www.sonoma.edu or (707) 664-2880

Enlivened by a series of lakes, wide green lawns, scores of birds and visiting Canadian geese, Sonoma State University occupies 269 acres in the beautiful wine country of Sonoma County in Northern California. Located at the foot of the Sonoma hills, the campus is just an hour's drive north of San Francisco and 40 minutes from the Pacific Ocean.

The wide open, green expanses of this small University provides the serenity to a campus where, on weekends, visitors wander through a butterfly garden, a native plant sanctuary, alongside lakes with geese and ducks. There are trails for bike riding along a creek and areas for picnicking. It is also the place to be when the Green Music Festival, a component of the Green Music Center which is projected to open in 2007, holds the county's largest and most popular 4th of July Pops concert and fireworks display each summer.

The campus is one of the premier undergraduate jewels of the 23 California State University campuses due to its highly-regarded academics and small class sizes. A strong emphasis on technology keeps University faculty, staff and 8,000 students aware of emerging trends and best practices.

Founded originally as an offshoot of San Francisco State teachers college, SSU opened its doors in 1960. Its first graduating class numbered 274; the University now graduates 1,300 each year. Currently, campus housing accommodates 2,400 students in both apartment and residential suites clustered in villages as well as serving students from the surrounding communities who commute to class.

As the only public 4-year university of the North Bay, SSU has positioned itself for the 21st century with a wide array of new facilities, programs and future projects. One of which is the innovative Jean and Charles Schulz Information Center, which contains the University Library ( http://libweb.sonoma.edu/ ) and Information Technology with state-of-the-art services in computing, media and telecommunications. Endowed by the creator of the Peanuts cartoon strip and his wife Jean, the Schulz Information Center is also the repository of a major collection of original manuscripts, letters and first editions of Jack London's writings and related materials.

Since it is located in one of the premier wine grape growing regions in the world, the University also offers a unique Wine Business Program (www.sonoma.edu/winebiz/) which has received broad support from the wine industry. For the current wine industry professional and those seeking to join it, the university offers professional development courses. These courses are designed specifically to improve the range of skills for those already employed within the wine industry. Currently-employed wine professionals have taken more than 1700 classes in the “Wine Biz” professional development program. Additionally, more than 500 courses have been taken by degree-seeking students who are working toward their B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in Wine Business Strategies. This concentration is intended for students who wants a general management career within the wine industry.

In response to the needs of the North Bay high tech companies and community, Sonoma State University has established a new Department of Engineering Science ( www.sonoma.edu/engineering/ ) .  The new department includes graduate and undergraduate programs with emphasis in electronics, computer hardware and software systems, photonics, and telecommunications.  With the support of the local industries and community, the department's new laboratories located in the Cerent Engineering Science Complex, are equipped with $millions of state-of-the-art instruments.

Also located at Sonoma State is the Environmental Technology Center (www.sonoma.edu/ensp/etc/), a “building with a brain” made from sustainable technologies and a wide range of design features that minimize energy use. The ETC consumes only 50% of the energy of similar buildings. Features include environmentally responsible building materials, passive solar heating and cooling, lighting and shading, advanced window systems, “smart building” control technologies, photovoltaic electricity, and energy and water-efficient landscaping. Beyond serving as an inspirational demonstration project, the ETC is a “building that teaches,” designed for people to see, touch, and understand how it works and for students, the community and building science researchers to manipulate and measure its every function.

The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at SSU ( www.sonoma.edu/exed/lifelong/ ) opened its doors as an experience in adult education for those over 50 with an offering of eight-week long courses in art, history, music, literature and science with no homework or grades. The program is phenomenally popular and has been used as a model for similar programs across the country.

A cultural and intellectual magnet for the region is Sonoma State University's legacy. Its destiny continues to be written as it responds to the needs of the surrounding community whose future it shares.

