California State University, Fullerton - Csu Fullerton Portal

California State University, Fullerton (also known as CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public research university located in Fullerton, California. With a total enrollment of about 40,200 it has the largest student body out of the 23-campus California State University ("CSU") system, and its approximately 5,800 graduate student body is also the largest in the CSU and one of the largest in all of California. As of Fall 2013, the school had 1,932 faculty, of which 707 (36.6%) were on the tenure track.

The Orange County university offers over 240 degrees including 120 different bachelor's degrees, 118 types of master's degrees, three doctoral degrees including a Doctor of Nursing and two Doctor of Education, and 19 teaching credentials.

CSUF is designated both as a Hispanic-serving institution and an Asian American Native American Pacific Islander serving institution (AANAPISIs). The university is nationally accredited in art, athletic training, business, chemistry, communications, communicative disorders, computer science, dance, engineering, music, nursing, public administration, public health, social work, teacher education and theater. Spending related to CSUF generates an impact of around $1 billion to the California and local economy, and sustains nearly 9,000 jobs statewide.

CSUF athletic teams compete in Division I of the NCAA and are collectively known as the CSUF Titans. They are members of the Big West Conference.

History

Founding

In 1957, CSUF became the twelfth state college in California to be authorized by the state legislature as a degree-granting institution. The following year, a site was designated for the campus to be established in northeast Fullerton. The property was purchased in 1959. This is the same year that Dr. William B. Langsdorf was appointed as founding president of the school.

The university was originally named Orange County State College. Classes began with 452 students in September 1959. The name of the school was changed to Orange State College in July 1962. In 1964, its name was changed to California State College at Fullerton. In June 1972, the final name change occurred and the school became California State University, Fullerton.

2000s: Modern growth

The university grew rapidly in the first decade of the 2000s. The Performing Arts Center was built in January 2006, and in the summer of 2008 the newly constructed Steven G. Mihaylo Hall and the new Student Recreation Center opened. In fall 2008, the Performing Arts Center was renamed the Joseph A.W. Clayes III Performing Arts Center, in honor of a $5-million pledge made to the university by the trustees of the Joseph A.W. Clayes III Charitable Trust. Since 1963, the curriculum has expanded to include many graduate programs, including multiple doctorate degrees, as well as numerous credential and certificate programs.

Mascot

The choice of the elephant as the university's mascot, dubbed Tuffy the Titan, dates to 1962, when the campus hosted "The First Intercollegiate Elephant Race in Human History." The May 11 event attracted 10,000 spectators, 15 pachyderm entrants, a telegram from Richard M. Nixon, and worldwide news coverage.

Campus

CSUF was built on the site of former citrus groves in northeast Fullerton. It is bordered on the east by the Orange Freeway (SR-57), on the west by State College Boulevard, on the north by Yorba Linda Boulevard, and on the south by Nutwood Avenue.

Although established in the late 1950s, much of the initial construction on campus took place in the late 1960s, under the supervision of artist and architect Howard van Heuklyn, who gave the campus a striking, futuristic architecture (buildings like Pollak Library South, Titan Shops, Humanities, McCarthy Hall). This was in response to the numerous Googie buildings in the Fullerton community.

The library houses the Philip K. Dick science fiction collection.

The campus is also home to the renowned Fullerton Arboretum, located in the northeast section of the campus. It has gained nationwide fame in recent years for its highly successful efforts in breeding the Titan Arum plant, which the school sponsors in honor of its sports team, the Titans. In 2006, the Arboretum successfully bred four blooming specimens.

The campus has undergone many additions. Since 1993, it has added the College Park Building, Steven G. Mihaylo Hall, University Hall, the Titan Student Union, the Student Recreation Center, the Nutwood Parking Structure, the State College Parking Structure, Dan Black Hall, Joseph A.W. Clayes III Performing Arts Center West, Phase III Housing, the Grand Central Art Center, and Pollak Library. In order to generate power for the university and become more sustainable, the campus installed solar panels on top of a number of buildings. The panels generate up to 7â€"8 percent of the electrical power used daily on campus, and are located on top of the Eastside Parking Structure, Clayes Performing Arts Center and the Kinesiology and Health Science Building.

