page_title: History of San Diego State University
section_title: Modern history
hierarchical_section_title: History of San Diego State University / Modern history
caption_attribution_description: English: Close up of one of the student art paintings on wall. Spring 1991.
context_page_description: The history of San Diego State University 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.
context_section_description: In 1987, the school reached its peak attendance with 35,945 students, resulting in SDSU being the largest university in California and 10th in the nation. Due to the overwhelming number of students and available facilities and majors, the California State University Board of Trustees decided to limit enrollment to 33,000. However, in 1993, enrollment dropped to 26,800, the lowest attendance since 1973 as a result of the budget crisis of 1991.
  In 1984, the California Higher Education Journal ranked SDSU as first among the CSU campuses and U.S. News and World Report ranked the school among the top five comprehensive universities in the west in 1983, third in 1985, and in the top fifteen in 1989. In the 1980s, the College of Business' School of Accountancy was the only accredited accountancy program in California. Throughout the decade students scored the highest score on the Certified Public Accountancy (CPA) exam three times, and by 1990 was second in the nation (after the University of Texas) for graduates passing the CPA exam.
  In January 1987, Playboy ranked SDSU as the 3rd best party school in the nation, which appalled some administrators, and amused students. The ranking was determined on a number of factors including the education offered at the university, social opportunities, the male–female ratio, and off-campus activities located near the campus. Some students feared that the ranking would diminish the quality of their degree. In 2002 it dropped to tenth place, and in 2005 was included again without a specific rank, before jumping to fifth place in 2006.
  The Graduate School of Public Health was first offered to students in 1981, and was one of only 24 accredited schools of public health in the nation and the only one in the CSU system in 1995. President Day considered it the major achievement of his administration, and it provided training in hospitals, public health agencies, health maintenance organizations, ambulatory care, and mental health facilities.
  In the 1990s, the College of Business was the fourth largest undergraduate program in the U.S. By 1989–90 SDSU was granting over 1,100 Master's degrees and 10 doctoral degrees a year.
  As a result of the California state government proposed budget cuts to the CSU campuses, 1991 to 1994 at SDSU were marked by a long period of university budget stress, faculty unrest/layoffs, and student protests against SDSU fee increases and class cuts.
  Spring of 1991 brought large fee increases and budget cuts by the governor and state legislature to the California State University (CSU) and University of California (UC) systems impacted SDSU in a unique way. While other schools in the systems chose an across the board approach on campus, the president of SDSU at the time, Thomas Day, chose to use a "deep and narrow" approach to program cuts. The result were largest student marches and protests since the Vietnam war.
  Yet again in Spring 1992, the CSU and UC systems were facing another round of severe budget cuts and dramatic student fee increases by the state government. Still a second time, SDSU President Thomas Day took the same deep and narrow approach for budget cuts for SDSU, but this time proposed elimination of not only full-time faculty professors, but of entire majors such as Aerospace Engineering. In and attempt to alleviate fears of students in those majors, a large meeting by President Day was planned in the student center with hundreds of students and teachers. However, meeting quickly turned angry and chaotic with an overcapacity crowd pressing against the glass windows outside. Following the meeting, students feeling betrayed a 2nd time after 1991, about a dozen students held a temporary occupation of President Day's office. This occupation led to a 24-hour vigil in front of the Administration building, summer student bus trips to the state legislature in Sacramento, large campus student voter registration drive, and further student marches and protests in the Fall 1992. Under heavy student, teacher, and public pressure, the conclusion of these events ended wit
caption: Close up of one of the student political art paintings on wall. Spring 1991.
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