San Diego State University 

San Diego State University

Motto: Minds that move the world
Established: 1897
Type: Public
Space Grant
Endowment: ~$120.3 million (permanent)
President: Stephen L. Weber
Staff: 1,684
Students: 34,500
Location: San Diego, California, USA
Campus: Urban
Former names: San Diego Normal School (1897-1923)
San Diego Teachers College (1923-35)
San Diego State College (1935-70)
Carnegie status: Research University with high research activity
Colors: scarlet (red) and black         
Nickname: Aztecs
Mascot: Aztec warrior
SDSU mascot
Athletics: 17 varsity teams
SDSU Aztecs logo
Affiliations: California State University system
Mountain West Conference (NCAA Division 1)
Website: sdsu.edu
Current president Stephen Weber
A landmark architecture (Hepner Hall) featured in the school's logo
Statue of Samuel T. Black, the first president of the university
The newly constructed Arts & Letters building opened on August 28, 2006
Pedestrian bridge connecting various residence halls and parking structures to campus
Looking at SDSU's 40-inch (1,000 mm) telescope at Mount Laguna Observatory
Entrance to Aztec Center, which leads into the heart of the SDSU campus
Courtyard looking towards Hepner Hall
Student Services building with clock tower

San Diego State University (SDSU), founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, is the largest and oldest higher education facility in the greater San Diego area (generally the City and County of San Diego), and is part of the California State University system. It is the third-oldest university in the California State University system, and one of the oldest universities in California. SDSU has a student body of approximately 34,500 (as of the beginning of the Fall 2006 academic year) and an alumni base of more than 200,000.

The Carnegie Foundation has designated San Diego State University a "Research University with high research activity." SDSU is the only California State University campus with this classification, which places it among the top 200 higher education institutions in the country conducting research.1 Notably, pursuant to the Faculty Scholarly Productivity Index (FSP Index) released by the Academic Analytics organization of Stony Brook, NY, SDSU is the number one small research university in the United States as of the last two academic years, for both 2005-2006 and 2006-2007.234

San Diego State University awards bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees (Ph.D., Ed.D, and Au.D) in a total of 151 fields. SDSU offers the most doctoral degrees of any campus of the California State University system, currently in sixteen academic and research disciplines.

San Diego State University is a member of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges, the Southwest Border Security Consortium, and the Oak Ridge Associated Universities, a national organization of universities that promotes science and technology education and research.

Contents

History

Established on March 13, 1897 San Diego State University first began as the San Diego Normal School, intended to educate local future female elementary school teachers. Curriculum in a normal school was limited to what would "normally" be taught in schools. In 1923, the San Diego Normal School became San Diego State Teachers College, "a four-year public institution controlled by the state Board of Education." In 1935 the school became San Diego State College. In 1960, San Diego State College became a part of the California College System, now known as the California State University system. Finally in 1970 San Diego State College became San Diego State University (SDSU).

One in seven San Diegans with a college degree attended SDSU,5 making SDSU a primary educator of the region's work force. Committed to serving the diverse San Diego region, SDSU ranks among the top ten universities nationwide in terms of ethnic and racial diversity among its student body, as well as the number of bachelor's degrees conferred upon minority students.6

San Diego State University has achieved the prestigious "Research University" status granted by the Carnegie Foundation.7 University faculty consistently attract hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars annually in grants and contracts for research and program administration, and SDSU's research and graduate degree programs lead all other campuses of the California State University system.8

For the beginning of the 2006-2007 academic year, SDSU expanded its classrooms and support space by more than 200,000 square feet (19,000 m2) with the opening of three new buildings, the College of Arts and Letters, the Calpulli Center and BioScience Center. The buildings, respectively, feature high-technology classrooms, upgraded health and wellness facilities, and scientific research laboratories.

SDSU's Astronomy Department owns the Mount Laguna Observatory located in the Cleveland National Forest. It operates the observatory concurrently with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.9

John F. Kennedy, then the President of the United States of America, gave the graduation commencement address at San Diego State University on June 6, 1963.10

Significant rankings and distinctions

See SDSU Significant Rankings and Distinctions

Schools and colleges

Notable alumni and faculty

Endowment

See also San Diego State University Research Foundation for additional information

The permanent financial endowment of San Diego State University (SDSU) is currently valued at $120.3 million U.S. dollars (USD) as of the end of the 2007 academic year.11

The primary philanthropic arm of San Diego State University is The Campanile Foundation, controlled by the University Advancement division of the university. The San Diego State University Research Foundation, an auxiliary corporation owned and controlled by the university, is the manager and administrator of all philanthropic funds and external funding for the university and its affiliated and auxiliary foundations and corporations.

As of June 30, 2006, permanent assets of the SDSU Campanile Foundation totaled $134 million.12

For the 2004-2005 academic year, SDSU received over $157 million USD in external funding from grants and contracts, as well as an additional $57 million USD in donations and charitable giving.13 For 2005-2006, SDSU received $152 million USD in grants and contracts to support research. This is followed by $47.7 million USD in donations, gifts and other charitable giving.14

An auxiliary to The Campanile Foundation is the Aztec Athletic Association, which primarily raises funds for the student athletes in the San Diego State University athletics programs (see discussion of Athletics below and at SDSU Aztecs).

In addition to its permanent endowment, San Diego State University raises over $55 million U.S. dollars per year (approximately) in philanthropic gifts to support its research and academic affairs.15

Academic and research affairs

San Diego State University is the leader in the California State University system in awarding Ph.D. (joint with UCSD 16) or Ed.D degrees, currently awarding such degrees in 16 academic disciplines. As a result of recent statutory changes (SB 724), SDSU intends to expand the scope and number of doctoral degree programs that it offers its graduate students.

