San Francisco State University

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San Francisco State University
Motto: Experientia Docet (Latin, Experience Teaches)
Established: 1899
Type: Public
Endowment: $2,584,780[1]
President: Robert A. Corrigan
Faculty: 1,783[2]
Staff: 2,048[2]
Students: 29,628[3]
Undergraduates: 23,843[3]
Postgraduates: 5,785[3]
Location: San Francisco, California, USA
Campus: Urban, 134 acres (0.4 km²)[4]
Former names: San Francisco State Normal School (1899-1921)
San Francisco State Teachers College (1921-35)
San Francisco State College (1935-74)
Colors: Purple and Gold         
Mascot: Gators
Affiliations: California State University system
Website: http://www.sfsu.edu

San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State, State and SFSU) is a public university located in 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, as part of the 23-campus California State University system, offers 111 areas of study for bachelor's degrees, 96 for master's, 27 credential programs and 34 certificate programs, from eight academic colleges.[4]

In the year of 2006–2007, approximately 29,628 students were enrolled in the university, of which 80.4% were undergraduate students and 19.53% were graduate students.[3] It is currently ranked as the 48th best masters'-granting university in the Western United States by U.S. News & World Report.[1]

Contents

[edit] 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
  • 2007 - New Downtown Extension Campus Opened

[edit] Academics

SF State students
SF State students

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 [1], open university [2], and for mature learners. [3]

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 University of California, Berkeley for aspiring principals and school administrators, and two doctorates in physical therapy with University of California, 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 [4]. 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.[citation needed]

[edit] Accreditation

The university is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities, a subgroup of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. The College of Business is accredited by The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International).

[edit] 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).

Wrestling has been the most successful sports team in SFSU history. The Gators have scored at a National Championship meet every year since 1963-64. They currently have the sixth longest scoring streak of any collegiate squad. Lars Jensen has been the head coach since 1983-84 and has had an All-American in 22 of his 24 seasons. He has coached nine individual NCAA Champions, 50 All-Americans and in 1996-97, he led SFSU to the NCAA Division II National Championship.

[edit] Campus buildings

Student Union Building
Student Union Building

[edit] 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

[edit] Residence Buildings and Communities

  • Mary Park Hall [5]
  • Mary Ward Hall [6]
  • The Village at Centennial Square [7]
  • The Towers at Centennial Square [8]
  • Science and Technology Theme Community (STTC) [9]
  • University Park North [10]
  • University Park South [11]

[edit] 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 [12] also cites another controversial incident in 2004. The local ABC news affiliate reported that Akom was charged with two felonies in the incident [13] 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. [14] 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. [15][16]The president's public statements marketed the investigation as an independent commission. The investigation concluded that no racial profiling took place.[17]

Additional controversies include:

  • Student protests of military recruiters on campus (in which the administration defended its actions [18]), and confrontations between students with differing views on the Iraq War (in which the administration defended its actions again [19]).
  • The National Lawyers Guild charged that the university violated due process rights of campus anti-war activists. [20]
  • The Campus Antiwar Network (CAN) has charged that the university violated due process rights of campus anti-war activists [21]
  • 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 defuse the situation. [22]
  • 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.[23] Two years later a new Malcolm X mural was painted, without the controversial symbols.[24]

[edit] Diversity

In 1968, what was then the longest student strike in the nation's history[25], 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[26] 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[27] 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[28]. It is notable that the report's demographic categories and U.S. census categories use different language, and are therefore only broadly comparable.

[edit] Mascot

The school first adopted their mascot, the Gator, in 1931. After a call for a mascot by the student newspaper the Bay Leaf, students 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, with an "o," stuck. [5]

The team was called the Golden Gaters until the late 40's. At that time, they began having two live alligators at football games, Oogee (oo-gee) and Ougee (aug-gee). The name was changed to the Golden Gators. The alligator mascots were dropped shortly and Golden was dropped from the name in the early 70's.

[edit] Notable alumni

[edit] Entertainment

[edit] Business

  • Dean Biersch- Founder of the Gordon Biersch Brewing Company
  • Robert L. Harris- Vice President of Environmental Affairs at PG&E
  • Gregory Fischbach - Founder of Acclaim Entertainment, a videogame company
  • Andreas Glocker- Founder of Sirius Connections
  • Gilman Louie- Software entrepreneur, Venture Capitalist and Founder and former CEO of In-Q-Tel
  • Manny Mashouf- Founder of bebe stores inc. clothing retail shops
  • Chris Larson- Co-Founder and chairman of online lender eloan (E-loan Inc.) and founder of Prosper.com
  • Kenneth Fong- Founder of Clontech Laboratories. Chairman of Palo Alto based Kenson Ventures LLC
  • Mohan Gyiani- President and CEO of AT&T Wireless Mobility Group
  • George Marcus- Founder of Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Brokerage Company
  • Jayshree Ullal- Senior Vice President at Cisco Systems, Inc. ,was named one of Newsweek magazine's "20 Most Powerful Women to Watch" in 2001.
  • Stephen M. Wolf- Former Chairman of United Airlines

[edit] Politics

[edit] Music

[edit] Literature

[edit] Journalism

[edit] Other

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b San Francisco State University profile, U.S. News & World Report.
  2. ^ a b SF State Facts 2006-2007: Faculty & Staffs, San Francisco State University
  3. ^ a b c d SF State Facts 2006-2007: Students, San Francisco State University
  4. ^ a b SF State Facts 2006-2007: Today, San Francisco State University
  5. ^ SFSU Centennial History, San Francisco State University
  6. ^ SLDN Military Advisory Council - sldn.org - Retrieved November 30, 2007

[edit] External links

CSU

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 Campuses

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 Satellites

Desert Studies Center • Moss Landing Marine Laboratories • Mount Laguna Observatory

 Research
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Coordinates: 37°43′24″N 122°28′47″W / 37.72333, -122.47972