History of San Diego State University
Encyclopedia
The history of San Diego State University
began in the late 19th century with the establishment of a normal school
in San Diego, California
. Founded on March 13, 1897, the school opened on November 1, 1898 with a class of 135 students. By 1921, the school had become San Diego State Teachers College, allowing it to grant certificates and degrees. Due to the increased student enrollment, the college was relocated to its current location at the east side of Mission Valley, with classes beginning in February 1931. The government works programs during the Great Depression
assisted in construction of numerous buildings on the new campus.
World War I and II both affected student enrollment, and led many students and faculty members to serve in the armed forces. By the end of the 1950s, the student population was at 10,000, and the renamed San Diego State College was now the fourth largest California state institution. In the 1960s and 1970s the campus saw increased enrollment, the accreditation of its professional schools, multiple incidents of student activism, and on January 1, 1974, a new name: San Diego State University (SDSU). By 1987, the university's population peaked at nearly 36,000 students and attained the status of the largest university in California and tenth in the nation.
Recently, the university has worked to improve its academic rankings, and faced adversities including a school shooting
and a large drug bust
. As the university continues to grant numerous degrees in various fields, it has developed several construction plans for replacement of some of its older buildings and infrastructure.
should be established to help the town grow and increase certification of teachers. The tuition and travel for out-of-town normal schools were large and San Diegans desired to have a closer school. San Diego had to compete with Fresno
, Los Angeles
, and several other cities for a school, and its first attempt to establish one was vetoed by California governor James Budd
. On March 13, 1897 Governor Budd changed course and signed legislation appropriating $50,000 to allow for the establishment of a state normal school in San Diego, to be located in University Heights
. By 1905, total funds appropriated to the school totaled $333,300.
The Board of Trustees for San Diego Normal School was established by Budd and first met on June 3, 1897. They appointed Samuel T. Black, who had previously served as the California Superintendent for Public Instruction
, as president of the new school by unanimous decision on October 1, 1898. On January 21, 1898, the San Diego firm Hebbard and Gill was selected to design the new school building. The architect Irving Gill
, who developed the building in a Beaux-Arts style, was responsible for the design. The ground was broken for construction on August 1, the cornerstone of the building was laid on December 10, and the building was dedicated on May 1, 1899. During the building's construction, the first classes were held at the Hill Block on the southwest corner of 6th and F street in downtown San Diego
beginning on November 1, 1898. The classes moved to the Normal School in May 1899, even as construction continued. 135 students (90% of whom were women), were enrolled by the end of the first year; enrollment grew to 400 by 1910.
In the summer of 1899, San Diego Normal School became the first California normal school to offer summer courses, and maintained this position until 1913. On June 21, 1900, the first class was graduated: 23 women and three men. Later that year, the east wing of the initial building was finished, adding 18 rooms. In 1903, $61,000 was appropriated by the state for a west wing; it included a gym, library, laboratories, lecture rooms, and a museum. The west wing was completed in September 1904. In 1906, the California legislature required that students have a high school diploma in order to be admitted to a normal school. This was the same requirement as for entry into the University of California
.
In 1910, Samuel Black resigned, and was replaced by Edward L. Hardy, who had previously served as the principal of San Diego High School. He increased the faculty size from 19 to 27 in 1912 to meet the demands of increased enrollment. The annual salary for the president increased to $4,000 (from $3,400) in 1915 and salaries for the faculty and administration ranged from $600–2,500 (compared to the national average of $687 for all industries except for farm labor). Hardy argued for the pay increases, claiming increases would "give merited and much needed relief...[and] will be entirely justified by the increased good of the service." More buildings were added after appropriations of funds in 1907 and total expenditures for the campus reached $312,000. Even with the expansion, by 1910 space was limited, so the training school dropped the high school program, although it still taught the elementary and intermediate grades (7th and 8th grades). In 1914, of the 136 new students for the school year, 17 were from California counties (excluding San Diego), while 26 were from other states. This proportion would remain common throughout the school's history as the majority of its students were from the San Diego area.
as an entrance requirement to the school. The war also had an effect on enrollment as all of the male students gradually left the school to join the war efforts; in 1916 there were 421 total students, 382 in 1917, 172 in 1918 (including only one male student), and in 1919, 147 students. In addition to the students, some of the faculty members joined the military. Due to the decreased student enrollment, the remaining faculty had the opportunity to further their own training. On campus, both students and faculty worked with the Red Cross
, organized bond
drives, and sent packages to troops overseas.
During this period, Hardy pushed the notion of granting the school college status. In 1921, the California legislature made the school a four-year teacher's school, which placed it under the management of the State Department of Education. On July 28, 1921, the San Diego Normal School became San Diego State Teachers College (usually shortened to San Diego State College or SDS). With this ranking, the college could now grant certificates and degrees. Prior to the school's conversion, it had graduated 1,500 teachers, educated many of the San Diego children at its training school, and helped to expand the economic and cultural development of the city. Also in 1921, the legislature moved San Diego Junior College
, that was a part of San Diego High School, to the college campus due to crowding issues. Administrators moved the junior college believing it would only overlap the same material taught at the teacher's school. The junior college remained with the school until 1947, when it became independent.
On June 30, 1923 the legislature allowed the college to begin granting Bachelor of Arts degrees, which included accountancy, agriculture, and industrial engineering. On July 1, 1927, the junior college courses became lower-division courses and on July 12, 1928 the State Board of Education granted the college the ability to offer credentials in secondary education with major
s in English, history, chemistry, and the Romance languages
.
), which was rejected by San Diego voters. However, the California legislature authorized a move to a new site in 1925 if San Diego was willing to buy the old school building and provide a new site. The following year the Citizen's Advisory Committee, a 21-member committee led by Mayor John L. Bacon
, initially recommended the northeast part of Balboa Park that would be located over 122 acres (49.4 ha), but the location was voted down by San Diego voters. In 1927, another location was selected, this time in Encanto, but was also voted down. In total, ten locations would be proposed before the final location was chosen. By June 1928, the Bell-Lloyd Investment Company offered 125 acres (50.6 ha) at Mission Palisades, $50,000, and a promise to build a road connecting the site to El Cajon Blvd
. The site was located at the east side of Mission Valley, about 10 miles (16.1 km) away from the old site. The group proposed the site in hopes of it being the center of a new retail and housing development. Before the new site could be built, San Diego voters had to approve of buying the old site, which it did overwhelmingly on May 15, 1928. After the move to the new campus, the old Normal School building was used for Horace Mann Junior High and administrative offices. In 1955, it was demolished to make room for a new wing of an administrative building.
