Under the leadership of President Mary A. Papazian, San Jose State adopts Transformation 2030, a strategic plan that provides a roadmap for a dynamic future. 

The opening of the LEED Gold certified128,000-square-foot Spartan Recreation and Aquatic Center demonstrates SJSU's commitment to health and wellness. 

A celebratory grand opening of the Ramiro Compean and Lupe Diaz Compean Student Union, the heart of campus life, honors both the renovated facility and the donors of a $15 million gift that supports student success.

SJSU completes its first comprehensive fundraising effort, Acceleration: The Campaign for San Jose State University, bringing in more than $208 million. 

The Cesar E. Chavez Monument: Arch of Dignity, Equality and Justice, designed by Judith F. Baca, is constructed and dedicated.

A yearlong sesquicentennial celebration in 2007 includes an historical exhibit, sesquicentennial concert, Founders' Week activities and the premiere of an hour-long video on the university. A banner year for fundraising, SJSU renames two colleges, the Charles W. Davidson College of Engineering and the Connie Lurie College of Education, in honor of generous gifts from Davidson and Lurie.

San Jose State receives a $10 million donation from business leaders and SJSU alumni Donald and Sally Lucas. The gift is used to support the Graduate School of Business in the College of Business.

The Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies is located in the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library. It is the only research and study center in North America devoted to Beethoven. Founded in 1983, the center is supported by SJSU and the American Beethoven Society. The center also owns a lock of Beethoven's hair.

Scenes with Robin Williams from Disney's Flubber are filmed at SJSU in Washington Square Hall.

San Jose State celebrates diversity. The campus reaches cultural pluralism, with no ethnic majority. SJSU continues to be a multicultural model for other universities.

SJSU wins the NCAA women's golf championships with coach Mark Gale. The Spartans take the title again in 1989 and 1992, and tie for the national championship in 1991 and 1996. San José State University is the first university to capture the NCAA championship three times.

Spartan football beats ninth-ranked, undefeated Baylor in Waco, Texas (30-22). Eleven future NFL players are on the field, including Gerald Willhite—first-round draft choice of the Denver Broncos—who scores three touchdowns. Sports Illustrated covers the game with two pictures.

The Steinbeck Research Center opens officially in March 1974. Initially located in Library Central, it is eventually moved to King Library and named the Martha Heasley Cox Center for Steinbeck Studies. As of 2006, the center houses over 40,000 items, including letters, manuscripts, first editions, films, memorabilia, original art and secondary works.

In February 1970, as part of the first Earth Day, students purchase and subsequently bury a new automobile to build environmental awareness. SJSU graduate Gaylord Nelson '39 Political Science, '60 Honorary Master of Arts, founds Earth Day. Nelson would later serve as governor and senator from Wisconsin. Inspired by the teach-ins dealing with the Vietnam War, Earth Day was an instant success, drawing 20 million participants the first year (1970).

In October 1968, two San Jose State students, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, stage a protest by raising their fists during the ceremonies conferring medals at the Olympic Games in Mexico City. Their silent protest for human rights is seen around the world and reviled by many but supported by SJSC President Clark.

National Science Foundation provides $150,000 for a marine laboratory at Moss Landing. Moss Landing Marine Laboratories (MLML) gains a reputation for excellence in marine science research and education, and is the second oldest marine lab on Monterey Bay. A consortium of seven California State University campuses, led by San Jose State, operates MLML.

San Jose State College judo club wins the first of many national collegiate judo association championships, with Coach "Yosh" Uchida. A club sport, rather than an NCAA sport, San Jose State judo becomes an example of SJSU's competitive prowess—with 34 championship titles in 37 national competitions by 1998.

The 1960s are an era of student upheaval and protest and a time of national campus unrest. President Clark welcomes the lively debate and idea exchange of the 1960s, and supports the students' concerns with justice, equality and morality. In addition to peaceful protests and marches, violence and unrest overshadow campus life.

Obtaining accreditation by the Association of American Universities in 1942 paves the way for national fraternities and sororities after World War II. The 1950s and early 1960s are times of considerable stability and prosperity for Greek organizations. Most occupy homes in the surrounding area and membership in Greek organizations is a sizable component of campus involvement.

By 10 votes, the student government decides that "Spartans," not the "Golds," will be the official university mascot. Go Spartans!

SJSC football team is in Honolulu during Pearl Harbor bombing, December 7. They assist city police in enforcing a blackout and guarding the city water supply. Wartime enrollment plummets from 4,053 to 2,960. The faculty is also reduced, as many teachers enter military service or wartime employment. 4,200 students and alumni serve in World War II; 182 give their lives.

The talented members of the Women's Swimming club pose during the annual swim extravaganza. The production runs for two nights in the college pool, presented by the Women's Physical Education department.

In addition to expanding the curricula beyond teacher preparation, President MacQuarrie decides to encourage intercollegiate athletic competition. After hiring Dudley De Groot as football coach, San Jose State Teachers College soon earns a national reputation in football. Ground is broken for Spartan Stadium on S. Seventh Street, one mile from campus.

California Poet Laureate Henry Meade Bland teaches outside San Jose State Teachers College. Best known as an authority on English, Bland frequents California's literary circles and is a close friend of Jack London.

Margaret Jenkins, '25 Education, throws discus at the 1928 and 1932 Olympic Games.

In addition to women's athletic teams in basketball, volleyball, baseball, track, tennis and swimming, students are instructed in general physical education and may participate in intramural sports. Archery and fencing are among the activities taught in gym classes. A high fence surrounds the women's gym to protect the modesty of female athletes.

San Jose State Normal school experiences a decline in enrollments due to World War I. The faculty raises money for wounded sailors and soldiers, and for overseas relief. Although victory is widely celebrated, higher wages in wartime industries attract thousands of would-be teachers, impacting education in California and throughout the nation.

Cooking and sewing classes are offered in the domestic science department. A 1916 fire destroys an estimated $17,000 of equipment used by the domestic science and manual training programs.

At 5:13 a.m. on Wednesday, April 18, 1906, one of California's most devastating earthquakes hits the region. With the heaviest damage along Second Street, north of San Fernando Street, the campus's main building is unsafe. Classes continue in temporary buildings called "shacks," and some are held outside.

Under Principal Charles Childs, the first Normal School graduate to become principal, the San Jose State Normal School undergoes a number of significant changes. In addition to further advances in the manual training program, a new system of grading is adopted and, in response to the decreasing number of male students and the demand for athletics, the first football team is organized.

Manual Training is added to the Normal School curriculum. Students learn to use lathes, saws, planes and other tools as part of their teacher education. At the end of the term, "manual training students exhibit the results of their craftsmanship, which include fancy tables, easels, footstools, and boxes."

With the rise of wheat production in the north and citrus groves in the south, California's economy begins to improve. The population of Los Angeles quadruples between 1880 and 1890, creating the need for a new Normal School. San Jose State Normal School opens a branch in Los Angeles that will become UCLA in 1927.

Charles Edwin Markham, author of "The Man with the Hoe," graduates. The poem became internationally famous and Markham became the school's best-known 19th century graduate. Published in 1899, the poem is written in response to a painting by French artist Jean-Francois Millet and speaks of a world moving into a new century and a time of rapid change.

Minns' Evening Normal School becomes a California State Normal School and has 54 graduates—all women—of a three-year program.

Minns' Evening Normal School (San Francisco Normal School) is established in San Francisco. Principal George W. Minns presides over the first graduates of the Normal School. He believes that a good teacher should try "to elevate his whole school to a high standard of moral excellence."