Founded March 13, 1897, San Diego State University began as the San Diego Normal School, a training facility for elementary school teachers. Seven faculty and 91 students met in temporary quarters over a downtown drugstore before moving to a newly constructed 17 acre (69,000 m²) campus on Park Boulevard in San Diego California.

The curriculum was limited at first to English, history and mathematics, but course offerings broadened rapidly under the leadership of Samuel T. Black, who left his position as state superintendent of public instruction to become the new school’s first president. Black served from 1898 to 1910.

From 1910 to 1935, President Edward L. Hardy headed a vigorous administration that oversaw major changes to the fledgling institution. In 1921, the Normal School became San Diego State Teachers College, a four-year public institution controlled by the state Board of Education. In that same year, the two-year San Diego Junior College, forerunner of today’s local community colleges, became a branch of San Diego State, creating a union that lasted until 1946.

By the 1920s, San Diego State was already beginning to outgrow its Park Boulevard location, and San Diegans launched a campaign to build a new campus on the city’s eastern border. In February 1931, students, faculty and staff moved to Montezuma Mesa into seven Mission-style buildings surrounding a common area still known as the Main Quad.

Four years later, the Legislature authorized expansion of degree programs beyond teacher education, and San Diego State Teachers College became San Diego State College. Also in 1935, Walter R. Hepner took the helm as president, beginning a 17-year tenure. The college continued to grow over time, reaching an enrollment of more than 25,000 students during the administration of Malcolm A. Love, who served as president from 1952 to 1971.

In 1960, San Diego State became part of the newly created California State College system, now known as the California State University system. On June 6, 1963, President John F. Kennedy gave the Commencement Address at SDSU. In the early 1970s, when the college became part of the State University system, it was named California State University at San Diego. However, after a campaign by students, alumni and the local community, the state legislature changed the name to San Diego State University.

Leading the institution during the 1970s were Acting President Donald E. Walker (1971-1972), President Brage Golding (1972-1977), Acting President Trevor Colbourn (1977-1978) and President Thomas B. Day, whose tenure spanned from 1978 to 1996. In 1996, Stephen L. Weber became the university’s seventh president.

Beginning its 106th academic year in fall 2002, San Diego State University can take pride in more than a century of achievement in education, research and service. With an enrollment of approximately 33,000 students, SDSU has grown into the largest institution of higher education in the San Diego region and one of the largest in California.

Renowned for its academic excellence, the university is home to top-ranking programs in education, business, social work, speech-language and public administration, to name just a few. Overall, San Diego State students can choose from 78 undergraduate majors, 62 master's programs and 14 doctoral degree programs.

One in seven San Diegans with a college degree attended SDSU, making San Diego State a primary educator of the region’s work force, as well as a leader in expanding access to higher education. Committed to serving the richly diverse San Diego region, SDSU ranks among the top 10 universities nationwide in terms of ethnic and racial diversity among its student body, as well as the number of bachelor's degrees conferred upon students of color.

Increasingly recognized for innovative research, San Diego State has achieved the prestigious Doctoral/Research University-Intensive designation. This is granted by the Carnegie Foundation to the top 6.7 percent of the nation's research-conducting universities. In fiscal year 2001-2002, SDSU faculty attracted $140.4 million in grants and contracts for research and program administration, representing a 65 percent increase in funding from five years ago.

Private giving to San Diego State is also rising dramatically, reaching a record level of $52.6 million in the 2001-2002 fiscal year. Because state funds provide only 35 percent of the university’s annual operating requirements, with tuition and fees adding only 17 percent more, the support of alumni, friends and community partners is providing a crucial margin of excellence at San Diego State, enabling the university to fulfill its mission and expand its service to the San Diego region and beyond.

SDSU welcomes opportunities to bring the university’s full resources to bear in analyzing and resolving complex community problems. A prime example is the City Heights Educational Pilot, a six-year partnership with San Diego City Schools, the San Diego Education Association, teachers and parents. Funded with an $18 million grant from Price Charities, the Pilot is improving instruction for students and professional development for teachers in three inner-city schools managed by the university.

The Compact for Success, another initiative blending service with education and research, partners SDSU with the Sweetwater Union High School District. The Compact’s mission is to nurture students’ college aspirations through curriculum support, guaranteed admission and free tuition for those who meet specific academic benchmarks.

Yet another example of San Diego State’s innovative community engagement is SDSU Nurses Now, a partnership with 10 local hospitals designed to alleviate the region’s nursing shortage. With a $1.9 million funding commitment from these health care partners over the next three years, SDSU has increased its nursing faculty, enabling the university to educate more future nurses.

Perhaps the most visible evidence of SDSU’s continuing growth is a recent flurry of campus construction on Montezuma Mesa. In 1997 the university celebrated its centennial , and an elaborate Centennial Hall was constructed to mark the event. Expansion continues to the present day. New facilities completed in the past year, totaling more than $200 million in value, include Cuicacalli, a dining and residence complex; the Chemical Sciences Laboratory, a showcase of leading-edge laboratories and infrastructure; a 2,458-space parking structure, the largest in the California State University system; and the Aztec Athletics Center, housing coaches’ offices, training facilities and the Wise Foundation Hall of Fame. Construction continues on the SDSU trolley station and tunnel, part of the Metropolitan Transit Development Board’s $431 million Mission Valley East extension of the San Diego trolley system scheduled to open in 2005.

Beyond accolades and campus expansion, San Diego State University remains, as always, most proud of its alumni family, now nearly 200,000 strong. Among those who call SDSU their alma mater are Federal Trade Commission Chairman Timothy Muris, former Air Force Chief of Staff, Gen. Merrill A. “Tony” McPeak, San Diego County supervisors Greg Cox, Dianne Jacob, Pam Slater, Ron Roberts and Bill Horn; former San Diego Mayor Maureen O’Connor, San Diego city council members Byron Wear, George Stevens and Jim Madaffer, 1990 and 1994 National Teachers of the Year Janis Gabay and Sandra McBrayer, astronaut Ellen Ochoa and Costco CEO and co-founder Jim Sinegal.

Aztec alumni also include entertainers Gregory Peck, Art Linkletter, Marion Ross, Julie Kavner and Kathy Nijimy; Hollywood producer Kathleen Kennedy; golfers Lon Hinkle and Gene Littler; baseball players Tony Gwynn, Mark Grace, Travis Lee and Graig Nettles; football players Marshall Faulk, Brian Sipe, Fred Dryer and Carl Weathers; America’s Cup skipper Dennis Conner; and basketball player Michael Cage.