In response to the Great Depression^[1], and with available federal and state funding, Archibald Cloud, the Chief Deputy Superintendent of the San Francisco Unified School District, convinced the San Francisco Board of Education to establish a junior college in an effort to provide affordable training in various vocations. San Francisco Junior College officially opened in the fall of 1935. There was no central campus; rather, morning classes were held at the University of California Extension building on Powell in the FiDi District^[2] and afternoon classes were held at Galileo High School in the Marina. In 1937 the San Francisco Board of Education approved funding for a main campus on 56 acres near Ocean Avenue, formerly the Ingelside Jail. This campus opened in 1940 (today it remains the main campus, with eleven satellite sites scattered throughout the City). Much of the artwork that was on display at the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition^[3] was relocated to the Ocean Campus, including Diego Rivera’s Pan American Unity^[4]. The mural is a celebration of all South American contributions to North America. Comprised of five panels, the finished piece stands 22’ high and 74’ long. In 2020 it was moved to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art^[5].

In 1948 the San Francisco Junior College changed its name to City College of San Francisco. My mother Anne, who grew up in San Francisco in the 1940s and 50s, remembers City College being the place to go to get a teaching credential.

In 1970 City College separated from the San Francisco Unified School District. In 2010 the College’s foundation fund was frozen due to felony money laundry charges against the Chancellor. Two years later the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) threatened to revoke City College’s accreditation due to poor fiscal controls and insufficient self-evaluation and reporting. Enrollment dropped from 90,000 to 60,000. A Special Trustee was appointed to oversee the institution’s finances. Based on this Special Trustee’s final report, the ACCJC voted to terminate the college’s accreditation. A lawsuit was filed by San Francisco District Attorney Dennis Herrera and City College never lost its accreditation. 

Today, City College offers free tuition for City residents, funded through Prop W which transfers property taxes on properties selling for over $5 million. City College also offers free ESL and Citizenship classes^[6]. 

^[1] Great Depression: story coming October 11th

^[2] Financial District: https://thesanfranciscophoenix.com/?p=4109

^[3] Golden Gate International Exhibition: story coming February 18th 

^[4] Diego Rivera: story coming December 8th

^[5] MOMA: https://thesanfranciscophoenix.com/?p=4406

^[6] Visit them at https://www.ccsf.edu