CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY

state university system with campuses at Bakersfield, Chico, Dominguez Hills (at Carson), Fresno, Fullerton, Hayward, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Northridge, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Marcos, and Stanislaus (at Turlock) and also including Humboldt State University (at Arcata), San Diego State University, San Francisco State University, San Jose State University, Sonoma State University (at Rohnert Park), California Polytechnic State University (at San Luis Obispo), and California State Polytechnic University (at Pomona). California State is the largest university system in the United States. All schools in the system are coeducational and combine to offer more than 1,500 bachelor's and master's degree programs in over 200 subjects. Total enrollment for the entire system exceeds 340,000. California State University was formed in 1960 by the Donahoe Higher Education Act, which unified existing state colleges. The oldest school in the system is San Jose State University. It was established in 1857 as a normal school, becoming the state's first public institution of higher learning. The newest addition is the San Marcos campus, which opened for classes in 1990. The system is overseen by a chancellor, stationed in Long Beach, and by presidents at each university. Its campuses operate research facilities that reflect the regional resources and industry. For example, Humboldt State, located near the Pacific Ocean and northern forests, has a herbarium and a wildlife sanctuary, and San Bernardino, in southeastern California, has a desert-studies centre.