On This Day in Our History
By Christine Vaughan
Thirty years ago, on Sept. 1, 1989, California Governor George Deukmejian signed into law Senate Bill 365, officially establishing California State University San Marcos.
CSUSM’s founding ushered in an era of higher education in the United States, as no other comprehensive university had been founded in over two decades.
Signed by Senator William Craven of Carlsbad, Governor Deukmejian, CSU Chancellor Ann Reynolds and founding president Bill Stacy, Senate Bill 365 reconstituted the former San Diego State University satellite campus into the 20th university in the CSU system.
With a one-year timeline and an administrative budget of just $3.9 million, President Stacy began to lay the groundwork for the new university with 12 founding faculty.
In February 1990, construction of the new campus broke ground on the site of the former Prohoroff Poultry Farm – a chicken ranch. The property had been purchased two years earlier by the CSU Board of Trustees for $10.6 million.
In the fall of 1990, CSUSM welcomed its first class of 448 students at its temporary location in rented office space adjacent to Jerome’s Furniture in San Marcos, as construction of the permanent campus continued.
Media Contact
Christine Vaughan, Director of Communications
cvaughan@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-4409