It commissioned an investigation by former City Attorney Louise Renne
and former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, the latter an alumnus of the university and popular advocate of diversity in
California politics. [18][19]The president's public statements marketed the investigation as an independent commission. The investigation
concluded that no racial profiling took place.[20]
Additional controversies include:
- Student protests of military recruiters on campus (in which the administration
defended its actions [21]),
and confrontations between students with differing views on the Iraq War (in
which the administration defended its actions again [22]).
- The National Lawyers Guild charged that the university violated due process
rights of campus anti-war activists. [23]
- The Campus Antiwar Network (CAN) has charged that the university violated due process rights of campus anti-war activists
[24]
- A near-riot occurred on May 7, 2002, when a pro-Palestinian group attended a pro-Israel demonstration on campus. The
pro-Israel students say that the Palestinian supporters chanted anti-semitic epithets at them, such as "Hitler should have
finished the job." The pro-Palestinian group say the pro-Israelis started the conflict by calling them terrorists and using
epithets such as "camel jockey." No violence occurred, but campus and city police were called in to diffuse the situation.
[25]
- In 1994 a mural depicting Malcolm X was painted on the student union building, commissioned by the Pan-African Student Union
and African Student Alliance. The mural's border contained yellow Stars of David and
dollar signs mingled with skulls and crossbones and near the words "African Blood." The next week, after demonstrations on both
sides, the school administration had the mural painted over, and subsequently sand blasted.[26] Two years later a new Malcolm X mural was painted, without the controversial symbols.[27]
Diversity
In 1968, what was then the longest student strike in the nation's history[28], resulted
in establishment of a College of Ethnic Studies, and increased recruiting and admissions
of students of color. The University's extensive and sustained efforts at addressing tensions between Pro-Israel and
Pro-Palestinian students[29] in
2002 have become a national model[citation needed] for addressing civil discussion and disagreement on college campuses.
The university's public enrollment data for Fall 2006[30] shows a slight under-representation of two minority groups when compared with the
U.S. population. It reports a Native American enrollment of 0.8% (compared to 1.0% for the national population), and an
African-American enrollment of 6.8% (compared to 12.8%). However there is a combined Chicano and other Latino enrollment of 16.9%
(compared to 14.4% persons of Hispanic or Latino origin in the national population), and a total Asian or Pacific Islander
enrollment of 24.5% (versus 4.5% of the national population), which shows that the enrollment may be more in line with citywide
and statewide demographics[31]. It is notable that the report's demographic categories and U.S. census categories use different language, and
are therefore only broadly comparable.
Mascot
The school first adopted their mascot, the Gator, in 1931.[32] After a call for a mascot by the student newspaper, a student suggested the
alligator for its strength and steadfastness. The student also suggested the spelling "Golden Gaters," with an "e," in reference
to the Golden Gate. Students voted in favor of the name, but after numerous "misspellings"
by the newspaper, the use of Gator stuck.
Notable alumni
Entertainment
Business
Politics
Music
Other
- Ken Bastida - news anchor, CBS affiliate in San Francisco, California
- Po Bronson - author and journalist (MFA in creative
writing)
- Stan Bunger - news anchor, KCBS-AM, San Francisco, California
- Yvonne Cagle - NASA astronaut
- Heather Fong - current and first female chief of the San Francisco Police Department (MA)
- Ben Fong-Torres - writer, broadcaster, editor at Rolling Stone
- Ernest J. Gaines - novelist
- Linda Gregg - an award-winning American
poet.
- Owen Grohman - Radio broadcaster for the Santa Barbara
Foresters semi-pro baseball team
- Charles Hall - inventor of the waterbed
- Kimberly Hunt - Award Winning News Anchor, KUSI News,
San Diego
- Bill Lee - author
- Rosie Malek-Yonan - author of The Crimson Field
- Frances Mayes - author of Under the
Tuscan Sun
- Stan Mazor - while at Intel,
helped to design the first microprocessor with Federico
Faggin
- Richard Melo - author of Jokerman 8, a novel set at
San Francisco State University
- William Mize - Shamus Award nominated mystery author
- Frank Munnich - traffic reporter for Shadow Traffic, KCBS-AM
- David Newton - De Anza College physics instructor
- Malou Nubla - former television host on KRON and
KPIX
- Floyd Peters - former NFL player and
coach
- Anne Rice - novelist
- Frank Somerville - news anchor for KTVU
- Bob Toledo - former UCLA
head football coach, current head coach at Tulane
University
- Jan Wahl (movie critic) - journalist and movie critic for KRON and KCBS
- David Wallechinsky - author
- Kirby Wright - poet and novelist (MFA in Creative
Writing)
External links
Coordinates: 37°43′24″N 122°28′47″W / 37.72333,
-122.47972
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