George B. McDougall was selected as the supervising architect and the State Department of Architecture for Public Buildings designed the new campus. The initial planned cost was $7,500,000. On October 7, 1929 classes were dismissed early so all current students could attend the groundbreaking held on that day. Pettifer & Hupt was selected as the construction firm, and it completed several buildings by September 1930. The first classes made up of 1,220 students were held at Montezuma Mesa in February 1931.
The Great Depression
, although negative to the local economy, also benefited the San Diego State Teachers College, as the federal government made money available for construction projects in an attempt to stimulate the economy. For the campus, some of these construction projects included new buildings (such as a $500,000 stadium completed in 1936 and a $200,000 open air theater completed in 1941), facilities, and art works. Several federal programs were also created to give jobs to students and to increase financial aid.
In June 1935, President Hardy retired and was replaced by Walter R. Hepner. The bell tower on campus was named in honor of Hardy in 1976. On September 15, 1935, as a result of the California legislature dropping "teachers" from the names of state colleges, San Diego State Teachers College became San Diego State College (SDSC). In 1935 the college began offering engineering courses. During that period, the college acquired $18,000 from the state for the purpose of purchasing an additional 94 acres (38 ha).
was pivotal in the college's history too. Within four days of the attack on Pearl Harbor
, thirteen students withdrew from the college to join the military. The enrollment dropped from 2,077 students in 1940 to a low of 860 students (21% were men) in spring 1943. Faculty decreased to as low as 60 from 112 before the war had begun. Before the war was over, 3,500 SDSC graduates, students, former students, and faculty entered the armed forces, with 135 losing their lives. Not surprisingly for a city dominated by a naval base, a large majority joined the Navy. Others joined the Air Corps, participating in the Doolittle Raid
over Japan and battles over the Philippines
and the East Indies
.
In 1942, the campus became a War Information Center, one of 140 in the nation. The center was established to boost civilian morale and practice air raid drills. Rationing on campus of sugar, gas, soft drinks, and paper became common throughout the war. Classes were cut back due to the limited staff and the courses were shifted to more scientific and technological emphasis. The majority of the sports were canceled during the war and various drives were held to increase supplies sent to troops.
As the war neared its end, enrollment increased, until it reached 2,000 students in 1946. Nearly half of these students were veterans from the war, and they received a monthly stipend to assist with housing and tuition costs. Sports and activities resumed to their prior levels and by the end of 1940s, the faculty had expanded to 230 personnel and 40 part-time staff.
In 1946, Hepner grouped the various disciplines into seven divisions: Education, Fine Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences, Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, and Health, Physical Education, and Recreation. In 1950, the college awarded its first Master’s degree, and by the end of the decade offered Master’s degrees in 38 areas. On May 23, 1947, Governor Earl Warren
signed legislation making SDSC an official four-year liberal arts institution.
(since 1950). At this point, the college had more than 4,800 students, 222 faculty members, offered 27 majors, had a budget of $2,010,000 and contributed more than $14,000,000 to the local San Diego economy.
By the end of the 1950s, the student population was over 10,000, placing it as the fourth largest California state institution and larger than 96% of the U.S.’s colleges and universities at the time. In 1957, entering freshmen scores on examinations were ranked in the top 10% of all universities in the U.S. In the following years, the college’s scores also surpassed most of the other California state colleges. In 1957 the college became the first to use an identification number for each student, which was necessary to simplify handling of records, grades, and other tasks of the large number of students. To keep up with student expansion, the square footage of the buildings and classrooms was increased from 255,434 to 1,243,737.
In 1959, the school began offering classes at Central Union High School
in El Centro
as part of its Imperial Valley branch. The campus remained focused on teacher training until the mid-1970s. In 1960, the school became the first California state college to have an educational radio station, KPBS-FM
.
Before World War II, less than 25% of the faculty had doctorates, and in an attempt to reach university status for the school, the 1956 Statement of General Policy on Employment of Faculty stipulated that incoming faculty had to have their doctorates (or soon receive one) in order to be hired. By the end of the 1950s, 56% of permanent faculty had doctorates. By the beginning of 1965 this had increased to 68%.
During the Red Scare, psychology professor Harry C. Steinmetz was accused of being a Communist
. San Diego representatives persuaded the California legislature along with Governor Earl Warren to attempt to remove him from his teaching position. After the State Board of Education was unable to get an answer from Steinmetz about whether or not he was a Communist, he was dismissed on February 5, 1954. He attempted to be reinstated but never was even after the legislation that had been developed during the Red Scare was later deemed unconstitutional.
On July 1, 1961 as a result of the Donahue Act, SDSC became a part of the California State College system which included a new set of regulations for the school, along with a statewide board of trustees and a chancellor. The school continued to grow, with a population of 10,700 in 1960 and 25,500 in 1970. The San Diego county administrator Fred Morey reflected on so many graduates being hired by the county: "We would find it difficult to keep the County running without the help of San Diego State."
John F. Kennedy
, then the U.S. President, gave the graduation commencement address at Aztec Bowl in front of 40,000 people on June 6, 1963. Kennedy was given an honorary doctorate degree in law at the ceremony, making San Diego State the first in California to award an honorary doctorate degree. To commemorate his visit, the campus added his portrait to the campus library collection and a granite stone marker placed where his helicopter landed (California Historical Landmark
#798). In April 2008, a plaque that commemorated his visit was stolen and has yet to be recovered. On May 29, 1964 Martin Luther King Jr. spoke at the Open Air Theater about proposed legislation in improving rights for African Americans.
