A profile look back at San Francisco State University from its origins as San Francisco State Normal School in 1899, a two year program for women, through growing enrollment and the 1906 earthquake, the school has moved twice over the decades finally settling in the southeast part of San Francisco in 1954. Later achieving university status in 1972 as California State University, San Francisco in its present location by Lake Merced with 4500 students and 7 new buildings.
The video also highlights many features that are unique to SF State, for example state-of-the-art facilities and research centers like Conservation and Genetics and the Romberg Tiburon Center for Environmental Studies, The Marian Wright Edelman Institute for the Study of Children, Youth and Families, the nationally ranked Journalism program and the Centers for World Business. Among many of the University's strengths are the creative faculty who are engaged with their students, their disciplines and their community generate programs with national and international recognition, like Ralf Hotchkiss Sci.D., a wheelchair designer who teaches rehabilitation engineering at SF State, Director and Chief Engineer, Whirlwind Wheelchair International, San Francisco Urban Institute/Institute for Civic and Community Engagement.
History seems to repeat itself as the video chronicles how the rapid increase of the student population, especially during 1989-90, coupled with the Loma Prieta earthquake began to stress some of the aging facilities that were designed for the much smaller campus. In 1992 SF State celebrated the addition of two new buildings in 20 years. San Francisco State continues to grow and make improvements to accommodate the changing academic programs, technology and teaching methods, in order to provide the kinds of classrooms and laboratory space that was needed for SFSU students, staff and faculty.
