The history of San Diego State University (SDSU) began in the late 19th century with the establishment of a normal school in San Diego, California. Founded on March 13, 1897, the school opened on November 1, 1898, with a class of 135 students. By 1921, the school had become San Diego State Teachers College, allowing it to grant certificates and degrees. Due to the increased student enrollment, the college was relocated to its current location at the east side of Mission Valley, with classes beginning in February 1931. The government works programs during the Great Depression assisted in construction of numerous buildings on the new campus.
World War I and II both affected student enrollment, and led many students and faculty members to serve in the armed forces. By the end of the 1950s, the student population was at 10,000, and the renamed San Diego State College was now the fourth largest California state institution. In the 1960s and 1970s the campus saw increased enrollment, the accreditation of its professional schools, multiple incidents of student activism, and on January 1, 1974, a new name: San Diego State University (SDSU). By 1987, the university's population peaked at nearly 36,000 students and attained the status of the largest university in California and tenth in the nation.
Recently, the university has worked to improve its academic rankings, and faced adversities including a school shooting and a large drug bust. As the university continues to grant numerous degrees in various fields, it has developed several construction plans for replacement of some of its older buildings and infrastructure.
Establishment
In the late 1890s, San Diego officials believed that a normal school should be established to help the town grow and increase certification of teachers.Starr & Polkinhorn 1995, p. 15 The tuition and travel for out-of-town normal schools were large and San Diegans desired to have a closer school.Starr & Polkinhorn 1995, p. 18 San Diego had to compete with Fresno, Los Angeles, and several other cities for a school, and its first attempt to establish one in 1895 was vetoed by California governor James Budd.Engstrand 2005, p. 114 On March 13, 1897, Governor Budd changed course and signed legislation appropriating $50,000 to allow for the establishment of a state normal school in San Diego, to be located in University Heights. By 1905, total funds appropriated to the school totaled $333,300.
The board of trustees for San Diego Normal School was established by Budd and first met on June 3, 1897. They appointed Samuel T. Black, who had previously served as the California state superintendent of public instruction, as president of the new school by unanimous decision on October 1, 1898. On January 21, 1898, the San Diego firm Hebbard and Gill was selected to design the new school building. The architect Irving Gill, who developed the building in a Beaux-Arts style, was responsible for the design. The ground was broken for construction on August 1, the cornerstone of the building was laid on December 10, and the building was dedicated on May 1, 1899.Starr & Polkinhorn 1995, p. 21 During the building's construction, the first classes were held at the Hill Block on the southwest corner of 6th and F street in downtown San Diego beginning on November 1, 1898. The classes moved to the Normal School in May 1899, even as construction continued. 135 students (90% of whom were women), were enrolled by the end of the first year; enrollment grew to 400 by 1910.
In the summer of 1899, San Diego Normal School became the first California normal school to offer summer courses, and maintained this position until 1913.Starr & Polkinhorn 1995, p. 22 On June 21, 1900, the first class was graduated: 23 women and three men. Later that year, the east wing of the initial building was finished, adding 18 rooms. In 1903, $61,000 was appropriated by the state for a west wing; it included a gym, library, laboratories, lecture rooms, and a museum. The west wing was completed in September 1904. In 1906, the California legislature required that students have a high school diploma in order to be admitted to a normal school. This was the same requirement as for entry into the University of California.
In 1910, Samuel Black resigned, and was replaced by Edward L. Hardy, who had previously served as the principal of San Diego High School.Starr & Polkinhorn 1995, p. 33 He increased the faculty size from 19 to 27 in 1912 to meet the demands of increased enrollment.Starr & Polkinhorn 1995, p. 34 The annual salary for the president increased to $4,000 (from $3,400) in 1915 and salaries for the faculty and administration ranged from $600–2,500 (compared to the national average of $687 for all industries except for farm labor). Hardy argued for the pay increases, claiming increases would "give merited and much needed relief...[and] will be entirely justified by the increased good of the service." More buildings were added after appropriations of funds in 1907 and total expenditures for the campus reached $312,000.Starr & Polkinhorn 1995, p. 35 Even with the expansion, by 1910 space was limited, so the training school dropped the high school program, although it still taught the elementary and intermediate grades (7th and 8th grades). In 1914, of the 136 new students for the school year, 17 were from California counties (excluding San Diego), while 26 were from other states.Starr & Polkinhorn 1995, p. 36 This proportion would remain common throughout the school's history as the majority of its students were from the San Diego area.
