SSU Quick Facts

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  • President: Dr. Ruben Armiñana
  • Founded: 1961
  • Mascot: Seawolves
  • Accreditation: Western Association of Schools and Colleges
  • Member: Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges
  • Mid-size campus (9,000 students, 86% undergraduates)
  • 60/40% female to male ratio
  • 3,100 residential students
  • Top 10 majors (by number of applicants):
    • Pre-Business
    • Biology
    • Pre-Nursing
    • Psychology
    • Kinesiology
    • Criminal Jusice
    • Communications
    • English
    • Hutchins
    • Computer Science
  • Graduate 2,200 students per year
  • 45 bachelor's degree programs; 16 master's degree programs
  • 9 credential programs; 8 certificate programs
  • 269 richly-landscaped acres

Sonoma State University is fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. SSU is also a member of the prestigious Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges, an association of public colleges and universities whose primary mission is ensuring that fine undergraduate liberal arts and sciences education is available to students in the public systems of higher education. SSU is the only California member of COPLAC.

Individual program accreditations granted by:

  • American Chemical Society
  • National Association of Schools of Music
  • National League for Nursing (Baccalaurate and Master's Programs)
  • National Association for Schools of Art and Design
  • Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business
  • Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs
  • School of Education programs approved by Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC)
  • National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE)

The SSU Alumni Association is a non-profit corporation designed to support and further the development of SSU. The Association's mission is to provide service to Sonoma State University alumni as well as encourage and enhance their life-long relationship with the university. The Association sponsors alumni programs and events and provides student scholarships. Membership is open to graduates, former students, and friends of SSU.

Total Number of SSU Alumni:  53,000


The SSU Intercollegiate Athletics Program participates in the California Collegiate Athletic Association as a Division II program of the NCAA. Currently, five men's and eight women's intercollegiate teams compete. In addition, there is a wide variety of sports clubs and an active intramural and recreational sports program.

 

 


Each year, SSU sponsors hundreds of seminars, workshops, lectures, conferences, exhibits, and other public programs. In addition, thousands of North Bay residents attend public performances on campus each year, produced or sponsored by the Center for Performing Arts. The University Art Gallery and University Library Gallery are major attractions for local artists, hosting numerous exhibits each year. Additionally, with the opening of the Green Music Center in the Fall of 2012, great strides have been made in bringing culturally significant atists, lecturerers and workshops to North Bay residents and students.


Within SSU's 36 academic departments, degrees areffered in 41 majors and 46 minors at the bachelor's level and 14 at the master's level.  The Universityffers a joint master's degree in mathematics with San Francisco State University and a joint doctorate in educational administration with California State University, Sacramento and the Universityf California, Davis. There are nine credential programs and eight undergraduate and graduate certificate programs. SSU also offers the one of the only Wine Business programs in the country. Basic teaching credential programs in education include multiple subject, multiple subject BCLAD, single subject, administrative services, reading/language arts (certificater specialist), special education (mild/moderater moderate/severe), pupil personnel services (via the Counseling Department).

Satellite Centers

SSU offers upper-division programs in Ukiah and Napa, leading to a BA degree in liberal studies.

SSU's School of Extended and International Education features a variety of development programs including courses for professional relicensure, certificate programs in such diverse fields as Construction (Green Building and Construction Management), Business (Accounting and Human Resource Management) and Counseling (Child/Infant Mental Health). Additionally, the School offers several fully accredited degree programs: a Liberal Studies B.A. degree completion program and an Interdisciplinary M.A.; M.A. degrees in Organization Development and Depth Psychology; and the Master of Computer and Engineering Science program. Among its community-based programs are EXCEL, a summer enrichment program for youth, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, Educational Travel programs and the Sonoma State American Language Institute.


Number of Employees
Employee Type Number Percentage
Faculty 539 42.2%
Staff 724 57.8%
Total 1,278 100.0%
Number of Faculty and Lecturers
Type of Instructor Number Percentage
Faculty (Tenured and Tenure-Track) 259 48.1%
Professional Lecturers 280 51.9%
Total 539 100%

Faculty Gender
Faculty Number Percentage
Male 264 47.7%
Female 290 52.3%
Total 554 100%
Staff Gender
Staff Number Percentage
Male 284 39.2%
Female 440 60.8%
Total 724 100%

Faculty Ethnicity
Ethnic Group Number Percentage
Black 9 1.6%
Asian/Pacific Islander 35 6.3%
Hispanic 24 4.3%
American Indian/Alaskan Native 5 0.9%
White 462 83.4%
Declined to State 19 3.4%
Total 554 100%
Staff Ethnicity
Ethnic Group Number Percentage
Black 25 2.6%
Asian/Pacific Islander 48 5.0%
Hispanic 80 8%
American Indian/Alaskan Native 8 0.8%
White 733 76.6%
Declined to State 63 6%
Total 957 100.0%

Data: Fall 2012

SSU Budget 2008-09
Category Amount Percentage
General Fund $92,927,686 45.2%
Capital Budget $60,718,009 29.5%
Grants and Contracts $8,200,000 4.0%
Housing $19,480,322 9.5%
Extended Education $4,811,279 2.3%
Parking $2,200,000 1.1%
Insructionally Related Activities $3,279,528 1.6%
Auxiliary Corporations
Associated Students $2,109,336 1.0%
Student Union $2,359,063 1.1%
Sonoma State Enterprises $9,426,853 4.6%
Foundation General Fund
Foundation Asset Management: $39,739,593
$239,800 0.1%
TOTAL $205,751,876 100%

Founded

Sonoma State College was founded in 1961 when Governor Edmund G. Brown signed Senate Bill 43 establishing the college as a member of the California State College system. The college opened in temporary quarters in 1961 under the leadership of founding president Ambrose R. Nichols, Jr. with an enrollment of 265 upper-division students. Most of the faculty and administrators of the Santa Rosa Center of San Francisco State College, which had served the region since 1956, joined the new college. Sonoma State College moved to its present 269-acre site in 1966 when its first two buildings, Stevenson and Darwin Halls, were completed. By then there were more than 1,000 students enrolled. In 1978, University status was granted and the name of the college was changed to Sonoma State University.

