Short answers, pulled from the story.
San Francisco State University traces its founding to the 22nd of March 1899, when the California State Legislature approved the creation of the San Francisco State Normal School with an appropriation of $10,000. Its earlier ancestor, the California State Normal School, was established in 1862 with only six students enrolled on its first day.
The Third World Liberation Front strike at SF State ran from the 6th of November 1968 to the 20th of March 1969, making it the longest student strike in American history. Students organized the strike as part of broader demonstrations that occurred in 1967, 1968, and 1969, and it led to lasting changes in the university's structure, including the College of Ethnic Studies.
Chia-Wei Woo, who became the 11th president of San Francisco State University in 1983, was the first Chinese-American to head a major American university. He served until 1988.
San Francisco State University's main campus is located in the southwestern part of San Francisco, less than two miles from the Pacific coast. The 144.1-acre campus is bordered to the north by Lowell High School and Stonestown Galleria, with Lake Merced to its west. The campus opened for classes in Fall 1953 on land that was largely sand dunes when President Alexander Roberts and student body president Clifford Worth first explored it in 1939.
San Francisco State University's past and present faculty and alumni include 21 Pulitzer Prize winners, 16 Academy Award winners, 49 Emmy Award winners, 10 Grammy Award winners, and 12 Tony Award laureates. Notable athletic alumni include NFL players and two Major League Baseball All-Stars, former Mets shortstop Bud Harrelson and former Brewers and Red Sox outfielder Tommy Harper.
The Romberg Tiburon Campus is a 53.7-acre research campus in Tiburon, California, home to the only marine and environmental science lab on San Francisco Bay. SF State has operated there since 1978, when it began acquiring the former U.S. Navy base from the federal government for $1 under the condition the site be used for education. In 2025, the university announced a potential closure due to financial difficulties, but a fundraising campaign raised $3.2 million and delayed the decision.