Happy 125th, SF State! Today, the esteemed university throws its hat in the ring celebrating 125 years of shaping California's educators and leaders. The institution, founded in 1899, has been a chalkboard for educational innovation since day one. Everyone's ready to throw it back to the old school days with a bounty of anniversary content, including a video retrospective and a trove of archival photos, as per SF State News.
Let’s rewind to the very beginning. Before SF State became a teaching powerhouse, it started as a "normal school" in 1862, thanks to the strong arm of San Francisco locals who petitioned for a state-sponsored teacher prep school. The first iteration didn't stick around in the city for long and was moved to San Jose in 1871 due to the Barbary Coast's rowdy days. However, the San Francisco Normal School made a comeback in 1899, and it was to fully embrace the motto "Experientia docet," or "experience teaches," selected by its founding president, Frederic Lister Burk, according to University Archivist Meredith Eliassen in a statement obtained by SF State News.
Starting from a two-story Nob Hill building, SF State has come a long way since its first all-female graduating class of 1901. The school endured its fair share of trials and tribulations, including a total loss during the 1906 earthquake. Fast-forward through time, SF State began dishing out bachelor's degrees in the 1920s and introduced its first master's program as they hit their half-century mark.
After World War II, veterans swarmed colleges thanks to the GI Bill, and SF State was no exception. The surge prompted a campus move near Lake Merced in 1954 and, just a few hops and name changes later, it became part of the 23-campus California State University system. Now known as San Francisco State University, it boasts an impressive repertoire of programs, including diverse bachelor's and master's degrees, a doctoral program in Educational Leadership, and even a clinical Doctorate of Physical Therapy in partnership with UCSF, as detailed by SF State News.
It's not all about the past; the SF State of today continues to churn out leaders in various fields, priding itself on a commitment to education, workforce development, and equity. "From its beginnings all those years ago, SF State has been focused on meeting the needs of the Bay Area and California," President Lynn Mahoney told SF State News. "Those needs may have changed over the years, but the commitment to outstanding education, workforce development and equity remain the same."