Satellite campus

The university operates a satellite campus located in Irvine, California approximately 20 miles (32 km) south of the original Fullerton location, the Grand Central Art Center in downtown Santa Ana, and a Garden Grove Center.

Planned expansion

CSUF has announced plans in September 2010 to expand into the area south of Nutwood Avenue, to construct a project called CollegeTown, which would integrate the surrounding residential areas and retail spaces into the campus.

Academics

California State University, Fullerton is the only campus in California that offers the Master of Science in Nursing with a concentration in school nursing.

CSUF's academic departments and programs are organized into eight colleges:

• College of the Arts
• Steven G. Mihaylo College of Business and Economics
• College of Communications
• College of Education
• College of Engineering and Computer Science
• College of Health and Human Development
• College of Humanities and Social Sciences
• College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics

Admissions and enrollment

As of the fall 2013 semester, CSUF is the third most applied to CSU out of all 23 campuses receiving nearly 65,000 applications, including over 40,000 for incoming freshmen and nearly 23,000 transfer applications, the second highest in the CSU.

Health Professions Office

The Health Professions Office established a Pre-Health Professions minor in the fall of 2013. The minor is designed to increase the competitiveness of pre-health students. Unlike most minors, this requires students to meet with the health professions adviser and be approved before they can claim the minor.

Rankings and distinctions

• CSUF is No. 1 in California and fifth in the nation among top colleges and universities awarding bachelor's degrees to Hispanics. Cal State Fullerton is also No. 5 in the nation for baccalaureate degrees awarded to underrepresented students.
• CSUF is among the top 25 institutions in the nation awarding bachelor's degrees to Latinos entering health professions and related programs.
• CSUF has been noted as a “model campus” for its explicit goal to cut in half the achievement gap between underrepresented students and their non-underrepresented peers.
• CSUF is home to the first LEED Platinum student housing complex in California and the first Platinum-rated building in the California State University system.
• According to 2016 rankings by U.S. News & World Report, CSUF’s online graduate business program ranks 11th in the "Best Online Programs" rankings, engineering programs are 16th, and education programs are 34th.
• In 2015, U.S. News & World Report cited CSUF as No. 7 among “Top Public Regional Universities” in the West and 37th “Best Regional Universities” in the West.
• CSUF is No. 5 in the United States and No. 2 in California for being a top destination for community college transfers among four-year universities.
• CSUF was ranked the 39th top college in the United States by the Social Mobility Index college rankings.
• Forbes has recognized CSUF as one of the top 100 public universities in the nation.
• The Daily Beast ranked CSUF 94th in the country out of the nearly 2000 schools it evaluated for its "2013 Best Colleges" ranking.
• Money Magazine ranked CSUF as 285th in the country out of the nearly 1500 schools it evaluated for its "2014 Best Colleges" ranking.
• CSUF was ranked No. 23 among regional universities in the West by U.S. News and World Report in its 2012 rankings.
• CSUF tied at No. 6 for top public regional universities in the West with California State University, Chico and California State Polytechnic University, Pomona in the U.S. News and World Report 2012 rankings. This was up from No. 10 the previous year.
• In 2010, CSUF was ranked among the nation's 16 toughest grading colleges.
• Princeton Review lists CSUF in the "Best 294 Business Schools" publication.
• The Mihaylo College of Business and Economics is the largest accredited business school in the state of California and the fifth-largest in the United States.
• The Mihaylo College of Business and Economics is one of five undergraduate business schools in California with an accreditation in accounting.
• At the 2009 Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, both winners of the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship represented CSUF's Department of Theatre and Dance. Also in 2001, a CSUF student was a winning contestant.
• CSUF's graduate program in Nursing-Anesthesia's Program was ranked No. 22 by U.S. News and World Report in the 2012 publication.
• CSUF's graduate program in Information Technology is ranked No. 5 nationally by U.S. News and World Report.
• CSUF is the largest school in Orange County by student body population.

