Skip to Main Content
Disclaimer
CSM Centennial

Stories

 

Dance@CSM

  • Inclusive, varied dance offerings build community and personal flourishing

DanceTwo couples dancing

Family Science Day

  • How one of CSM’s signature events keeps getting bigger and more beloved

Science DayUniversity of California, Berkeley astrophysicist Alexei Filippenko gives the keynote address on “Dark Energy and the Runaway Universe” at CSM Family Science Day in 2011

CSM Library Makerspace

  • 3-D printing, tools for loan and a helpful staff encourage all to tinker, create, innovate, and learn
MakerspaceA Makerspace Dia de los Muertos altar memorializes longtime CSM Communications Professor George Kramm,

Dr. Jennifer Taylor-Mendoza

  • CSM’s 10th president aims for the college’s second century to be even more transformational than its first
President Taylor-MendozaPresident Jennifer Taylor-Mendoza speaks at College of San Mateo’s Centennial Gala on March 31, 2022

Janis Wisherop and CSM Nursing

  • While other nursing schools had to pause during COVID, CSM’s stayed open and provided care to thousands of people
CSM NursingJanis Wisherop and CSM Nursing Students group shot

100 Years of Making Dreams Come Through

  • San Mateo County History Museum exhibits a century of CSM memories
Museum ExhibitThe CSM Library team, who were instrumental in bringing the exhibit to reality

Veterans Resource and Opportunity Center

  • Luis Padilla offers fellowship and support to CSM’s 335-strong military community
VeteransArmy veteran Tina Wong, CSM Class of 2019, is now a senior at Stanford

Masterworks Chorale

  • Beloved ensemble founded at CSM launches its 59th season
  •  
MasterworksMembers of Masterworks Chorale perform shortly before COVID-19 paused live concerts in 2020

Saving CSM's History

  • How four unlikely preservationists rescued priceless records so future Bulldogs may know on whose shoulders they stand
CSM ArchivesMohsen Janatpour, Professor of physics and astronomy at CSM

Helen Souranoff (Class of 1984)

  • Longtime CSM Media Services Manager and Theatre Events Manager
Helen's StoryHelen Souranoff in the CSM Bulldog costume

In for the Long Haul

  • Mike Claire and the Class of 1988
  •  
Long HaulIn 1988, San Mateo Community College District photographer Isago Isao Tanaka captured new full-time instructors, from left, Beth Smith, nursing; Janet Black, art/art history; Susan Estes, speech/‌English; Cathy Kennedy, computer science; and Michael Claire, business/‌accounting

CSM as a Hispanic Serving Institution

  • These federal grants fund innovative centers and programs that benefit all students
Hispanic Serving InstitutionCSM Puente graduates

‘One and Done’ Math

  • CSM’s math department completely revised its teaching to improve equity and success
One and DoneCSM Associate Professor Yvette Butterworth in class

Registration Then and Now

  • For decades, enrolling in classes meant waiting in line for bits of paper
RegistrationHaving collected the IBM punch cards admitting them to their desired classes, mid-1970s students line up in the Student Lounge to enroll

Nicole Quigley-Borg and Softball Champions

  • The Bulldogs’ state title is the first in any CSM sport since 1962
Nicole's StoryThe Bulldogs celebrate their state tournament victory May 22, 2022 at Bakersfield College

Eleanore Druehl Nettle (Class of 1933)

  • Served 33 years on San Mateo Community College District Board of Trustees
Eleanore's StoryElection ad in the San Mateo Times promotes Nettle’s successful run in 1956 for the San Mateo Community College District Board of Trustees.

How We Learned before the Internet

  • Suitcase-sized ‘portables’ and harried AV runners brought data and images to students
How We LearnedCSM students demonstrate portable microfiche readers in the 1960s

Mohsen Janatpour

  • Professor of physics and astronomy at CSM
Mohsen's StoryMohsen Janatpour, Professor of physics and astronomy at CSM

Luke (Bob) Block (CSM Student 1965-68)

  • 1965 Freedom Summer voter-registration worker in Alabama
Bob's StoryLuke (Bob) Block, CSM student 1965-68

John Noce (CSM Class of 1951)

  • Bulldog baseball coach with 772 career wins, 1962–1992
  • Three-time Olympic baseball coach
John's StoryJohn Noce, CSM Class of 1951

Allan R. Brown (CSM Class of 1954)

  • Astute and trusted listener to all persons during 1968 Uprising
    CSM’s top student service award honors his legacy
Allan's StoryAllan Brown, then CSM Dean of Students, presents an award in the 1980s to student Lenny Vogt

Dieter Dengler (CSM Class of 1963)

  • Awarded the Navy Cross for his odds-defying escape
    CSM Aeronautics Student of the Semester, 1962
Dieter's StoryDieter Dengler re-enacts his captivity for Werner Herzog’s 1997 documentary ‘Little Dieter Needs to Fly.’