World War I World War I had a large impact on the school. A newfound sense of patriotism had the administration require students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance as an entrance requirement to the school.Starr & Polkinhorn 1995, p. 45 The war also had an effect on enrollment as all of the male students gradually left the school to join the war efforts; in 1916 there were 421 total students, 382 in 1917, 172 in 1918 (including only one male student), and in 1919, 147 students. In addition to the students, some of the faculty members joined the military. Due to the decreased student enrollment, the remaining faculty had the opportunity to further their own training.Starr & Polkinhorn 1995, p. 46 On campus, both students and faculty worked with the Red Cross, organized bond drives, and sent packages to troops overseas.
During this period, Hardy pushed the notion of granting the school college status. In 1921, the California legislature made the school a four-year teacher's school, which placed it under the management of the State Department of Education. On July 28, 1921, the San Diego Normal School became San Diego State Teachers College (usually shortened to San Diego State College or SDS).Starr & Polkinhorn 1995, p. 47 With this ranking, the college could now grant certificates and degrees. Prior to the school's conversion, it had graduated 1,500 teachers, educated many of the San Diego children at its training school, and helped to expand the economic and cultural development of the city.Starr & Polkinhorn 1995, p. 48 Also in 1921, the legislature moved San Diego Junior College, that was a part of San Diego High School, to the college campus due to crowding issues. Administrators moved the junior college believing it would only overlap the same material taught at the teacher's school. The junior college remained with the school until 1947, when it became independent.
On June 30, 1923, the legislature allowed the college to begin granting Bachelor of Arts degrees, which included accountancy, agriculture, and industrial engineering. On July 1, 1927, the junior college courses became lower-division courses and on July 12, 1928, the State Board of Education granted the college the ability to offer credentials in secondary education with majors in English, history, chemistry, and the Romance languages.Starr & Polkinhorn 1995, p. 53
Move to current location The Normal School was initially built for a maximum capacity of 600 students. Hardy proposed in 1922 building on a new campus at a plot at Park Boulevard (near Balboa Park), which was rejected by San Diego voters.Showley 1999, p. 85 However, the California legislature authorized a move to a new site in 1925 if San Diego was willing to buy the old school building and provide a new site. The following year the Citizen's Advisory Committee, a 21-member committee led by Mayor John L. Bacon, initially recommended the northeast part of Balboa Park that would be located over , but the location was voted down by San Diego voters. In 1927, another location was selected, this time in Encanto, but was also voted down.Starr & Polkinhorn 1995, p. 69 In total, ten locations would be proposed before the final location was chosen. By June 1928, the Bell-Lloyd Investment Company offered at Mission Palisades, $50,000, and a promise to build a road connecting the site to El Cajon Blvd. The site was located at the east side of Mission Valley, about away from the old site. The group proposed the site in hopes of it being the center of a new retail and housing development.Starr & Polkinhorn 1995, p. 70 Before the new site could be built, San Diego voters had to approve of buying the old site, which it did overwhelmingly on May 15, 1928. After the move to the new campus, the old Normal School building was used for Horace Mann Junior High and administrative offices. In 1955, it was demolished to make room for a new wing of an administrative building.Starr & Polkinhorn 1995, p. 146
George B. McDougall was selected as the supervising architect and the State Department of Architecture for Public Buildings designed the new campus. The initial planned cost was $7.5 million. On October 7, 1929, classes were dismissed early so all current students could attend the groundbreaking held on that day.Starr & Polkinhorn 1995, p. 72 Pettifer & Hupt was selected as the construction firm, and it completed several buildings by September 1930.Starr & Polkinhorn 1995, p. 73 The first classes made up of 1,220 students were held at Montezuma Mesa in February 1931.Starr & Polkinhorn 1995, p. 77
The Great Depression, although negative to the local economy, also benefited the San Diego State Teachers College, as the federal government made money available for construction projects in an attempt to stimulate the economy. For the campus, some of these construction projects included new buildings (such as a $500,000 stadium completed in 1936 and a $200,000 open air theater completed in 1941), facilities, and art works.Starr & Polkinhorn 1995, p. 94Starr & Polkinhorn 1995, p. 96 Several federal programs were also created to give jobs to students and to increase financial aid.Starr & Polkinhorn 1995, p. 86–87
In June 1935, President Hardy retired and was replaced by Walter R. Hepner. The bell tower on campus was named in honor of Hardy in 1976.Starr & Polkinhorn 1995, p. 92 On September 15, 1935, as a result of the California legislature dropping "teachers" from the names of state colleges, San Diego State Teachers College became San Diego State College (SDSC).Starr & Polkinhorn 1995, p. 91 In 1935 the college began offering engineering courses. During that period, the college acquired $18,000 from the state for the purpose of purchasing an additional .Starr & Polkinhorn 1995, p. 97
World War II