California State Colleges

Administrative History

The California State University originated from the Donahoe Act (SB33, Chapter 49, Statues of 1960) authored by State Senator George Miller, which enacted certain suggestions from the California Master Plan for Higher Education: 1960-1975 (Master Plan). The act united the State Colleges into the California State Colleges as a public trust, created the California State Colleges Board of Trustees, and moved authority over the nineteen state colleges from the State Board of Education to the Board of Trustees. Even though the Master Plan recommended legislative independence similar to the University of California Board of Regents, the Board of Trustees reported to the legislature on budget allocation and various state agencies concerning such topics as employment and campus expansion. Despite this restriction, the Trustees centralized the diverse and independent campuses into a unified system.

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