San Diego State University

Main article: History of San Diego State University Established on March 13, 1897, San Diego State University first began as the "San Diego Normal School", and was initially meant to educate local women as elementary school teachers. It was located on a 17-acre (6.9 ha) campus on Park Boulevard in University Heights (now the headquarters of San Diego Unified School District ). It opened with 7 faculty members and 91 students; at first, the curriculum was limited to English, history and mathematics. [ 15 ] In 1923, the San Diego Normal School became "San Diego State Teachers College", "a four-year public institution controlled by the California State Board of Education ." The first graduating class of the opening year of the newly constructed San Diego Normal School, 1899 By the 1930s the school had outgrown its original campus. In 1931 it moved to its current location on Montezuma Mesa at what was then the eastern edge of San Diego. In 1935, the school expanded its offerings beyond teacher education and became "San Diego State College". [ 16 ] In 1960, San Diego State College became a part of the California State Colleges system, now known as the California State University . [ 17 ] In 1972, San Diego State College became "California State University, San Diego", and finally, in 1974, San Diego State University (SDSU). [ 18 ] John F. Kennedy , then the president of the United States , gave the graduation commencement address at the then-San Diego State College on June 6, 1963. [ 19 ] [ 20 ] Kennedy was given an honorary doctorate degree in law at the ceremony, making SDSC the first California State College to award an honorary doctorate. In 1964, the event was registered as California Historical Landmark #798. [ 9 ] On May 29, 1964, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. addressed a near-capacity audience in the Open Air Theater.

King discussed his vision for the future and called for the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 , then being debated in the Senate . [ 21 ] On August 15, 1996, there was a shooting that occurred at the engineering building. [ 22 ] [ 23 ] Three professors were killed by master's degree student Frederick Martin Davidson. [ 24 ] Three months later, a copycat threat flier was sent, with threats against professors and racial insults. [ 25 ] In April 2012, the 14th Dalai Lama spoke at SDSU's Viejas Arena as part of his "Compassion Without Borders" tour. [ 26 ] After the departure of the San Diego Chargers for Los Angeles in 2017, SDSU endeavored to gain control of San Diego Stadium (then called Qualcomm Stadium) and surrounding city property. The stadium hosted the San Diego State Aztecs football team, connected to the SDSU main campus by SDSU Transit Center . The proposal, called SDSU West, was put to city voters in November 2017 where it won approval by 54%, beating out a competing commercial proposal called SoccerCity. [ 27 ] [ 28 ] Negotiations began for SDSU to purchase the property from the city of San Diego. On May 29, 2020, the city council gave conceptual approval to sell 135 acres, including the stadium, to SDSU for $88 million. [ 29 ] SDSU broke ground for a new 35,000-seat stadium in August 2020. The stadium, which opened in September 2022 as Snapdragon Stadium , hosts SDSU football games and various concerts and events. Snapdragon Stadium is also the home of San Diego FC of Major League Soccer (MLS) and San Diego Wave FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). [ 30 ] [ 31 ] [ 32 ] The entire $3.5 billion project, now known as SDSU Mission Valley, includes housing, office and retail space, hotels, and 80 acres (32 ha) of parks and open space, including a 34-acre (14 ha) river park on city property; it will be rolled out in phases over 15 years. [ 29 ] University presidents SDSU has had eleven presidents, two of whom served in an acting capacity.

[ 33 ] Several structures on the campus are named in past presidents' honor, such as Hardy Memorial Tower , Hepner Hall (integrated in the university's logo), and Malcolm A. Love Library . [ 34 ] In March 2017 President Hirshman announced his resignation for June 30, 2017; he will assume the position of president at Stevenson University in Maryland. [ 35 ] Sally Roush was the interim president until January 31, 2018. [ 36 ] On that date, the CSU Board of Trustees appointed Adela de la Torre to serve as the permanent President. De la Torre is the first woman to serve in the role on a permanent basis. [ 37 ] The following persons had served as president of San Diego State University: [ 38 ] More information No., Image ... Number "}]],"parts":[{"template":{"target":{"wt":"abbr","href":"./Template:Abbr"},"params":{"1":{"wt":"No."},"2":{"wt":"Number"}},"i":0}}]}">No. Image President Start End Notes 1 Samuel T. Black October 1, 1898 September 8, 1910 [ 39 ] [ 40 ] 2 Edward L. Hardy September 9, 1910 August 31, 1935 [ 41 ] [ 42 ] 3 Walter R. Hepner September 1, 1935 August 31, 1952 [ 43 ] 4 Malcolm Love September 1, 1952 September 1971 [ 44 ] [ 45 ] [ 46 ] acting Donald E. Walker September 1971 June 30, 1972 [ 47 ] 5 Brage Golding July 1, 1972 August 31, 1977 [ 48 ] [ 49 ] acting Trevor Colbourn September 1, 1977 July 1, 1978 [ 50 ] 6 Thomas B. Day July 5, 1978 July 4, 1996 [ 51 ] [ 52 ] [ 53 ] [ 54 ] 7 Stephen L. Weber July 5, 1996 July 4, 2011 [ 55 ] 8 Elliot Hirshman July 5, 2011 June 30, 2017 [ 56 ] [ 57 ] [ 58 ] acting Sally Roush July 1, 2017 June 27, 2018 [ 59 ] 9 Adela de la Torre June 28, 2018 present [ 60 ] [ 61 ] Close

Several buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places : [ 62 ] A landmark building ( Hepner Hall ) featured in the school's logo Scripps Cottage was finished in September 1931, funded with a donation of $6,000 from Ellen Browning Scripps matched with $5,000 from the state. It was the headquarters for the Associated Women Students and was used for meetings, women's activities, and served as a lounge. [ 63 ] On September 3, 1968, the building was moved to make room for the new school. It was used mainly as a conference and meeting building, and in 1993, began serving as a center for international students. [ 64 ] The area next to Scripps Cottage is home to a campus famous turtle pond. While this pond is colloquially known among students as the turtle pond, the university actually intended it to be a Koi Pond only, and the turtles are unwelcome guests left abandoned by previous owners. [ 65 ] Aztec Bowl , costing $500,000 to construct, was dedicated on October 3, 1936, before 7,500 people. The stadium was initially supposed to be expanded to 45,000 seats, but instead was only expanded once with 5,000 seats in 1948. Viejas Arena (originally known as Cox Arena) was constructed over part of Aztec Bowl, opening in July 1997. The CalCoast Credit Union Open Air Theatre [ 66 ] (formerly The Greek Bowl and the Open Air Theatre) was financed by the Works Progress Administration and the state for $200,000 and originally dedicated on May 3, 1941. [ 67 ] [ 68 ] Hepner Hall took on its current name on January 19, 1976, when the Montezuma Mesa building was renamed to honor Walter R. Hepner Hall. On May 1, 1977, the Humanities building was named after John Adams, a professor, administrator, and archivist. The Humanities-Social Sciences building was renamed in 1986 after geographer Alvena Storm and historian Abraham P. Nasatir. [ 69 ] Peterson Gymnasium was finished in 1961.