University Milestones

Year Event
1961 SSU Becomes part of the California State College system (now the California State University)
1962 First bachelor of arts degree (elementary education)
1962 First four-year program offered
May 1966 First graduating class
1966 First master's degree offered (biology, psychology)
1978 University status attained
1999 SSU invited to join the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges as sole member from California
2000 The Jean & Charles Schulz Information Center is built
2001 The Lifelong Learning Institute for students over the age of 50 is founded. The Osher Foundation gave a large gift which resulted in the name change to the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.
2004 The University is gifted its first Endowed Chair. The $1.5 million gift came from the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria to fund a teaching position in Native American Studies.
2005 Renovation of Darwin Hall, the University's second original building, begins
2005 The University is gifted a 3,500 acre nature preserve northwest of Cloverdale, CA, called the Galbreath Wildlands Preserve
2005 The newly-constructed Recreation Center receives the Outstanding Sports Facilities Award by the National Intramural Recreational Sports Association for its functional use of space and incorporation of sustainable building techniques
2006 Darwin Hall re-opens as a 21st century science building
2006 Construction of the Donald & Maureen Green Music Center begins
2007 Green Music Center construction is moving along quickly
2008 Work on Tuscany Village, the newest phase of housing, begins
2008 Music Education Hall in the Green Music Center complex opens
2011 Sonoma State celebrates 50th Anniversary
2012 Green Music Center opens

Presidents

President Dates
Ambrose R. Nichols. Jr. 1961-1970
Thomas H. McGrath 1971-1974
Marjorie Downing Wagner 1974-1976
Peter Diamandopoulos 1977-1983
David W. Benson 1984-1992
Ruben Armiñana 1992-present

 

The campus provides housing for 3,100 students in residential suites and apartments. Around 90% of the freshman class and 40% of all undergraduates live on campus. All accommodations are fully furnished and provide wireless connectivity to the University's computer network.


Holdings

The library has a collection of more than 670,000 volumes, with 8,000 new titles added each year. Current periodical subscriptions number over 35,000 (in both print and electronic formats).

Specialized Collections

  • North Bay Regional Collection
  • Extensive children’s book collection
  • Wine business resources
  • Jack London collection including first editions, letters, and original serialized stories

Services

  • Instruction
  • Research assistance
  • Innovative study spaces
  • Extensive computing resources

Circulation

Roughly 275,000 items each year.

Visits

There were more than 630,000 visits by students, faculty, staff, and community users in 2012.

Electronic Resources

From the library web site, students, faculty, and staff have access to the library catalog, more than 160 databases covering all academic subject areas, and a continuously increasing number of full-text journal articles.

 

Size and Location

269 acres, located in Rohnert Park at the foot of the Sonoma Mountains. The campus is an hour’s drive north of San Francisco and centrally located between the Pacific Ocean to the west and the wine country to the north and east.

Buildings and Facilities

Facility Name Square Feet
Stevenson Hall 130,160
Darwin Hall 111,821
Field House 15,826
Ives Hall 48, 510
Physical Education 65,985
Ruben Salazar Hall 116,186
Rachael Carson Hall 20,000
Nichols Hall 30,700
Residential Halls and Dining 684,560
Commons 18,500
Student Union 17,600
Art Building 46,604
Evert B. Person Theatre 20,655
Schulz Information Center 215,500
Student Recreation Center 53,442
Environmental Technology Center 3,120
Student Center 130,065
Total * 1,848,059

* Total includes all facilities, not just those listed above.

 

Enrollment — 2012

Undergraduate & Graduate
Students Number Percent
Undergraduate 7792 89.9
Graduate 876 10.6
Total 8668
Gender
Students Number Percent
Men 3330 38.4
Women 5338 61.6
Total 8668

Ethnic Groups
Ethnicity Number Percent
African American 227 2.6
Asian 420 5.0
Hispanic 1486 19.1
Native American 75 0.9
White 6183 60.3
Two or more races 656 7.6
Unknown 316 3.6
Total 8668 99.4
Residency
Location Number Percent
California 8537 98.50
Other states 87 1.00
Other Countries 46 0.50

Average Age
Student Type Age
Undergraduate 22
Graduate 35
All Students 23
Students Receiving Financial Aid
Type of Aid Percent
Financial Aid 35
Grants/Scholarships 27

Top 10 Majors - Undergraduate
Major Rank
Pre-Business 1
Biology 2
Pre-Nursing 3
Psychology 4
Kinesiology 5
Criminal Justice 6
Communications 7
English 8
Hutchins 9
Computer Science 10
Top 10 Majors - Graduate
School Rank
Education 1
Counseling 2
Nursing 3
Business Administration 4
English 5
Biology 6
Anthropology 7
History 8
Political Science 9
Psychology 10

Graduate & Undergraduate Degrees Conferred
School Number Percent
Social Science 748 37.1%
Science & Technology 343 17%
Arts & Humanities 443 21.9%
Business & Economics 421 20.9%
Education 54 2.6%
ITDS/Special Major 5 0.25%
Total 2014  

 

Student Fees

 
Academic Year Charges First Year Undergraduate
Tuition: in-state $3,449 $3,449
Tuition: out-of-state $17,334 $17,334
Tuition: non-resident-aliens $11,904 $11,904
Required Fees $5,472 $5,472
Room and Board (Meal plan required) $10,961 $10,961