San Francisco State University
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San Francisco State University is a branch of the California State University system. It is located in the southwestern part of San Francisco, California near Lake Merced, Fort Funston, and only a mile north of Daly City.
In the fall of 2005, approximately 28,950 students were enrolled in the university, of which 79.7% were undergraduate students and 20.3% were graduate students.
Since 1999, graduates wear purple caps and gowns as part of celebrating 100 years of SFSU.
Academics
The university's colleges are:
- Behavioral and Social Sciences,
- Business,
- Creative Arts,
- Education,
- Ethnic Studies,
- Health and Human Services,
- Humanities,
- Science and Engineering.
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.
Accreditation
San Francisco State University is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.History
- 1899 - Founded as San Francisco State Normal School
- 1901 - First graduating class
- 1921 - SF Normal School became the SF State Teachers College
- 1923 - First bachelor of arts degree awarded
- 1935 - Renamed San Francisco State College
- 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 - In late 1968 a lengthy student strike erupted at San Francisco State that developed into one of the most significant events in the radical history of the U.S. in the late 60s, as significant or more than any events that occurred in Berkeley. This strike was led by The Third World Liberation Front supported by SDS and the Black Panthers and demanded a Black Studies program and an end to the Vietnam War. This was a major news event for weeks in 1968-69 in the aftermath of the assassination Martin Luther King and the radicalization of youth culture during the time of the 68 election and thereafter. The Chancellor of SF State was none other than S.I. Hayakawa who became famous for pulling the wires out of the speakers on top of a van at a student rally. This story was reported often on the leading TV newsprograms like CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite. Hayakawa later became a right wing U.S. Senator from California and crony of Reagan.
- 1972 - Received University status as California State University, San Francisco
- 1974 - Renamed San Francisco State University
- 1999 - Celebrated 100th birthday
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 two later became All-Stars (former Met shortstop Bud Harrelson, and former Brewers and Red Sox outfielder Tommy Harper).
Diversity
In 1968, what was then the longest [student strike] in the nation's history, resulted in establishment of the creation of a School 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 in 2002 have become a national model for addressing civil discussion and disagreement on college campuses.
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 [link] also cites another controversial incident in 2004. The local ABC news affiliate reported that Akom was charged with two felonies in the incident [link] 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. [link] The administration defended its role in the entire incident and sponsored a report concluding that no racial profiling took place. [link]
Additional controversies include:
- Student protests of military recruiters on campus (in which the administration defended its actions [link]), and a confrontation between students of different political views (in which the administration defended its actions again.[link]).
- The Campus Antiwar Network (CAN) has charged that the university violated due process rights of campus anti-war activists.[link] *A protest organized by CAN also appeared on the Pentagon's database of anti-war protests to be monitored that was leaked to NBC in December 2005.
- 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-semetic 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. No violence occurred, but campus and city police were called in to diffuse the situation. [link]
Notable alumni
- Tory Belleci - Special effects engineer and cast member on the Discovery Channel show Mythbusters
- Annette Bening - actress
- Dean Biersch - founder of the Gordon Biersch Brewing Company
- Po Bronson - author and journalist (MFA in creative writing)
- Willie Brown - member and 58th Speaker of the California State Assembly and former mayor of San Francisco, California
- John L. Burton - president pro tempore of the California State Senate
- David Carradine - actor (best known for the television series Kung Fu and movie Kill Bill)
- Dana Carvey - comedian (best known for his characterizations in Saturday Night Live and in Wayne's World)
- Margaret Cho - Comedian
- Stephen Colletti - cast member (dropped out)
- Peter Coyote - actor, author
- Michael Curtis - Television / Film writer and producer - "...And God Spoke", Friends, Haversham Hall
- Keir Dullea - actor, best known for playing David Bowman in ""
- Saeb Erekat - Head of the Negotiations Affairs Department of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO).
- Jennifer Finch - former bassist for all-girl punk group L7
- Gregory Fischbach - founder of Acclaim Entertainment, a videogame company
- 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
- Andreas Glocker - founder of Sirius Connections
- Danny Glover - Lethal Weapon actor
- Charles Hall - inventor of the waterbed
- Nina Hartley - porn actress
- Sarah Lane - Former Host of Attack of the Show
- Delroy Lindo - actor
- Johnny Mathis - musician
- Manny Mashouf - founder of bebe stores inc. clothing retail shops
- Stan Mazor - while at Intel, helped to design the first microprocessor with Federico Faggin
- Frances Mayes - author of Under the Tuscan Sun
- Fat Mike - Lead Singer for the punk band NOFX
- David Newton - De Anza College physics instructor
- Melissa Ng - Hong Kong Actress
- Dan 'The Automator' Nakamura - Music Producer
- Greg Proops - actor and stand-up comedian
- Anne Rice - novelist
- Terry Riley - composer
- Mario Savio - Berkeley free speech activist
- Richard Goodman - Television Writer
- Ronnie Schell - actor, comedian
- Jeffrey Tambor - actor
- Bill Thomas - American politician, representing the 22nd District of California in the House of Representitives
- Cal Tjader - jazz vibraphonist
- Bob Toledo - former UCLA head football coach, current offensive coordinator at New Mexico
- Jens Vindum - Herptastic Collections Manager California Academy of Sciences
- B.D. Wong - actor
- Leland Yee - California State Assembly speaker pro tempore
- Janet Weiss - drummer Sleater-Kinney, Quasi
- Javad Zarif - Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations
External links
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