Green Music Center

www.sonoma.edu/greenmusiccenter or (707) 664-2235

The Donald and Maureen Green Music Center at Sonoma State University is projected to open its doors in fall 2007 to students, world-class musicians and thousands of guests. This new performing arts facility will be a resplendent addition to the culturally-rich quality of life Sonoma County already offers.

Inspired by the magnificent Seiji Ozawa Hall at the famed Tanglewood Music Center in western Massachusetts, Sonoma State University formed a partnership with the Santa Rosa Symphony to create the grand music center. Sharing the vision of the University and symphony, philanthropists and local civic leaders Donald and Maureen Green became the lead investors in the project. A successful fund-raising campaign has attracted support from generous donors throughout the region and state.

The focal point of the Green Music Center is the 1,400-seat concert hall featuring superb acoustics to give audiences the robust flavor of the music performed. The rear door of the hall will open up to lawn seating for 3,000 people with a direct view of the stage. The expansive lawn will accommodate seating for an additional 7,000 people. Complementing the concert hall will be the music center's academic wing, where students from the University and beyond can learn, create and experience music with the masters. The wing comprises a 300-seat recital, practice rooms, studios, offices, meeting rooms to support the educational programs of the university and its regional partners as well as a conference center and restaurant.

The Center will offer a year-round calendar of events and will be home to the Santa Rosa Symphony. Other programs of the Center will be the Green Music Festival which features a range of entertainment from American musical favorites and fireworks on the 4th of July to jazz and chamber music concerts; the Green Music Center Academy for emerging career-bound musicians; the Sonoma Master Series; the Sonoma Institute of Ideas for multi-disciplinary Chautauqua of arts, ideas and perspectives; and the Sonoma State University performing arts programs including Greenfarm, the performing arts training program for youth ages 5-18 where students study with outstanding professional musicians and music teachers.

As a whole, the Green Music Center will add to the cultural vitality of the region and will enhance tourism for all associated venues – hotels, restaurants, wineries, recreational and retail establishments. The ripple effect will benefit the already community-oriented Rohnert Park and surrounding areas.

“The Green Music Center will be the crowning touch for the region. With the marriage of a university and a great symphony orchestra, the cultural landscape of our community will be enhanced for generations to come. Only when the audience finally hears the orchestra in a hall designed specifically for music will they appreciate new horizons of listening. And when that music meets the audience, the transformation will be breathtaking,” said Jeff Langley, chair of Performing Arts at Sonoma State University.

Athletics

www.sonoma.edu/athletics or (707) 664-2521 Sonoma State University is a member of the NCAA Division II and competes in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA), the premier intercollegiate athletic association in the country with more than 145 national championships. SSU athletics has experienced a great deal of success since joining the CCAA in 1998. Most recently, in 2002, the men's soccer team won the NCAA Division II Men's Soccer National Championship with two student-athletes earning All-American honors. Women's soccer was runner-up for the 1998 national championship and won the school's first national championship in 1990. Student and community support for men's and women's soccer is tremendous with both teams placing in the top five in the NCAA Division II in total attendance every year. The men's squad led the entire nation in attendance in 2003. Women's cross-country is one of SSU's outstanding teams finishing ninth in the NCAA National Championships in 2001.

Seawolf Gym is the home of the women's volleyball and men's and women's basketball teams. Since 1998, women's basketball has earned four NCAA West Regional berth and men's basketball has earned two. Seven sports compete during the spring including baseball, softball, women's track & field, men's and women's tennis, women's water polo, and men's golf. SSU baseball has won three CCAA championships and is nationally-ranked just about every season.

Softball is very competitive in the tough CCAA and women's track and field is a competitive force in the CCAA. Men's and women's tennis have earned several NCAA post-season regional berths since 1997.

Last year marked the introduction of women's water polo and men's golf to the Seawolves program. In their first year of competition women's water polo reached the Western Water Polo Association tournament and the men's golf team sent a student-athlete to the NCAA Regionals.

For more information about our athletic programs, visit http://www.sonoma.edu/athletics/.