San Francisco State University

SF State's origins trace back to 1862 when the California State Normal School was established in San Francisco as the first state-supported institution of higher learning in California, though it moved to San Jose in 1871 . The direct ancestor of today's university began in 1867 when Principal Ellis Holmes created a teacher-training "normal class" at Girls' High School in San Francisco . On March 22, 1899, the California State Legislature officially authorized the creation of the San Francisco State Normal School with an appropriation of $10,000 . Frederic Lister Burk was appointed as the first president and chose the school's motto, Experientia Docet . The first graduating class in 1901 consisted of 31 women, with the first male student admitted in 1904 .

The 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire destroyed the school's building on Powell Street, forcing relocation to a temporary campus at the Grant School in Oakland before moving to a new site at Buchanan and Haight Streets . In 1921, the school was renamed San Francisco State Teachers College and began offering bachelor's degrees . It became San Francisco State College in 1935 and moved to its current Lake Merced campus in 1953-54 . Master's degrees were first authorized in 1949 .

From November 6, 1968, to March 20, 1969, the campus was the site of the longest student strike in American history, led by the Black Student Union and the Third World Liberation Front, which resulted in the establishment of the nation's first and only College of Ethnic Studies . The institution was renamed California State University, San Francisco in 1972 when it achieved university status, and was rechristened San Francisco State University in 1974 . In 2024, SF State celebrated its quasquicentennial (125th anniversary) . Today, the university continues to build on its legacy of academic excellence, community engagement, and commitment to social justice .