In 1965, San Diego State began offering a doctorate in chemistry in a joint effort with University of California, San Diego
. By 1991, the campus had eight different doctorate programs. Research became a vital practice of the faculty during the 1960s. By 1965, more than 200 books had been authored by SDSC faculty. Federal research grants increased from $398,202 in 1961 to $1,184,387 in 1967. Faculty research included medical and scientific research, teacher enhancement, Peace Corps
training, and a review of nursing curricula.
In 1966, the Carnegie Corporation named President Love one of the best college Presidents in the country. President Love changed the structure of the college, developing its divisions into professional schools, which would allow them to be accredited. The schools were developed into colleges, which increased the possibility of SDSC of becoming a university. He reflected on San Diego State’s progress in a Time
magazine article: "Though we are called a college, we are in deed and in fact a university."
Throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s there were numerous protests, sit-ins, and radical changes in traditions among the students. Author Raymond Starr called this period "...the liveliest, most colorful, and most challenging in State’s history." Students mainly protested racism and the war in Vietnam. In March 1970, 600 students held a week-long sit-in in protest of the decision of the campus leaders not to rehire four radical instructors. Protests expanded to the presence of Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC), military recruiters, the Police Community Relations Training Institute, among others. Significant speakers visited the campus during the time including Cesar Chavez
, Jane Fonda
, Angela Davis
, Donald Freed
, Joan Baez
, and Jerry Brown
. On April 20, 1972, 75 demonstrators took ROTC students hostage while they were taking an examination in the Business Administration and Math building. Although there was some violence, the students were released peacefully. On May 3, 1972, 35 protesters (later growing to 2,000) smashed windows of the Administration building and burned copies of The Daily Aztec, the student newspaper. Protesters eventually entered the locked building and set fires on the first floor, and moved on to Aztec Center to set more fires and break windows. The mayhem resulted in six injuries and several thousand dollars in damages. On May 24, 1972 a bomb exploded in Tarastec Hall, injuring Lawrence Jackson, an African American student. A group of African American students marched on campus to show support for Jackson.
In 1970, the college established a women's studies
department. It was the first college to do so in the nation, and other colleges and universities began adding departments of their own (Cornell University
added a department in the same year).
In early 1971, President Love retired. With the extraordinary growth of students, faculty and facilities, there were plans for new library to be named in honor of him, which was dedicated in May 1971. After a brief unsuccessful nomination of Walter Waetjen to replace Dr. Love, and Academic Vice President Walker acting as president for 1971–72, Brage Golding became the new president. He served from 1972 to 1977, and although he did not implement any mainstream changes as prior presidents had, he was instrumental in bringing in qualified administrators that would improve the school during its upcoming years. He worked to establish the San Diego History Research Center for collecting materials on the city's history and established the Educational Growth Opportunities program which offered classes for older people. At Golding's leaving of the university, one person commented: "By the end of the five-year administration, San Diego State University had grown into the institution implied by its name. This was the mark that Brage Golding left on San Diego State University."
Golding left to lead Kent State, and with a brief intermission of Academic Vice President Trevor Colbourn serving as president, Thomas B. Day became the sixth president in 1978. When Proposition 13
passed, the school faced budget issues and Day proposed abolishing some departments, combining others, and laying off approximately 80 faculty members. However, budget cuts were deemed not necessary, and on April 8, 1980, Day again proposed cutting 115 faculty members and four departments due to foreseeing upcoming budget cuts; on May 16, 1980 he recanted his comments.
President Love had fought hard throughout his tenure to increase SDSC's ranking from a college to a university. In 1972, the California legislature approved the renaming of the school to "California State University, San Diego". San Diego State officials were still not happy with the name, and on January 1, 1974, it was renamed to "San Diego State University" (SDSU), its current name.
In 1987, the school reached its peak attendance with 35,945 students, resulting in SDSU being the largest university in California and 10th in the nation. Due to the overwhelming number of students and available facilities and majors, the California State University Board of Trustees decided to limit enrollment to 33,000. However, in 1993, enrollment dropped to 26,800, the lowest attendance since 1973 as a result of the budget crisis of 1991.
In 1984, the California Higher Education Journal ranked SDSU as first among the CSU campuses and U.S. News and World Report ranked the school among the top five comprehensive universities in the west in 1983, third in 1985, and in the top fifteen in 1989. In the 1980s, the College of Business' School of Accountancy was the only accredited accountancy program in California. Throughout the decade students scored the highest score on the Certified Public Accountancy
(CPA) exam three times, and by 1990 was second in the nation (after the University of Texas) for graduates passing the CPA exam.
In January 1987, Playboy
ranked SDSU as the 3rd best party school in the nation, which appalled some administrators, and amused students. The ranking was determined on a number of factors including the education offered at the university, social opportunities, the male–female ratio, and off-campus activities located near the campus. Some students feared that the ranking would diminish the quality of their degree. In 2002 it dropped to tenth place, and in 2005 was included again without a specific rank, before jumping to fifth place in 2006.
The Graduate School of Public Health was first offered to students in 1981, and was one of only 24 accredited schools of public health in the nation and the only one in the CSU system in 1995. President Day considered it the major achievement of his administration, and it provided training in hospitals, public health agencies, health maintenance organizations, ambulatory care, and mental health facilities.
In the 1990s, the College of Business was the fourth largest undergraduate program in the U.S. By 1989–90 SDSU was granting over 1,100 Master’s degrees and 10 doctoral degrees a year.
When President Day retired in July 1996, SDSU's incoming freshman had a 38% success rate in graduating from the university within six years. Day was replaced by the university's seventh president, Stephen Weber. Just one month later, on August 15, in what is known as the San Diego State University shooting
, a 36-year-old graduate student pulled out a handgun while defending his thesis and killed three professors. The student pleaded guilty and is serving a life sentence prison term. On August 23, 2003, a memorial was dedicated to the three professors that included three trees along with a set of three tables and benches.
