History of San Diego State University - Postwar Changes and Expansion

Postwar Changes and Expansion

In 1952 President Hepner retired, and was replaced by Malcolm A. Love, who previously served as president of the University of Nevada (since 1950). At this point, the college had more than 4,800 students, 222 faculty members, offered 27 majors, had a budget of $2,010,000 and contributed more than $14,000,000 to the local San Diego economy.

By the end of the 1950s, the student population was over 10,000, placing it as the fourth largest California state institution and larger than 96% of the U.S.’s colleges and universities at the time. In 1957, entering freshmen scores on examinations were ranked in the top 10% of all universities in the U.S. In the following years, the college’s scores also surpassed most of the other California state colleges. In 1957 the college became the first to use an identification number for each student, which was necessary to simplify handling of records, grades, and other tasks of the large number of students. To keep up with student expansion, the square footage of the buildings and classrooms was increased from 255,434 to 1,243,737.

In 1959, the school began offering classes at Central Union High School in El Centro as part of its Imperial Valley branch. The campus remained focused on teacher training until the mid-1970s. In 1960, the school became the first California state college to have an educational radio station, KPBS-FM.

Before World War II, less than 25% of the faculty had doctorates, and in an attempt to reach university status for the school, the 1956 Statement of General Policy on Employment of Faculty stipulated that incoming faculty had to have their doctorates (or soon receive one) in order to be hired. By the end of the 1950s, 56% of permanent faculty had doctorates. By the beginning of 1965 this had increased to 68%.

During the Red Scare, psychology professor Harry C. Steinmetz was accused of being a Communist. San Diego representatives persuaded the California legislature along with Governor Earl Warren to attempt to remove him from his teaching position. After the State Board of Education was unable to get an answer from Steinmetz about whether or not he was a Communist, he was dismissed on February 5, 1954. He attempted to be reinstated but never was even after the legislation that had been developed during the Red Scare was later deemed unconstitutional.

On July 1, 1961 as a result of the Donahue Act, SDSC became a part of the California State College system which included a new set of regulations for the school, along with a statewide board of trustees and a chancellor. The school continued to grow, with a population of 10,700 in 1960 and 25,500 in 1970. The San Diego county administrator Fred Morey reflected on so many graduates being hired by the county: "We would find it difficult to keep the County running without the help of San Diego State."

John F. Kennedy, then the U.S. President, gave the graduation commencement address at Aztec Bowl in front of 40,000 people on June 6, 1963. Kennedy was given an honorary doctorate degree in law at the ceremony, making San Diego State the first in California to award an honorary doctorate degree. To commemorate his visit, the campus added his portrait to the campus library collection and a granite stone marker placed where his helicopter landed (California Historical Landmark #798). In April 2008, a plaque that commemorated his visit was stolen and has yet to be recovered. On May 29, 1964 Martin Luther King Jr. spoke at the Open Air Theater about proposed legislation in improving rights for African Americans.

In 1965, San Diego State began offering a doctorate in chemistry in a joint effort with University of California, San Diego. By 1991, the campus had eight different doctorate programs. Research became a vital practice of the faculty during the 1960s. By 1965, more than 200 books had been authored by SDSC faculty. Federal research grants increased from $398,202 in 1961 to $1,184,387 in 1967. Faculty research included medical and scientific research, teacher enhancement, Peace Corps training, and a review of nursing curricula.

In 1966, the Carnegie Corporation named President Love one of the best college Presidents in the country. President Love changed the structure of the college, developing its divisions into professional schools, which would allow them to be accredited. The schools were developed into colleges, which increased the possibility of SDSC of becoming a university. He reflected on San Diego State’s progress in a Time magazine article: "Though we are called a college, we are in deed and in fact a university."

Throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s there were numerous protests, sit-ins, and radical changes in traditions among the students. Author Raymond Starr called this period "...the liveliest, most colorful, and most challenging in State’s history." Students mainly protested racism and the war in Vietnam. In March 1970, 600 students held a week-long sit-in in protest of the decision of the campus leaders not to rehire four radical instructors. Protests expanded to the presence of Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC), military recruiters, the Police Community Relations Training Institute, among others. Significant speakers visited the campus during the time including Cesar Chavez, Jane Fonda, Angela Davis, Donald Freed, Joan Baez, and Jerry Brown. On April 20, 1972, 75 demonstrators took ROTC students hostage while they were taking an examination in the Business Administration and Math building. Although there was some violence, the students were released peacefully. On May 3, 1972, 35 protesters (later growing to 2,000) smashed windows of the Administration building and burned copies of The Daily Aztec, the student newspaper. Protesters eventually entered the locked building and set fires on the first floor, and moved on to Aztec Center to set more fires and break windows. The mayhem resulted in six injuries and several thousand dollars in damages. On May 24, 1972 a bomb exploded in Tarastec Hall, injuring Lawrence Jackson, an African American student. A group of African American students marched on campus to show support for Jackson.

In 1970, the college established a women's studies department. It was the first college to do so in the nation, and other colleges and universities began adding departments of their own (Cornell University added a department in the same year).

In early 1971, President Love retired. With the extraordinary growth of students, faculty and facilities, there were plans for new library to be named in honor of him, which was dedicated in May 1971. After a brief unsuccessful nomination of Walter Waetjen to replace Dr. Love, and Academic Vice President Walker acting as president for 1971–72, Brage Golding became the new president. He served from 1972 to 1977, and although he did not implement any mainstream changes as prior presidents had, he was instrumental in bringing in qualified administrators that would improve the school during its upcoming years. He worked to establish the San Diego History Research Center for collecting materials on the city's history and established the Educational Growth Opportunities program which offered classes for older people. At Golding's leaving of the university, one person commented: "By the end of the five-year administration, San Diego State University had grown into the institution implied by its name. This was the mark that Brage Golding left on San Diego State University."

Golding left to lead Kent State, and with a brief intermission of Academic Vice President Trevor Colbourn serving as president, Thomas B. Day became the sixth president in 1978. When Proposition 13 passed, the school faced budget issues and Day proposed abolishing some departments, combining others, and laying off approximately 80 faculty members. However, budget cuts were deemed not necessary, and on April 8, 1980, Day again proposed cutting 115 faculty members and four departments due to foreseeing upcoming budget cuts; on May 16, 1980 he recanted his comments.

President Love had fought hard throughout his tenure to increase SDSC's ranking from a college to a university. In 1972, the California legislature approved the renaming of the school to "California State University, San Diego". San Diego State officials were still not happy with the name, and on January 1, 1974, it was renamed to "San Diego State University" (SDSU), its current name.