On the one hand, the Department of Education's actual supervision of the presidents of the State Teachers Colleges was minimal, which translated into substantial autonomy when it came to day-to-day operations.

[19] A leading proponent of this idea was Charles McLane, the first president of Fresno State, who was one of the earliest persons to argue that K–12 teachers must have a broad liberal arts education.

[20] In 1932, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching was asked by the state legislature and governor to perform a study of California higher education.

[19][22] This recommendation spectacularly backfired when the faculties and administrations of the State Teachers Colleges rallied to protect their independence from the Regents.

Six more state colleges were founded after the enactment of the Donahoe Higher Education Act of 1960, bringing the total number to 23.

As early as 1932, the Suzzallo Report had noted that "the establishing of State teachers colleges has been partly the product of geographic-political considerations rather than of thoughtful determination of needs".

"[29] As enacted, the Donahoe Act provides that UC "shall be the primary state-supported academic agency for research" and "has the sole authority in public higher education to award the doctoral degree in all fields of learning".

[28] Kerr explained in his memoirs: "The state did not need a higher education system where every component was intent on being another Harvard or Berkeley or Stanford.

[39] A Berkeley-trained attorney, Heilbron had already revealed his loyalty to his alma mater by joking that UC's ownership of the doctorate ought to be protected from "unreasonable search and seizure.

"[39] He worked with Kerr to get the Master Plan's recommendations enacted in the form of the Donahoe Act, which was signed into state law on April 27, 1960.

[40] Heilbron set the "central theme" of his chairmanship by saying that "we must cultivate our own garden" (an allusion to Candide) and stop trying to covet someone else's.

[42]) Although the state colleges had reported to Sacramento since 1921, the board resolved on August 4, 1961 that the headquarters of the California State Colleges would be set up in the Los Angeles area, and in December, the newly-formed chancellor's office was moved from Sacramento to a rented office on Imperial Highway in Inglewood.

[33] Looking back, Kerr thought the state colleges had failed to appreciate the vast breadth of opportunities reserved to them by the Master Plan, as distinguished from UC's relatively narrow focus on basic research and the doctorate.

[48] Alex Sherriffs, then serving as an education advisor to Governor Reagan, later explained that he was among those who fought the name change because "most of the campuses are not, by any definition I've ever seen, a university.

[49] Governor Ronald Reagan signed Assembly Bill 123 into law on November 29, 1971 and the board was renamed the "Trustees of the California State University and Colleges".

[50] In accordance with the new systemwide name, on May 23, 1972, the board of trustees voted to rename fourteen of the nineteen CSU campuses to "California State University," followed by a comma and then their geographic designation.

[51] In September 1976, the chancellor's office was moved from Los Angeles to a custom-built headquarters at 400 Golden Shore on the Long Beach waterfront.

[55] Despite the severe budget pressures brought about by the passage of Proposition 13, Reynolds was able to achieve moderate success in improving parity between CSU and UC funding.

[57] In spring 1998, CSU moved into its current headquarters at 401 Golden Shore, then demolished the old building and turned its site into a parking lot.

[58][59][60] Near the end of 2022, the CSU actively opposed the proposed expansion of the California Community Colleges' right to confer a limited number of four-year bachelor's degrees.

[61] In July 2023, CSU's systemwide Title IX compliance was harshly criticized in a report prepared by the Cozen O'Connor law firm at the request of the Board of Trustees (at a cost of over $1 million) and separately in another report prepared by the California State Auditor at the request of the Legislature.

[62] In January 2024, CSU faculty including professors, lecturers, counselors, librarians and coaches began a system-wide strike.

California Education Code § 89300 allows for the creation of student body organizations at any state university for the purpose of providing essential activities closely related to, but not normally included as a part of, the regular instructional program.

Notably, the California State University, Channel Islands is the newest addition, having transitioned from an off-campus branch of CSU Northridge.

[107] As a result of recent legislation (SB 724 and AB 2382), the California State University may now offer doctoral degrees in Education and Physical Therapy.

[111] CSU has traditionally been more accommodating to older students than UC, by offering more degree programs in the evenings and, more recently, online.

The only CSU campuses that are not impacted at either the freshman or transfer level for any academic program are Dominguez Hills, Fresno, the Maritime Academy, and Monterey Bay.

CSUPERB provides grant funding, organizes an annual symposium, sponsors industry-responsive curriculum, and serves as a liaison for the CSU with government, philanthropic, educational, and biotechnology industry partners.

The program involves students and faculty from Life, Physical, Computer and Clinical Science, Engineering, Agriculture, Math and Business departments at all 23 CSU campuses.

[127] The CSU produces 62% of the bachelor's degrees awarded in agriculture, 54% in business, 44% in health and medicine, 64% in hospitality and tourism, 45% in engineering, and 44% of those in media, culture and design.