On July 10, 2005 a new trolley
station opened on the SDSU campus, after construction began in 1999. The station connected students and faculty with other areas in San Diego county and helped to combat the low availability of parking around campus. The $103 million station was just one of the university's several construction projects that occurred in the 2000s. Starting in the late 1990s, a $500 million College Community Redevelopment Project led to the development of the $8.5 million Piedra del Sol Apartments, the $14.3 million Fraternity Row, and future developments of a $15 million Sorority Row, a $150 million Paseo retail, office, and apartment project, as well as a $125 million research and office park. In 2003, a pedestrian bridge opened, connecting several of the dorms to the main campus. In the same year, the campus's most technologically advanced and largest classroom (capable of holding 500 students) was completed. Through 2008 and 2009, the campus began work on constructing a new alumni center, expanding Aztec Center, and modifying Storm Hall and Nasitir Hall to add more office and classroom space.
In June 2007, SDSU was deemed the number one small research university in the nation. The ranking was determined based on faculty productivity, honorary awards, publications in journals, and number of research grants received. At any point, the campus usually has around 800 studies in progress in various fields. A 2007 study revealed that the campus has an economic impact of $2.4 billion on the San Diego region. Due to projections of current and future growth, the study indicated that the school's economic impact is expected to increase to $4.5 billion by 2025.
On May 6, 2008, the Drug Enforcement Administration
(DEA) announced the arrest of 96 individuals, of whom 75 were San Diego State University students, on a variety of drug charges in a multiple-month narcotics sting called Operation Sudden Fall
. Two kilograms of cocaine
were seized, along with 50 pounds of marijuana, 350 Ecstasy
pills, hash oil, methamphetamine, other drug paraphernalia, three guns, and $60,000 in cash. Several months after the May 6 announcement, it was reported that the majority of the defendants had pleaded guilty to the felony charges. The defendants were then either placed on probation or were required to enter drug diversion programs. Other defendants only received citations or had their cases dismissed.
In 2010, after 15 years as president, Weber announced his upcoming retirement for the following year. Weber was credited for improving the graduation rate; in 2003, 66% of freshmen were graduating within six years. In May 2011, University of Maryland Baltimore County
senior vice president Elliot Hirshman was named by the CSU Board of Trustees to replace Weber. Hirshman assumed his appointed role as president in July.
San Diego State University
San Diego State University , founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, is the largest and oldest higher education facility in the greater San Diego area , and is part of the California State University system...
began in the late 19th century with the establishment of a normal school
Normal school
A normal school is a school created to train high school graduates to be teachers. Its purpose is to establish teaching standards or norms, hence its name...
in San Diego, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Founded on March 13, 1897, the school opened on November 1, 1898 with a class of 135 students. By 1921, the school had become San Diego State Teachers College, allowing it to grant certificates and degrees. Due to the increased student enrollment, the college was relocated to its current location at the east side of Mission Valley, with classes beginning in February 1931. The government works programs during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
assisted in construction of numerous buildings on the new campus.
World War I and II both affected student enrollment, and led many students and faculty members to serve in the armed forces. By the end of the 1950s, the student population was at 10,000, and the renamed San Diego State College was now the fourth largest California state institution. In the 1960s and 1970s the campus saw increased enrollment, the accreditation of its professional schools, multiple incidents of student activism, and on January 1, 1974, a new name: San Diego State University (SDSU). By 1987, the university's population peaked at nearly 36,000 students and attained the status of the largest university in California and tenth in the nation.
Recently, the university has worked to improve its academic rankings, and faced adversities including a school shooting
San Diego State University shooting
The San Diego State University shooting was a school shooting that occurred at the San Diego State University engineering building on August 15, 1996 in San Diego, California, United States. Three professors were killed by masters degree student Frederick Martin Davidson...
and a large drug bust
Operation Sudden Fall
Operation Sudden Fall was a 2008 joint operation between the United States Drug Enforcement Agency and San Diego State University campus police. It was the largest campus drug bust in San Diego County history and one of the largest college drug busts in U.S. history.-Background:The sting operation...
. As the university continues to grant numerous degrees in various fields, it has developed several construction plans for replacement of some of its older buildings and infrastructure.
Establishment
In the late 1890s, San Diego officials believed that a normal schoolNormal school
A normal school is a school created to train high school graduates to be teachers. Its purpose is to establish teaching standards or norms, hence its name...
should be established to help the town grow and increase certification of teachers. The tuition and travel for out-of-town normal schools were large and San Diegans desired to have a closer school. San Diego had to compete with Fresno
Fresno, California
Fresno is a city in central California, United States, the county seat of Fresno County. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 510,365, making it the fifth largest city in California, the largest inland city in California, and the 34th largest in the nation...
, Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, and several other cities for a school, and its first attempt to establish one was vetoed by California governor James Budd
James Budd
James Herbert Budd was an American lawyer and Democratic politician. Involved in federal and state politics, Budd was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for the 2nd California district from 1883 to 1885, and later elected as the 19th Governor of California from 1895 until...
. On March 13, 1897 Governor Budd changed course and signed legislation appropriating $50,000 to allow for the establishment of a state normal school in San Diego, to be located in University Heights
University Heights, San Diego, California
University Heights is a neighborhood in Central San Diego, California centered around Park Boulevard and Adams Avenue. The area is filled with a number of restaurants, coffee shops, boutiques, and artist's studios primarily on Park Boulevard and Adams Avenue. Live entertainment can be found most...
. By 1905, total funds appropriated to the school totaled $333,300.
The Board of Trustees for San Diego Normal School was established by Budd and first met on June 3, 1897. They appointed Samuel T. Black, who had previously served as the California Superintendent for Public Instruction
California Department of Education
The California Department of Education is a California agency that oversees public education. The department oversees funding and testing, and holds local educational agencies accountable for student achievement...
, as president of the new school by unanimous decision on October 1, 1898. On January 21, 1898, the San Diego firm Hebbard and Gill was selected to design the new school building. The architect Irving Gill
Irving Gill
Irving John Gill , American architect, is considered a pioneer of the modern movement in architecture. He designed several buildings considered examples of San Diego's best architecture.-Biography:...
, who developed the building in a Beaux-Arts style, was responsible for the design. The ground was broken for construction on August 1, the cornerstone of the building was laid on December 10, and the building was dedicated on May 1, 1899. During the building's construction, the first classes were held at the Hill Block on the southwest corner of 6th and F street in downtown San Diego
Downtown San Diego, San Diego, California
Downtown San Diego, also referred to as Centre City, is the city center of San Diego, California, the eighth largest city in America. In 2010, the Centre City area itself had a population of more than 28,000...
beginning on November 1, 1898. The classes moved to the Normal School in May 1899, even as construction continued. 135 students (90% of whom were women), were enrolled by the end of the first year; enrollment grew to 400 by 1910.
