California State University, Northridge

From Freepedia

California State University, Northridge (CSUN), colloquially known as C-SUN or Cal State Northridge, is a state-funded university in Northridge, California, USA. It is part of the California State University System, and was formerly the San Fernando Valley State College. CSUN hosts the International Conference on Technology and Persons with Disabilities each year. The university is nearing completion of a massive rebuilding project after an earthquake destroyed a significant portion of the campus.

One of the few remaining orange groves in the San Fernando Valley is found on campus. The large eucalyptus trees at the edge of the campus have survived development attempts by campus designers.

The current president is Dr. Jolene Koester.

Contents

President's Vision Statement for the University

"California State University, Northridge is inspired by the belief that our commitment to educational opportunity, inclusion and excellence will extend the promise of America to succeeding generations. Our graduates will be the vanguard of leaders for the next century - committed to sustaining a democracy in which diverse people share in the rights and responsibilities of citizenship, proficient in applying technology to wise purposes, and dedicated to securing a humane world community and sustaining the bounty of the Earth." - Former CSUN president Dr. Blenda J. Wilson, 1996

Academics

On May 1, 2005, the L.A. Daily News reported that CSUN will be lowering its general education credit requirements from 58 credits to 48, in order to improve the university's embarrassingly low on-time graduation rate. In 2003, only 3.8 percent of the student body graduated within four years, and only 32 percent graduated within six years.

There are eight colleges within the university, including the Michael D. Eisner College of Education. CSUN's admissions program is somewhat rigorous, especially in the increasingly competitive climate of California's educational systems, but especially in the graduate school the belief is that you can get in and then you have to prove you belong.

The University has increased its outreach in the Southern California area. Degrees in the area of public sector management have increased CSUN's presence not only in other areas of California, such as Santa Barbara, but also in reaching out to working professionals.

Library

The Oviatt Library serves the campus, as well as surrounding community colleges. The library has an automated book retrieval system that consists of a computer where users request the title they want, and the desired volume is retrieved from storage using robotic arms pulling bins of books from racks and delivering them to circulation for dispersal.

Many other departments and centers maintain their own collections. Notable among these are the

  • Vern and Bonnie Bullough Collection on Human Sexuality, for the Center for Sex Research
  • The Aronstam library, devoted to communication studies research and scholarship for Communications Department undergraduate, graduate, and faculty members.
  • The Urban Archive Center
  • The National Center on Deafness Library, housed in Chisolm Hall.

In addition, the Teacher's Curriculum Center provides a circulating collection of curricular materials for education students and local educators.

Groups and Organizations

Traditional festivities

Native Americans have used the campus to converge on for ceremonies, on a yearly basis.

The drama department celebrates year-end by staging the local version of Yosemite's Bracebridge Dinner. The artistic events that occur on the campus are often very distinguished and popular. Also, the university has a prominent band, especially the jazz band.

CSUN Jazz Studies

As part of its Jazz Studies curriculum, CSUN's Department of Music features a world-class jazz band. The Jazz 'A' Band has garnered a reputation as one of the more prominent university jazz bands in the country. In recent years, the Jazz 'A' Band has made several overseas tours, including appearances in Europe and China, and has built an eclectic international following.

Community services

The Daily Sundial is the university's financially independent and student-run newspaper publication. Staff writers and editors of the 8,000-circulation daily publication are typically juniors and seniors in the school's Journalism Department, and the staff is generally around 50 people during the fall and spring semesters. The Sundial competes annually in the Society of Professional Journalists and Hearst journalism award competitions, where it has won several awards. The newspaper is criticized by some members of the campus population, and one of the school's most famous professors once called it the "Scumdial" — and the name stuck.

The Communicating Common Ground project is designed to alleviate tensions between the Latino and Armenian student populations. The community service learning project represents a coordinated effort between CSUN's Communication Studies department and Grant High School.

CSUN Speech & Debate

The CSUN Speech and Debate Society is an intercollegiate forensics program committed to excellence. The team is comprised of both Inter-Collegiate policy debate and individual events and travels throughout the state and country.

Athletics

CSUN fields 18 sports at the NCAA Division I level. CSUN fields both men's and women's teams in basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, swimming, track and field, and volleyball. CSUN has a men's baseball team, and women's softball, tennis, and water polo teams.

CSUN was a member of the Big Sky Conference until 2000. It joined the Big West Conference in 2001. It also dropped football in 2001. The football team played at the North Campus Stadium.

Student Organizations

CSUN is a very multicultural university, which is evident in the multitude of ethnic and cultural student organizations. Some of them are the CSUN Armenian Student Association, founded in 1976; CSUN Movimiento Estudiantil Chicana/o de Aztlan, founded in 1968; and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trasngender Alliance (LGBTA), founded in 1972.

Northridge Trivia

Northridge earthquake

This campus was heavily damaged by the 1994 earthquake, including entire sections of the main library, art building, etc., but classes continued in alternative structures. The art courtyard survived. Among the structures that were considered too heavily damaged for repair were the Fine Arts building, which was designed by Richard Neutra, and the South Library, which was the oldest permanent building on campus.

CSUN sculpture

Travellers approaching the campus from the east, (via the San Diego (405) Freeway, for example) will see an abstract sculpture at the edge of the orange grove at the southeastern corner of the campus, which can be read from several directions as an acronym for the university. This sculpture is an impossible shape, and does not read as CSUN from a northwest view, although that area is covered with trees and is not often walked upon.

Notable alumni

Points of interest

External links


California State University

   Bakersfield | Channel Islands | Chico | Dominguez Hills | East Bay | Fresno | Fullerton   
Humboldt | Long Beach | Los Angeles | Maritime | Monterey Bay | Northridge
Pomona | Sacramento | San Bernardino | San Diego | San Francisco | San José
San Luis Obispo | San Marcos | Sonoma | Stanislaus

Image:Calstate seal.gif


Big West Conference
 Cal Poly | Cal State Fullerton | Long Beach State | Northridge 
Pacific | UCI | UCR | UCSB
Entering in 2007-08: UC Davis 		Image:BigWestConference 100.png

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