The individual California State Colleges were brought together as a system by the Donahoe Higher Education Act of 1960. In 1972 the system became The California State University and Colleges, and in 1982 the system became The California State University. Today the campuses of the SCU include comprehensive and polytechnic universities and, since July 1995, the California Maritime Academy, a specialized campus.
The oldest campus--San Jose State University--was founded in 1857 and became the first institution of public higher education in California. The most recently opened campus, California State University, Monterey Bay, began admitting students in the fall of 1995. A new site has been conveyed and a 23rd campus, CSU Channel Islands, is being formally established in Ventura County.
Responsibility for The California State University is vested in the Board of Trustees, whose members are appointed by the Governor. The Trustees appoint the Chancellor, who is the chief executive officer of the system, and the Presidents, who are the chief executive officers of the respective campuses.
The Trustees, the Chancellor, and the Presidents develop systemwide policy, with actual implementation at the campus level taking place through broadly based consultative procedures. The Academic Senate of The California State University, made up of elected representatives of the faculty from each campus, recommends academic policy to the Board of Trustees through the Chancellor.
Academic excellence has been achieved by The California State University through a distinguished faculty, whose primary responsibility is superior teaching. While each campus in the system has its own unique geographic and curricular character, all campuses, as multipurpose institutions, offer undergraduate and graduate instruction for professional and occupational goals as well as broad liberal education. All of the campuses require for graduation a basic program of "General Education Requirements," regardless of the type of bachelor's degree or major field selected by the student.
The CSU offers more than 1,600 bachelor's and master's degree programs in some 240 subject areas. Many of these programs are offered so that students can complete all upper-division and graduate requirements by part-time, late afternoon, and evening study. In addition, a variety of teaching and school service credential programs are available. A limited number of doctoral degrees are offered jointly with the University of California and with private institutions in California.
Enrollments in fall 1997 totaled nearly 344,000 students, who were taught by over 18,000 faculty. The system awards more than half of the bachelor's degrees and 30 percent of the master's degrees granted in California. Some 1.7 million persons have been graduated from CSU campuses since 1960.
The Honorable Gray Davis | State Capitol |
Governor of California | Sacramento 95814 |
The Honorable Cruz Bustamante | State Capitol |
Lieutenant Governor of California | Sacramento 95814 |
The Honorable Antonio Villaraigosa | State Capitol |
Speaker of the Assembly | Sacramento 95814 |
The Honorable Delaine Eastin | 721 Capitol Mall |
State Superintendent of Public Instruction | Sacramento 95814 |
Dr. Charles B. Reed | 401 Golden Shore |
Chancellor of The California State University | Long Beach 90802-4275 |
The Honorable Gray Davis | Joan Otomo-Corgel |
President | Vice Chairman |
William Hauck | Christine Helwick |
Chairman | Secretary |
Richard P. West | |
Treasurer |
Appointments are for a term of eight years, except for a student Trustee, an alumni Trustee, and a faculty Trustee whose terms are for two years. Terms expire in the year in parentheses. Names are listed in order of appointment to the Board.
Correspondence with Trustees should be sent:
c/o Trustees Secretariat
The California State University
401 Golden Shore
Long Beach, CA 90802-4210
The California State University
401 Golden Shore
Long Beach, CA 90802-4210
(562) 951-4000
Dr. Charles B. Reed | Chancellor, CSU System |
David Spence | Executive Vice Chancellor |
Dr. Charles Lindahl | Senior Vice Chancellor, Academic Affairs |
Mr. Sam Strafaci | Interim Senior Director, Human Resources |
Mr. Richard West | Senior Vice Chancellor, Business and Finance |
Dr. Douglas X. Patiņo | Vice Chancellor, University Advancement |
Ms. Christine Helwick | General Counsel |