In the summer of 1899, San Diego Normal School became the first California normal school to offer summer courses, and maintained this position until 1913. On June 21, 1900, the first class was graduated: 23 women and three men. Later that year, the east wing of the initial building was finished, adding 18 rooms. In 1903, $61,000 was appropriated by the state for a west wing; it included a gym, library, laboratories, lecture rooms, and a museum. The west wing was completed in September 1904. In 1906, the California legislature required that students have a high school diploma in order to be admitted to a normal school. This was the same requirement as for entry into the University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
.
In 1910, Samuel Black resigned, and was replaced by Edward L. Hardy, who had previously served as the principal of San Diego High School. He increased the faculty size from 19 to 27 in 1912 to meet the demands of increased enrollment. The annual salary for the president increased to $4,000 (from $3,400) in 1915 and salaries for the faculty and administration ranged from $600–2,500 (compared to the national average of $687 for all industries except for farm labor). Hardy argued for the pay increases, claiming increases would "give merited and much needed relief...[and] will be entirely justified by the increased good of the service." More buildings were added after appropriations of funds in 1907 and total expenditures for the campus reached $312,000. Even with the expansion, by 1910 space was limited, so the training school dropped the high school program, although it still taught the elementary and intermediate grades (7th and 8th grades). In 1914, of the 136 new students for the school year, 17 were from California counties (excluding San Diego), while 26 were from other states. This proportion would remain common throughout the school's history as the majority of its students were from the San Diego area.
World War I
World War I had a large impact on the school. A new found sense of patriotism had the administration require students to recite the Pledge of AllegiancePledge of Allegiance
The Pledge of Allegiance of the United States is an expression of loyalty to the federal flag and the republic of the United States of America, originally composed by Christian Socialist Francis Bellamy in 1892 and formally adopted by Congress as the pledge in 1942...
as an entrance requirement to the school. The war also had an effect on enrollment as all of the male students gradually left the school to join the war efforts; in 1916 there were 421 total students, 382 in 1917, 172 in 1918 (including only one male student), and in 1919, 147 students. In addition to the students, some of the faculty members joined the military. Due to the decreased student enrollment, the remaining faculty had the opportunity to further their own training. On campus, both students and faculty worked with the Red Cross
International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is an international humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide which was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and to prevent and alleviate human...
, organized bond
War bond
War bonds are debt securities issued by a government for the purpose of financing military operations during times of war. War bonds generate capital for the government and make civilians feel involved in their national militaries...
drives, and sent packages to troops overseas.
During this period, Hardy pushed the notion of granting the school college status. In 1921, the California legislature made the school a four-year teacher's school, which placed it under the management of the State Department of Education. On July 28, 1921, the San Diego Normal School became San Diego State Teachers College (usually shortened to San Diego State College or SDS). With this ranking, the college could now grant certificates and degrees. Prior to the school's conversion, it had graduated 1,500 teachers, educated many of the San Diego children at its training school, and helped to expand the economic and cultural development of the city. Also in 1921, the legislature moved San Diego Junior College
Junior college
The term junior college refers to different educational institutions in different countries.-India:In India, most states provide schooling through 12th grade...
, that was a part of San Diego High School, to the college campus due to crowding issues. Administrators moved the junior college believing it would only overlap the same material taught at the teacher's school. The junior college remained with the school until 1947, when it became independent.
On June 30, 1923 the legislature allowed the college to begin granting Bachelor of Arts degrees, which included accountancy, agriculture, and industrial engineering. On July 1, 1927, the junior college courses became lower-division courses and on July 12, 1928 the State Board of Education granted the college the ability to offer credentials in secondary education with major
Academic major
In the United States and Canada, an academic major or major concentration is the academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits....
s in English, history, chemistry, and the Romance languages
Romance languages
The Romance languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family, more precisely of the Italic languages subfamily, comprising all the languages that descend from Vulgar Latin, the language of ancient Rome...
.
Move to current location
The Normal School was initially built for a maximum capacity of 600 students. Hardy proposed in 1922 building on a new campus at a 125 acres (50.6 ha) plot at Park Boulevard (near Balboa ParkBalboa Park (San Diego)
Balboa Park is a urban cultural park in San Diego, California. The park is named after the Spanish maritime explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa...
), which was rejected by San Diego voters. However, the California legislature authorized a move to a new site in 1925 if San Diego was willing to buy the old school building and provide a new site. The following year the Citizen's Advisory Committee, a 21-member committee led by Mayor John L. Bacon
John L. Bacon
John L. Bacon was a civil engineer and Republican politician from California.Bacon was born in 1878 in Illinois. By 1914, he was in San Diego, when he was on a Panama-California Exposition committee...
, initially recommended the northeast part of Balboa Park that would be located over 122 acres (49.4 ha), but the location was voted down by San Diego voters. In 1927, another location was selected, this time in Encanto, but was also voted down. In total, ten locations would be proposed before the final location was chosen. By June 1928, the Bell-Lloyd Investment Company offered 125 acres (50.6 ha) at Mission Palisades, $50,000, and a promise to build a road connecting the site to El Cajon Blvd
El Cajon Boulevard
El Cajon Boulevard is a major east–west thoroughfare through San Diego, La Mesa and El Cajon, California. Before the creation of Interstate 8 it was the principal automobile route from San Diego to El Cajon, the Imperial Valley, and points east....
. The site was located at the east side of Mission Valley, about 10 miles (16.1 km) away from the old site. The group proposed the site in hopes of it being the center of a new retail and housing development. Before the new site could be built, San Diego voters had to approve of buying the old site, which it did overwhelmingly on May 15, 1928. After the move to the new campus, the old Normal School building was used for Horace Mann Junior High and administrative offices. In 1955, it was demolished to make room for a new wing of an administrative building.
