California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo

The California Polytechnic School Establishment and early years Cal Poly was founded in 1901 as the California Polytechnic School, following the signing of the California Polytechnic School Bill by Governor Henry Gage . The school began classes on October 1, 1903, with 20 students enrolled, offering three-year secondary-level courses. [ 15 ] Originally coeducational , the school enrolled 16 male and 4 female students. [ 16 ] In 1929, California Governor C.C. Young prohibited women from attending. [ 17 ] Women were readmitted in 1956. By Fall 2023, female students constituted 50.1% of the total student population. [ 18 ]

In 1924, Cal Poly came under the control of the California State Board of Education . During the Great Depression , financial constraints led to discussions in Sacramento about converting Cal Poly into a state prison . [ 19 ] It was saved by Julian A. McPhee , who went on to lead Cal Poly as its president for thirty-three years. [ 19 ] In 1933, the institution transitioned to a two-year technological and vocational school. By 1940, it began offering Bachelor of Arts degrees, with the first baccalaureate ceremony held in 1942. In 1947, the school was renamed California State Polytechnic College to better reflect its expanding higher education offerings. A Master of Arts degree in education was added in 1949. [ 20 ]

In 1938, Charles and Jerry Voorhis donated a farm and school to Cal Poly. In 1949, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation gifted an 812-acre horse ranch in Pomona, California . Originally a satellite campus for Cal Poly, the Pomona campus became an independent university, Cal Poly Pomona , in 1966.

In 1960, control of Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo and other state colleges was transferred to the newly formed CSU system. That same year, a plane crash killed 22 of the 48 people on board, including 16 Cal Poly football players. [ 21 ] Authorized to offer Master of Science degrees in 1967, Cal Poly reorganized its curriculum from 1967 to 1970 into specialized schools: the School of Science and Mathematics, the School of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and the School of Architecture. In 1968, Cal Poly's FM radio station, KCPR , was launched as a senior project. In 1971, the California State Legislature officially renamed the institution California Polytechnic State University . Since the 1970s, the university has seen steady enrollment growth and significant campus expansion.