Athletics

CSUF participates in the NCAA Division I Big West Conference. They have 13 national championships in eight different sports. (1970, women's basketball (CIAW); 1971, 1972, 1974 men's gymnastics; 1971 cross country team; 1973 women's fencing; 1989, men's bowling; 1979, women's gymnastics; 1979, 1984, 1995, 2004 baseball; 1986 softball). Their baseball team is a perennial national powerhouse with four national titles and dozens of players playing Major League Baseball. The CSUF Dance Team currently holds the most national titles at the school, with 15 national titles from UDA Division 1 Jazz; 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017; and one national title from UDAs in Division 1 Hip Hop. The Dance Team also holds multiple titles from United Spirit Association.

CSUF currently supports 21 club sports on top of its Division I varsity teams, which are archery, baseball, cycling, equestrian, grappling and jiu jitsu, ice hockey, men's lacrosse, women's lacrosse, nazara Bollywood dance, men's rugby, women's rugby, roller hockey, salsa team, men's soccer, women's soccer, table tennis, tennis, ultimate frisbee, men's volleyball, women's volleyball, skiing, and wushu.

Student Recreation Center

In the spring semester of 2008, the Student Recreation Center opened. It is a $40.6-million, two-story, 95,000-square-foot (8,800 m²) facility created for recreational purposes. It consists of a 15,000-square-foot (1,400 m²) gym, a rock-climbing wall, a multimedia cardio room, indoor track and outdoor pools.

Student life

In 1960, CSUF became Orange County's first college to have a Greek system. Since then, the school has seen many different fraternities and sororities established on campus. In August 2011, the university added a $143-million housing complex, which included five new residence halls, a convenience store and a 565-seat dining hall called the Gastronome.

The Daily Titan, the official newspaper of the university, started in 1960. Titan Radio, the official radio station of the university, broadcasts worldwide as a non-profit organization.

On April 23, 2014, Cal State Fullerton opened the Titan Dreamers Resource Center, the first resource center for undocumented students in the CSU system. This new center was created to serve students by providing programs and services to help them acclimate to the campus and feel accepted regardless of their immigration status.

The Department of Education provided a four-year grant of $709,564 that allowed Cal State Fullerton to open its National Resource Center for Asian Languages on campus. The center was established in October 2014 and it is located in the College of Education. The focus of the center is to develop material and resources, teacher training which promotes dual language immersion for less commonly taught languages in the US, including Vietnamese, Korean, Chinese and Japanese. Through these services and resources, the center will be a resource for the campus, parents, and Orange County's educational community, which include local teachers.

Notable people

CSUF alumni include an astronaut who has made two trips to space; the incoming speaker of the California Assembly; other politicians and Academy Award-winning directors, actors, producers and cinematographers; award-winning journalists, authors and screenwriters; nationally recognized teachers; presidents and CEOs of leading corporations; international opera stars, musicians and Broadway stars; and professional athletes, Olympians, doctors, scientists, researchers and social activists.

Titan alumni number more than 210,000. An active alumni association keeps them connected through numerous networking and social events, and also sponsors nationwide chapters.

Campus shootings

• On July 12, 1976, Edward Charles Allaway, a campus janitor with paranoid schizophrenia, shot nine people, killing seven, in the University Library (now the Pollak Library) on the Cal State Fullerton campus.
• On October 13, 1984, Edward Cooperman, a physics professor, was shot and killed by his former student, Minh Van Lam, in McCarthy Hall.

References

External links

• Official website
• Cal State Fullerton Athletics website