Celebrating 75 Years
2022 marks the 75th anniversary of Cal State LA. Through this timeline, we will explore and celebrate the seven decades of our university—our rich past, our remarkable students, faculty, staff, and alumni, and our continued legacy of dedication to the public good in Los Angeles and beyond.
1947-1957
The First Decade
The first years of Los Angeles State College laid the
foundation for the university.
1947
In 1944, Congress passed the G.I. Servicemen’s Readjustment Act, commonly known as the G.I. Bill. Veterans used the G.I. Bill education benefits to attend colleges or universities. As Los Angeles became home to more and more veterans, there was an increasing need for higher education institutions in the region.
In response to this need, Los Angeles State College officially opened its doors on September 19, 1947, with 160 students. The number of students increased to 1,092 for the second semester and grew to over 2,000 students within two years. By 1955, staff handed class cards to 7,501 enrolled students. Most students studied under the G.I. Bill and were the reason for the establishment and exponential growth of the college.
Proclamation
Los Angeles State College, founded by an act of the California legislature, opened in 1947 and shared the Los Angeles City College campus for a decade while the current campus was being built. In 1964, Los Angeles State College was officially renamed California State College at Los Angeles and became part of the California State College system. The college then received university status and was formally renamed California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) in 1972.
Veterans
Armed with the GI Bill®, returning veterans from the Korean conflict flooded into Los Angeles State College. Many of these students attended classes in the evening while working a full-time job during the day. To introduce evening students to their classmates, activities and college life, L.A. State College began publishing an evening newspaper called Night Times.
Photo Credit: Herald Examiner Collection/Los Angeles Public Library
The First Class
Los Angeles State College welcomed its first students, many of whom were juggling jobs and caring for families while also pursuing their dreams of earning a degree.
Muriel MacKenzie Caddell was the first applicant to Los Angeles State College, according to the college’s first newspaper published on June 2, 1948. Caddell went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in education in 1949.
Top: The first applicant to Los Angeles State College, Muriel MacKenzie Caddell. Bottom: Early students register for classes in person at L.A. State.
Photo Credit: Cal State LA Special Collections
State SPIRIT
Throughout the first decade, students embraced the spirit of L.A. State, showing their support for their school through clubs and organizations, student government, and lively campus events like Homecoming.
Mary Levin Cutler (pictured far right below) was a Homecoming princess in 1954 and 1955. The first in her family to graduate from college, Cutler received a bachelor’s degree in music from L.A. State in 1955. In 2022, a transformative gift from Cutler led to the establishment of the Mary Levin School of the Arts at Cal State LA, which will be the first named school in the College of Arts and Letters.
Photo Credit: Cal State LA Special Collections
The Campuses
From 1947 to 1955, Los Angeles State College first shared the campus of Los Angeles City College, located near the corner of Vermont Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard. In 1956, Los Angeles State College opened a satellite campus in the San Fernando Valley, which would later become designated as Cal State Northridge in 1972.
Photo Credit: Cal State LA Special Collections
The
Fight Song
Originally composed by Fran Baxter in 1951, our fight song evoked the school spirit of the newly formed college that would later become Cal State LA. Alumnus Joseph A. Bagnall (’55, MA ’59) reminisced about the first time he learned the fight song in a video reflecting on what the university means to him. Play the video below to learn the lyrics and sing along with Bagnall.
Go
Diablos, go!
The university’s first mascot was the Diablo, which adorned athletic uniforms in various visual forms throughout the years. Later the mascot was changed to what it is today: a Golden Eagle.
Diablo, circa 1950s.
Diablo, circa 1950s.
Diablo, circa 1960.
Diablo, circa 1949.
Diablo, circa 1953.
Diablo, circa 1954.
Diablo, circa 1960.
Diablo, circa 1965.
Diablo, circa 1966.
Illustration and Photo Credit: Cal State LA Special Collections
ATHLETICS
L.A. State introduced their first track and field team in the spring of 1949, finishing the school year with two intercollegiate athletic programs.
Through the first decade, the Diablos fielded teams in baseball, cross country, football, golf, gymnastics, swimming, water polo, tennis, and wrestling.
Photo Credit: Cal State LA Special Collections
1948
First Graduating Class
Los Angeles State College celebrated its first graduating class on June 17, 1948. The first graduates, pictured below, included (from left) Ohma A. Taylor, Maria L. Montoya (Cook), Charles J. Maher, Raynolds “Ray” Johnson, Richard J. Hoffman, Donald C. Eugster, and Donald G. Douglas. The group photo was taken during the college’s first official Commencement held on the campus of Los Angeles City College. Maria L. Montoya (Cook), pictured below, was the first woman to earn a degree from L.A. State.
1949
Los Angeles State College
of Applied Arts & Sciences
In September of 1949, L.A. State College became Los Angeles State College of Applied Arts & Sciences, with an enrollment of 2,187 students. Howard S. McDonald was named second president and became the first full-time president of the college.
1955
Main Campus Breaks Ground
In 1955, L.A. State College broke ground on the new campus off Ramona Boulevard east of downtown, where Cal State LA is located today. In the fall of 1958, 10 newly constructed permanent buildings were first occupied on campus, Library South opened, and the first classes were offered.
This retrospective of moments in Cal State LA’s history will be updated throughout the celebration of our 75th anniversary. Check back throughout the year to explore the evolution of the university.
