SAN FRANCISCO STATE UNIVERSITY

'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.

Contents

History

Academics

Accreditation

Athletics

Campus buildings

Classes and services

Residence Buildings and Communities

Controversy

Diversity

Mascot

Notable alumni

Entertainment

Business

Politics

Music

Other

External links

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 riots led by university-subsidized organizations, including the Students for a Democratic Society, the Black Students Union, and the Third World Liberation Front and 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.

★ 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 .

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 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

★ Tory Belleci - special effects engineer and cast member on the Discovery Channel show Mythbusters

★ Annette Bening - actress

★ Alex Borstein - comedian, actress, voice actress

★ Christopher Boyes - Academy Award-winning sound designer and mixer

★ David Carradine - actor

★ Dana Carvey - comedian

★ Vernon Chatman - co-creator of ''Wonder Showzen''

★ Peter Coyote - actor and author

★ Michael Curtis - television, film writer, and producer

★ Roger Dobkowitz - long-time producer of The Price is Right

★ Arthur Dong - Academy Award-nominated documentary filmmaker

★ Keir Dullea - actor

★ Mike Galanos - CNN Headline News anchor

★ Danny Glover - actor

★ Richard Goodman - television writer

★ Nina Hartley - porn actress

★ Ed Haynes - folk singer and songwriter

★ Ellen Idelson - television writer and producer

★ Sarah Lane - former host of ''Attack of the Show''

★ John Lee - co-creator of ''Wonder Showzen''

★ Delroy Lindo - actor

★ Rosie Malek-Yonan - actress

★ Mike McShane - actor and improvisational artist

★ Mary Mara - actress

★ Ed Marques - actor, comedian and MTV VeeJay

★ Rex Navarrete - comedian

★ Kenn Navarro - animator, creator of Happy Tree Friends

★ Melissa Ng - actress

★ Steven Okazaki - filmmaker

★ Greg Proops - actor and stand-up comedian

★ Reg Rogers - actor and Tony Award nominee

★ Ggreg Snyder - actor and pop culturist

★ Ronnie Schell - actor and comedian

★ Jeffrey Tambor - actor

★ B.D. Wong - actor

Business

★ Dean Biersch - founder of the Gordon Biersch Brewing Company

★ Gregory Fischbach - founder of Acclaim Entertainment, a videogame company

★ Andreas Glocker - founder of Sirius Connections

★ Gilman Louie - software entrepreneur

★ Manny Mashouf - founder of bebe stores inc. clothing retail shops

Politics

★ Willie Brown - member and 58th Speaker of the California State Assembly and former mayor of San Francisco, California

★ John L. Burton - former president pro tempore of the California State Senate

★ Ron Dellums - mayor of Oakland and former U.S. Representative from 1971-1998

★ Saeb Erekat - head of the Negotiations Affairs Department of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).

★ Mario Savio - Berkeley free speech activist

★ Bill Thomas - American politician, representing the 22nd District of California in the House of Representatives

★ Leland Yee - member, California State Senate

★ Javad Zarif - Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations

★ Hank Chapot - founding member, Green Party of California and Green Party of the United States, three time candidate for California's 14th Assembly District. 1994, 1996, 98 Volunteer archivist, California Green Archives

Music

★ Kevin Cadogan - former guitarist for rock band Third Eye Blind

★ Paul Desmond - jazz alto sax player; played with Dave Brubeck for many years

★ Fat Mike - lead singer and bassist for the punk band NOFX

★ Jennifer Finch - former bassist for all-girl punk group L7

★ Johnny Mathis - musician

★ Dan 'The Automator' Nakamura - music producer

★ Terry Riley - composer

★ Cal Tjader - jazz vibraphonist

★ Janet Weiss - drummer Sleater-Kinney, Quasi

★ Young L - member of rap group The WolfPack (dropped out)

★ Frank Moura jazz band director at Menlo Atherton High School

★ Jess Thomas - Heldentenor

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

★ Official website

★ Official athletics website

★ Student Publication

★ Pre-admissions information

★ On-Campus Housing Website