George B. McDougall was selected as the supervising architect and the State Department of Architecture for Public Buildings designed the new campus. The initial planned cost was $7,500,000. On October 7, 1929 classes were dismissed early so all current students could attend the groundbreaking held on that day. Pettifer & Hupt was selected as the construction firm, and it completed several buildings by September 1930. The first classes made up of 1,220 students were held at Montezuma Mesa in February 1931.
The Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, although negative to the local economy, also benefited the San Diego State Teachers College, as the federal government made money available for construction projects in an attempt to stimulate the economy. For the campus, some of these construction projects included new buildings (such as a $500,000 stadium completed in 1936 and a $200,000 open air theater completed in 1941), facilities, and art works. Several federal programs were also created to give jobs to students and to increase financial aid.
In June 1935, President Hardy retired and was replaced by Walter R. Hepner. The bell tower on campus was named in honor of Hardy in 1976. On September 15, 1935, as a result of the California legislature dropping "teachers" from the names of state colleges, San Diego State Teachers College became San Diego State College (SDSC). In 1935 the college began offering engineering courses. During that period, the college acquired $18,000 from the state for the purpose of purchasing an additional 94 acres (38 ha).
World War II
Just as World War I had a significant impact on the college, World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
was pivotal in the college's history too. Within four days of the attack on Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
, thirteen students withdrew from the college to join the military. The enrollment dropped from 2,077 students in 1940 to a low of 860 students (21% were men) in spring 1943. Faculty decreased to as low as 60 from 112 before the war had begun. Before the war was over, 3,500 SDSC graduates, students, former students, and faculty entered the armed forces, with 135 losing their lives. Not surprisingly for a city dominated by a naval base, a large majority joined the Navy. Others joined the Air Corps, participating in the Doolittle Raid
Doolittle Raid
The Doolittle Raid, on 18 April 1942, was the first air raid by the United States to strike the Japanese Home Islands during World War II. By demonstrating that Japan itself was vulnerable to American air attack, it provided a vital morale boost and opportunity for U.S. retaliation after the...
over Japan and battles over the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
and the East Indies
Indies
The Indies is a term that has been used to describe the lands of South and Southeast Asia, occupying all of the present India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and also Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Brunei, Singapore, the Philippines, East Timor, Malaysia and...
.
In 1942, the campus became a War Information Center, one of 140 in the nation. The center was established to boost civilian morale and practice air raid drills. Rationing on campus of sugar, gas, soft drinks, and paper became common throughout the war. Classes were cut back due to the limited staff and the courses were shifted to more scientific and technological emphasis. The majority of the sports were canceled during the war and various drives were held to increase supplies sent to troops.
As the war neared its end, enrollment increased, until it reached 2,000 students in 1946. Nearly half of these students were veterans from the war, and they received a monthly stipend to assist with housing and tuition costs. Sports and activities resumed to their prior levels and by the end of 1940s, the faculty had expanded to 230 personnel and 40 part-time staff.
In 1946, Hepner grouped the various disciplines into seven divisions: Education, Fine Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences, Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, and Health, Physical Education, and Recreation. In 1950, the college awarded its first Master’s degree, and by the end of the decade offered Master’s degrees in 38 areas. On May 23, 1947, Governor Earl Warren
Earl Warren
Earl Warren was the 14th Chief Justice of the United States.He is known for the sweeping decisions of the Warren Court, which ended school segregation and transformed many areas of American law, especially regarding the rights of the accused, ending public-school-sponsored prayer, and requiring...
signed legislation making SDSC an official four-year liberal arts institution.
Postwar changes and expansion
In 1952 President Hepner retired, and was replaced by Malcolm A. Love, who previously served as president of the University of NevadaUniversity of Nevada, Reno
The University of Nevada, Reno , is a teaching and research university established in 1874 and located in Reno, Nevada, USA...
(since 1950). At this point, the college had more than 4,800 students, 222 faculty members, offered 27 majors, had a budget of $2,010,000 and contributed more than $14,000,000 to the local San Diego economy.
By the end of the 1950s, the student population was over 10,000, placing it as the fourth largest California state institution and larger than 96% of the U.S.’s colleges and universities at the time. In 1957, entering freshmen scores on examinations were ranked in the top 10% of all universities in the U.S. In the following years, the college’s scores also surpassed most of the other California state colleges. In 1957 the college became the first to use an identification number for each student, which was necessary to simplify handling of records, grades, and other tasks of the large number of students. To keep up with student expansion, the square footage of the buildings and classrooms was increased from 255,434 to 1,243,737.
In 1959, the school began offering classes at Central Union High School
Central Union High School (El Centro, California)
Central Union High School, also known as Central or CUHS, is a four-year public high school in El Centro, California with a diverse student body of more than 1,750 students. It is one of three schools in the Central Union High School District...
in El Centro
El Centro, California
El Centro is a city in and county seat of Imperial County, the largest city in the Imperial Valley and the east anchor of the Southern California Border Region, and the core urban area and principal city of the El Centro metropolitan area which encompasses all of Imperial County. El Centro is also...
as part of its Imperial Valley branch. The campus remained focused on teacher training until the mid-1970s. In 1960, the school became the first California state college to have an educational radio station, KPBS-FM
KPBS-FM
KPBS-FM is a non-commercial public radio station licensed to San Diego State University, broadcasting in San Diego on 89.5 MHz, 89.1 MHz K206AC in La Jolla, and on 97.7 MHz KQVO in Calexico, Imperial County. The station is affiliated with National Public Radio, with programming...
.
Before World War II, less than 25% of the faculty had doctorates, and in an attempt to reach university status for the school, the 1956 Statement of General Policy on Employment of Faculty stipulated that incoming faculty had to have their doctorates (or soon receive one) in order to be hired. By the end of the 1950s, 56% of permanent faculty had doctorates. By the beginning of 1965 this had increased to 68%.
During the Red Scare, psychology professor Harry C. Steinmetz was accused of being a Communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
. San Diego representatives persuaded the California legislature along with Governor Earl Warren to attempt to remove him from his teaching position. After the State Board of Education was unable to get an answer from Steinmetz about whether or not he was a Communist, he was dismissed on February 5, 1954. He attempted to be reinstated but never was even after the legislation that had been developed during the Red Scare was later deemed unconstitutional.
