School of Business and Economics History

Sonoma State College opened temporary quarters in Rohnert Park the fall of 1961. The College moved to its present 220 acre site in 1966. In 1978, university status was granted and the name was changed to Sonoma State University. The University now enrolls over 8,162 students and offers 41 bachelor's degrees, 14 master's degrees, and 9 teaching, specialist, and service credentials.

Sonoma State University is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system and consists of six schools the School of Arts and Humanities, the School of School of Business and Economics, the School of Education, the School of Science and Technology, the School of Social Sciences, and the recently added School of Extended Education. SSU is fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) and is a member of the prestigious Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges (COPLAC).

The School of Business and Economics (SBE) had its beginnings in the early sixties as the Department of Economics in the Division of Social Sciences. In 1967, the Department of Management was formed also in the Division of Social Sciences. The B.A. in Management offered considerable flexibility with concentrations in many of the functional areas of business. A masters in Management was also available.

In 1986, the University underwent a major change going from three schools to five with the creation of the School of Education and the School of Business and Economics. The B.A. in Economics and the B.A. in Management remained the undergraduate degree programs but the M.A. in Management was changed to a Masters of Business Administration. At this time the B.A. in Management underwent major changes with the creation of a core curriculum that was AACSB compliant. It was not until 1992 that the Management Department became the Department of Business Administration with the creation of a B.S. in Business Administration. In 1996, the Department grouped faculty into four different Areas, each led by an Area Coordinator. The areas are: Accounting, Finance/QM, Management, and Marketing/Law.

Within the School of Business and Economics, several organizations exist to serve special needs: the Center for Advising and Placement (CAP), the Center for Regional Economic Analysis (CREA), and the Wine Business Program.

Last modified 07.24.2008 Tracy Navas