Library
Observatory
Research institutes and centers
Research consortium
Renowned Facilities
High-speed computing
Southern California wildfires

SDSU's high-speed computing facilities and Department of Geography are host to MAP.SDSU.EDU, a web-based mapping, wiki, and geographic information database concering the October 2007 California wildfires and the October 2003 California wildfires, managed by the San Diego GIS force group, a volunteer group of SDSU faculty and students.

Media, newspapers, and magazines

SDSU media and publications
Official SDSU campus newspapers

SDSU Transit Center

Extracurriculars

Athletics

San Diego State University athletics http://www.GoAztecs.com

SDSU competes in NCAA Division I FBS. Its primary conference is the Mountain West Conference; its women's water polo team participates in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation and its men's soccer team participates as an Associate Member of the Pacific Ten Conference (the "Pac-10" Conference). The ice hockey team competes in the ACHA with other western region club teams (www.sdsuhockey.com). The crew team's championship regatta is in the WIRA (Western International Rowing Association). The university colors are scarlet (red) and black, SDSU's athletic teams are nicknamed "Aztecs", and its current mascot is the Aztec Warrior, historically referred to as "Monty - Montezuma". Athletics revenues have been down recently.17

SDSU Aztecs

Football
Cox Arena is used for the Aztec basketball games, speeches, convocations, and concerts
Basketball
Baseball
Volleyball
Soccer
Other sports

Clubs

See student organizations

Student body and Greek life

For more information, go to SDSU Center for Fraternity and Sorority Life

Fraternal organizations have been a core component of the campus community since 1899. Currently there are over 48 social fraternities and sororities, including both general and culturally based organizations, represented by four governing councils.

Fraternities (IFC)
Latino fraternities (USFC)


Sororities (Panhellenic)

Traditions

Notable events and popular culture

Film and television

1996 campus shooting

The San Diego State University shooting occurred on August 15, 1996. A thirty-six year old graduate engineering student, while apparently defending his thesis, shot and killed his three professors, Constantinos Lyrintzis, Cheng Liang, and D. Preston Lowrey III, at San Diego State University. The shooter, who was suffering from certain mental problems, was convicted on July 19, 1997 and was sentenced to life in prison. As a memorial, tables with a plaque of each victim's information and contributions have been placed ajacent to the College of Engineering building.

2008 student drug arrests

Main article: Operation Sudden Fall

On May 6, 2008, the Drug Enforcement Administration announced the arrest of 96 individuals, of which 33 were San Diego State University students, on a variety of drug charges in a narcotics sting operation dubbed Operation Sudden Fall.18 It was originally reported that 75 of the arrested were students, but the inflated number included students who had been arrested months earlier, in some cases for simple possession.19 The bust, which was the largest in the history of San Diego County, drew a mixed reaction from the community.20

Associated Students President, James Poet was arrested on Oct. 17, 2008 for driving under the influence and possession of marijuana. Poet expressed full support for the actions of Operation Sudden Fall and the Zero Tolerance Policy. 21

Student housing

Residence Halls
Entrance building to Cuicacalli Suites with the Aztec Grill and Aztec Market in the front
The Olmeca Living Learning Center residence hall
West Side

East Side

Apartments

This is NOT a residence hall but university owned student housing - it has leases rather than license agreements and no RA's

Former residence halls

Opened in 1937 as the first residence hall. It was next to present day Aztec Center.

This complex was on the west side of the campus next to Tony Gwynn Stadium across from Chapultepec. Currently it is the site of a new Softball stadium and tennis court complex. They were the same red brick design and floor plan as Maya and Olmeca halls on the east side of campus.

Branch campuses

Notes

  1. ^ Carnegie Foundation: San Diego State University
  2. ^ Study Ranks California's Most Productive Universities (May 31, 2007)
  3. ^ SDSU named most productive small research school (North County Times) (June 1, 2007)
  4. ^ SDSU Receives Top Research Distinction for Second Straight Year (SDSUniverse.com) (Nov. 26, 2007)
  5. ^ SDSU Significant Rankings and Distinctions
  6. ^ SDSU Significant Rankings and Distinctions
  7. ^ Foundation (http://www.carnegiefoundation.org) database entry and article on San Diego State University
  8. ^ SDSU Significant Rankings and Distinctions
  9. ^ Mount Laguna Observatory
  10. ^ Forty Years Later, the Magic of JFK Lingers on the Mesa, Coleen L. Geraghty, SDSUniverse (May 12, 2003)
  11. ^ "Raising the fundraising bar" San Diego Union Tribune, February 12, 2008
  12. ^ The Campanile Foundation: Financial Statements June 30,2006
  13. ^ 2004-2005 Annual Report on External Funding, California State University
  14. ^ 2005-2006 Annual Report on External Support to the CSU -- San Diego State University
  15. ^ "San Diego State University Reports $55.2 Million in Philanthropic Gifts for 2004-05" Official SDSU Press Release, Oct. 7, 2005"
  16. ^ San Diego State University's Academic Programs
  17. ^ Schrotenboer, Brent (February 22, 2008), "Football shy of dollar goal at SDSU", San Diego Union-Tribune, http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20080222/news_1s22azbudget.html, retrieved on 25 February 2008 
  18. ^ "Mug Shots from Operation Sudden Fall" (PDF). CBS News 8. Retrieved on 2008-05-06.
  19. ^ "Officials differ on number of SDSU students snared in sting". San Diego Union Tribune. Retrieved on 2008-05-08.
  20. ^ "SDSU drug sting draws scorn, praise". San Diego Union Tribune. Retrieved on 2008-05-08.
  21. ^ "Poet arrested for alleged DUI and marijuana possession". The Daily Aztec. Retrieved on 2008-10-25.

See also

External links

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San Diego State University