On July 1, 1961 as a result of the Donahue Act, SDSC became a part of the California State College system which included a new set of regulations for the school, along with a statewide board of trustees and a chancellor. The school continued to grow, with a population of 10,700 in 1960 and 25,500 in 1970. The San Diego county administrator Fred Morey reflected on so many graduates being hired by the county: "We would find it difficult to keep the County running without the help of San Diego State."
John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
, then the U.S. President, gave the graduation commencement address at Aztec Bowl in front of 40,000 people on June 6, 1963. Kennedy was given an honorary doctorate degree in law at the ceremony, making San Diego State the first in California to award an honorary doctorate degree. To commemorate his visit, the campus added his portrait to the campus library collection and a granite stone marker placed where his helicopter landed (California Historical Landmark
California Historical Landmark
California Historical Landmarks are buildings, structures, sites, or places in the state of California that have been determined to have statewide historical significance by meeting at least one of the criteria listed below:...
#798). In April 2008, a plaque that commemorated his visit was stolen and has yet to be recovered. On May 29, 1964 Martin Luther King Jr. spoke at the Open Air Theater about proposed legislation in improving rights for African Americans.
In 1965, San Diego State began offering a doctorate in chemistry in a joint effort with University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
. By 1991, the campus had eight different doctorate programs. Research became a vital practice of the faculty during the 1960s. By 1965, more than 200 books had been authored by SDSC faculty. Federal research grants increased from $398,202 in 1961 to $1,184,387 in 1967. Faculty research included medical and scientific research, teacher enhancement, Peace Corps
Peace Corps
The Peace Corps is an American volunteer program run by the United States Government, as well as a government agency of the same name. The mission of the Peace Corps includes three goals: providing technical assistance, helping people outside the United States to understand US culture, and helping...
training, and a review of nursing curricula.
In 1966, the Carnegie Corporation named President Love one of the best college Presidents in the country. President Love changed the structure of the college, developing its divisions into professional schools, which would allow them to be accredited. The schools were developed into colleges, which increased the possibility of SDSC of becoming a university. He reflected on San Diego State’s progress in a Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine article: "Though we are called a college, we are in deed and in fact a university."
Throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s there were numerous protests, sit-ins, and radical changes in traditions among the students. Author Raymond Starr called this period "...the liveliest, most colorful, and most challenging in State’s history." Students mainly protested racism and the war in Vietnam. In March 1970, 600 students held a week-long sit-in in protest of the decision of the campus leaders not to rehire four radical instructors. Protests expanded to the presence of Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC), military recruiters, the Police Community Relations Training Institute, among others. Significant speakers visited the campus during the time including Cesar Chavez
César Chávez
César Estrada Chávez was an American farm worker, labor leader, and civil rights activist who, with Dolores Huerta, co-founded the National Farm Workers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers ....
, Jane Fonda
Jane Fonda
Jane Fonda is an American actress, writer, political activist, former fashion model, and fitness guru. She rose to fame in the 1960s with films such as Barbarella and Cat Ballou. She has won two Academy Awards and received several other movie awards and nominations during more than 50 years as an...
, Angela Davis
Angela Davis
Angela Davis is an American political activist, scholar, and author. Davis was most politically active during the late 1960s through the 1970s and was associated with the Communist Party USA, the Civil Rights Movement and the Black Panther Party...
, Donald Freed
Donald Freed
Donald Freed is an American playwright, novelist, screenwriter, and actor. He is associated with writing programs at the University of Southern California, and was Artist in Residence at the Workshop Theatre, University of Leeds, UK , and Playwright in Residence at York Theatre Royal ,...
, Joan Baez
Joan Baez
Joan Chandos Baez is an American folk singer, songwriter, musician and a prominent activist in the fields of human rights, peace and environmental justice....
, and Jerry Brown
Jerry Brown
Edmund Gerald "Jerry" Brown, Jr. is an American politician. Brown served as the 34th Governor of California , and is currently serving as the 39th California Governor...
. On April 20, 1972, 75 demonstrators took ROTC students hostage while they were taking an examination in the Business Administration and Math building. Although there was some violence, the students were released peacefully. On May 3, 1972, 35 protesters (later growing to 2,000) smashed windows of the Administration building and burned copies of The Daily Aztec, the student newspaper. Protesters eventually entered the locked building and set fires on the first floor, and moved on to Aztec Center to set more fires and break windows. The mayhem resulted in six injuries and several thousand dollars in damages. On May 24, 1972 a bomb exploded in Tarastec Hall, injuring Lawrence Jackson, an African American student. A group of African American students marched on campus to show support for Jackson.
In 1970, the college established a women's studies
Women's studies
Women's studies, also known as feminist studies, is an interdisciplinary academic field which explores politics, society and history from an intersectional, multicultural women's perspective...
department. It was the first college to do so in the nation, and other colleges and universities began adding departments of their own (Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
added a department in the same year).
In early 1971, President Love retired. With the extraordinary growth of students, faculty and facilities, there were plans for new library to be named in honor of him, which was dedicated in May 1971. After a brief unsuccessful nomination of Walter Waetjen to replace Dr. Love, and Academic Vice President Walker acting as president for 1971–72, Brage Golding became the new president. He served from 1972 to 1977, and although he did not implement any mainstream changes as prior presidents had, he was instrumental in bringing in qualified administrators that would improve the school during its upcoming years. He worked to establish the San Diego History Research Center for collecting materials on the city's history and established the Educational Growth Opportunities program which offered classes for older people. At Golding's leaving of the university, one person commented: "By the end of the five-year administration, San Diego State University had grown into the institution implied by its name. This was the mark that Brage Golding left on San Diego State University."
