Title: Cal State LA Pictures of Our Past

Dates: 1879-2066

Collection Number: 2016.002

Creator/Collector: California State University Los Angeles

Extent: 46.1 linear ft.

Repository: California State University, Los Angeles

Abstract: 2 In the 1850s, the Batz family acquired Rancho Rosa Castilla, the land that would eventually be home to California State University, Los Angeles. Los Angeles State College was opened in 1947 on the Vermont Avenue campus of Los Angeles City College. It was presided over by LACC President P. Victor Peterson and produced its first graduating class in 1948. In 1949, LASC underwent the first of three name changes, becoming Los Angeles State College of Applied Arts & Sciences. Howard S. McDonald became the first full-time president. The campus was moved to its current location in 1955. Albert Graves became the third president in 1962 and was succeeded by Franklyn A. Johnson the following year. Johnson presided over a second name change to California State College at Los Angeles before he was succeeded by John E. Greenlee in 1966. During Greenlee’s time, CSCLA established the country’s first Chicano Studies Department in 1968. The campus also expanded exponentially. In 1972, CSCLA received university classification and was renamed to California State University, Los Angeles. After Greenlee retired in 1979, James M. Rosser became the sixth university president. He is the longest serving president to date and presided over a period of change and prosperity for Cal State LA. In 1981, the mascot was changed from the Diablo to the Golden Eagle. New facilities were also built including student housing and the Metrolink Station in 1994. Cal State LA also had the historic honor of being the site of the 1984 Olympiad judo events. An Olympic mural by Guillermo “Bill” Granizo was also installed. The university celebrated its 40th anniversary in 1987 and mourned the loss of a student in a devastating earthquake the same year. In 1990, Cal State LA’s Engineering and Technology Department broke ground with the first Solar Eagle, a solar-powered electric car that would go on to win national recognition for the university. From the university’s beginning to today, Cal State LA faculty, students, and alumni have earned recognition worldwide.

Language of Material: English

Access is available by appointment for Cal State LA student and faculty researchers as well as independent researchers.

Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.

Cal State LA Pictures of Our Past. California State University, Los Angeles

The materials in this collection were created from 1879-2006. The bulk of the collection is photographs collected by the California State University, Los Angeles Office of Communications and Public Affairs. The photographs portray important events in Cal State LA’s history as well as general university life. Duplicates and redundant photographs were removed from the collection. The materials in this collection also include negatives, slides, and audio/visual material pertaining to the campus.