History of San Francisco State University
The city approved the addition of a new year-long teacher-training program to his high school's curriculum, for girls who wanted to pursue a career in education.
When the California State Normal School was moved to San José in 1871, Girls' High became the only publicly-supported teacher-training institution.
[8] Ten days after the earthquake, President Burk found a new site for the school at a property bound by Laguna, Haight, Buchanan and Hermann Streets.
[4][9] In 1921, the school began offering Bachelor's degree options and was renamed San Francisco State Teachers College.
The campus consisted of four Spanish Colonial Revival style buildings designed by George McDougall, a California state architect.
When the Hetch Hetchy project was completed in 1934, the city no longer needed land near Lake Merced for a reservoir.
In Fall 1965, the Experimental College was started by students Cynthia Carlson, Donna Michaelson, Sharon Gold, and James Nixon, in an effort to teach untraditionally.
In an interview the day after the assault, Vaszko said he had no idea why it happened, but something was said during the incident about the Gater not running a photo of the BSU candidate for homecoming queen.
[22] On May 21, in the Administration building, approximately 400 students held a sit-in protesting various issues, including an end to AFROTC on campus and the hiring of nine minority faculty members.
[22] President Smith announced the creation of a Black Studies Department and named Dr. Nathan Hare, a professor of sociology, as acting chair on September 18.
On the same day, the Black Student Union Third World Liberation Front threatened to strike on November 6 and presented their 15 demands.
Police surrounded the protestors and arrested hundreds of them, backing up San Francisco's court system for months.
[29][25] The strike officially ended on March 21, after an agreement was signed the previous day by representatives of the Black Student Union, the Third World Liberation Front, and the school.
[40] Phelps had also planted bombs in four other locations in San Francisco, but only one exploded at the offices of the local Humanist Party.
The mural's border contained yellow Stars of David and dollar signs mingled with skulls and crossbones and near the words "African Blood."
[49] In 1995, San Francisco State alumni Geoff Marcy and Paul Butler discovered two new Jupiter-sized planets within 35 light-years of Earth, including one that could contain elements for organic life.
[50][51] On March 28, 1999, construction began on the Village at Centennial Square, a low-rise, mixed-use, 760-bed complex to replace the housing provided by Verducci Hall.
In 2013, the Science Building was found to have "unsafe levels" of airborne mercury, lead and asbestos in the basement as a result of reports that pesticide-laden Native American artifacts were previously stored with a material now known to be highly hazardous.
[61][62] SFSU previously ran into trouble with its Environmental Health and Safety program when the director prior, Robert Shearer, was accused of accepting bribes from a waste disposal firm in exchange for at least $4 million in university funds.
[64][65] In response to the College of Ethnic Studies being underfunded since 2008, four students held a ten-day hunger strike from May 2–11, 2016, resulting in one hospitalization.
[74] On September 23, 2020, SFSU faculty Rabab Abdulhadi and Tomomi Kinukawa hosted a discussion on Zoom titled "Whose Narratives?
The event had nine speakers scheduled, including Khaled, Whitehorn, and Sekou Odinga, an activist and former Black Panther.
[81] The investigation was strongly criticized by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) as an "unacceptable — and unconstitutional" violation of academic freedom.
[85] On April 6, 2023, former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines visited SFSU for a Turning Point USA student chapter event and spoke publicly about her campaign against transgender athletes in women's sports.
[88][86] Video clips were posted to social media, including by Gaines, that appear to show protesters chanting, shouting, and holding signs.
[98] On October 26, the CFA and the university's Young Democratic Socialists of America chapter led about 300 students and faculty in a rally and march against layoffs and the tuition increase.
[104] Students walked out and protested on November 28, in response to 655 courses being cut and over 300 faculty members being laid off in the Spring 2024 semester.
[108][109] The strike was planned to last through the week before the university's spring semester, but ended early due to the CFA reaching a tentative agreement with the CSU.
[110][111] On January 25, roughly 250 members and supporters of SFSU's CFA chapter rallied in protest of the tentative agreement and stood in the shape of the word "NO.
[114][115] April 29 marked the first day students held an encampment to protest against the Israel-Hamas war and call for the CSU system to divest from Israel.