Golding left to lead Kent State, and with a brief intermission of Academic Vice President Trevor Colbourn serving as president, Thomas B. Day became the sixth president in 1978. When Proposition 13
California Proposition 13 (1978)
Proposition 13 was an amendment of the Constitution of California enacted during 1978, by means of the initiative process. It was approved by California voters on June 6, 1978. It was declared constitutional by the United States Supreme Court in the case of Nordlinger v. Hahn,...
passed, the school faced budget issues and Day proposed abolishing some departments, combining others, and laying off approximately 80 faculty members. However, budget cuts were deemed not necessary, and on April 8, 1980, Day again proposed cutting 115 faculty members and four departments due to foreseeing upcoming budget cuts; on May 16, 1980 he recanted his comments.
President Love had fought hard throughout his tenure to increase SDSC's ranking from a college to a university. In 1972, the California legislature approved the renaming of the school to "California State University, San Diego". San Diego State officials were still not happy with the name, and on January 1, 1974, it was renamed to "San Diego State University" (SDSU), its current name.
Modern history
In 1984, the California Higher Education Journal ranked SDSU as first among the CSU campuses and U.S. News and World Report ranked the school among the top five comprehensive universities in the west in 1983, third in 1985, and in the top fifteen in 1989. In the 1980s, the College of Business' School of Accountancy was the only accredited accountancy program in California. Throughout the decade students scored the highest score on the Certified Public Accountancy
Certified Public Accountant
Certified Public Accountant is the statutory title of qualified accountants in the United States who have passed the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination and have met additional state education and experience requirements for certification as a CPA...
(CPA) exam three times, and by 1990 was second in the nation (after the University of Texas) for graduates passing the CPA exam.
In January 1987, Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
ranked SDSU as the 3rd best party school in the nation, which appalled some administrators, and amused students. The ranking was determined on a number of factors including the education offered at the university, social opportunities, the male–female ratio, and off-campus activities located near the campus. Some students feared that the ranking would diminish the quality of their degree. In 2002 it dropped to tenth place, and in 2005 was included again without a specific rank, before jumping to fifth place in 2006.
The Graduate School of Public Health was first offered to students in 1981, and was one of only 24 accredited schools of public health in the nation and the only one in the CSU system in 1995. President Day considered it the major achievement of his administration, and it provided training in hospitals, public health agencies, health maintenance organizations, ambulatory care, and mental health facilities.
In the 1990s, the College of Business was the fourth largest undergraduate program in the U.S. By 1989–90 SDSU was granting over 1,100 Master’s degrees and 10 doctoral degrees a year.
When President Day retired in July 1996, SDSU's incoming freshman had a 38% success rate in graduating from the university within six years. Day was replaced by the university's seventh president, Stephen Weber. Just one month later, on August 15, in what is known as the San Diego State University shooting
San Diego State University shooting
The San Diego State University shooting was a school shooting that occurred at the San Diego State University engineering building on August 15, 1996 in San Diego, California, United States. Three professors were killed by masters degree student Frederick Martin Davidson...
, a 36-year-old graduate student pulled out a handgun while defending his thesis and killed three professors. The student pleaded guilty and is serving a life sentence prison term. On August 23, 2003, a memorial was dedicated to the three professors that included three trees along with a set of three tables and benches.
San Diego Trolley
The San Diego Trolley is a light rail system operating in the metropolitan area of San Diego. The operator, San Diego Trolley, Inc. , is a subsidiary of the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System ...
station opened on the SDSU campus, after construction began in 1999. The station connected students and faculty with other areas in San Diego county and helped to combat the low availability of parking around campus. The $103 million station was just one of the university's several construction projects that occurred in the 2000s. Starting in the late 1990s, a $500 million College Community Redevelopment Project led to the development of the $8.5 million Piedra del Sol Apartments, the $14.3 million Fraternity Row, and future developments of a $15 million Sorority Row, a $150 million Paseo retail, office, and apartment project, as well as a $125 million research and office park. In 2003, a pedestrian bridge opened, connecting several of the dorms to the main campus. In the same year, the campus's most technologically advanced and largest classroom (capable of holding 500 students) was completed. Through 2008 and 2009, the campus began work on constructing a new alumni center, expanding Aztec Center, and modifying Storm Hall and Nasitir Hall to add more office and classroom space.
In June 2007, SDSU was deemed the number one small research university in the nation. The ranking was determined based on faculty productivity, honorary awards, publications in journals, and number of research grants received. At any point, the campus usually has around 800 studies in progress in various fields. A 2007 study revealed that the campus has an economic impact of $2.4 billion on the San Diego region. Due to projections of current and future growth, the study indicated that the school's economic impact is expected to increase to $4.5 billion by 2025.
On May 6, 2008, the Drug Enforcement Administration
Drug Enforcement Administration
The Drug Enforcement Administration is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Justice, tasked with combating drug smuggling and use within the United States...
(DEA) announced the arrest of 96 individuals, of whom 75 were San Diego State University students, on a variety of drug charges in a multiple-month narcotics sting called Operation Sudden Fall
Operation Sudden Fall
Operation Sudden Fall was a 2008 joint operation between the United States Drug Enforcement Agency and San Diego State University campus police. It was the largest campus drug bust in San Diego County history and one of the largest college drug busts in U.S. history.-Background:The sting operation...
. Two kilograms of cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
were seized, along with 50 pounds of marijuana, 350 Ecstasy
Methylenedioxymethamphetamine
MDMA is an entactogenic drug of the phenethylamine and amphetamine class of drugs. In popular culture, MDMA has become widely known as "ecstasy" , usually referring to its street pill form, although this term may also include the presence of possible adulterants...
pills, hash oil, methamphetamine, other drug paraphernalia, three guns, and $60,000 in cash. Several months after the May 6 announcement, it was reported that the majority of the defendants had pleaded guilty to the felony charges. The defendants were then either placed on probation or were required to enter drug diversion programs. Other defendants only received citations or had their cases dismissed.
In 2010, after 15 years as president, Weber announced his upcoming retirement for the following year. Weber was credited for improving the graduation rate; in 2003, 66% of freshmen were graduating within six years. In May 2011, University of Maryland Baltimore County
University of Maryland Baltimore County
The University of Maryland, Baltimore County is an American honors public research university, located in Baltimore County, Maryland, mostly in the community of Catonsville, Maryland...
senior vice president Elliot Hirshman was named by the CSU Board of Trustees to replace Weber. Hirshman assumed his appointed role as president in July.