Monday Morning Blues

  • Salty student-founded weekly kept CSM on edge for 25 years
  •  
Student WeeklyCover from 1980s issue of student-produced Monday Morning Blues.

Cathy Kennedy

  • Developer of CSM’s Networking Technology Lab & curriculum
  • 1998 U.S. Community College Professor of the Year
Cathy's StoryCathy Kennedy in 2021

J. Craig Venter (CSM Class of 1972)

  • First to sequence the genome of a free-living organism
  • Led team that sequenced the human genome
Craig's StoryJ. Craig Venter

Warren Furutani (Student in 1968)

  • Expelled from CSM for protest activity during 1968 Uprising
  • First Asian-American elected to the Los Angeles city school board
Warren's StoryThen-Assemblyman Warren Furutani, booted from CSM in 1968 for his activism, delivers CSM’s 2009 commencement address

The Kohl Mansion

  • SMJC’s first building of its own was a once-grand Victorian in today’s San Mateo Central Park

Kohl MansionSMJC’s first building of its own was a once-grand Victorian in today’s San Mateo Central Park

CSM Centennial Gala

  • College leaders, alumni, students and community members gathered at Burlingame's Kohl Mansion to celebrate 100 years of academic excellence
Centennial GalaCollege leaders, alumni, students and community members at Burlingame's Kohl Mansion

CSM at 75

  • Semisesquicentennial sees history book, parade float and computer-science

75th AnniversaryCSM’s Bulldog float in the Peninsula Celebration Association’s 1997 Fourth of July Parade in downtown Redwood City

Michael Chriss

  • CSM astronomer who often portrayed Galileo left his mark on campus life
Michael's StoryProf. Michael Chriss as Galileo in the CSM planetarium

KCSM-TV

  • Telecommunications program launched top talent and inspired community pride
TV StationFounding KCSM-TV staffers Greg Smith, left, and Skip Buschell

Baldwin Avenue

  • Kodachrome movies preserve pre-World War II life at San Mateo Junior College’s first (and also third) campus
Baldwin CampusSMJC’s main Baldwin Avenue building as seen from above

Dan Odum

  • CSM broadcast instructor
  • Former station manager, KCSM-FM
Dan's StoryDan Odum and a student circa 1984

Life Comes to Burlingame

  • Magazine-sponsored parade with SMJC float kicked off 1953 holiday shopping season
Featured Event1953 Homecoming Queen Gail Tichenor and her court take part in the “Life Comes to Burlingame” parade before 15,000 spectators

Tom Martinez

  • Coach of Bulldog football, softball and women’s basketball, 1974-2005
Tom's StoryCoach Tom Martinez with CSM’s women’s basketball team, 1980s

The Brawl

  • 1929 newsreel film captures muddy San Mateo Junior College frosh-soph contest
Newsreel FilmSan Mateo Junior College freshmen and sophomores joust for Fox Movietone News cameras in the Feb. 19, 1929 Brawl at the Baldwin Avenue campus

Radio's Rooftop Roots

  • CSM’s nationally acclaimed broadcast program began as a 1920s nerd haven on Baldwin campus roof
RadioCurrent KCSM-FM general manager Dante Betteo shows off the station’s music library

Claire Mack

  • Broadcaster and TV producer
  • Community development director, KCSM


Claire's StoryClaire Mack in the KCSM-FM studio

Steinway Stories

  • Synergies between CSM’s music and broadcasting departments yielded one of KCSM-FM manager Dan Odum’s favorite moments: a 1966 radio interview with John H. Steinway of the piano-making clan.
SteinwayKCSM-FM manager Dan Odum, left, interviews John H. Steinway

Building College Heights

  • New campus’ lofty architecture embodied CSM’s equally lofty goal
College HeightsCSM’s College Heights campus in 1964

San Mateo County History Museum

  • Farsighted SMJC professor established today’s esteemed collection
History MuseumThe museum was housed in the 1960s in CSM’s Building 5

Julio Bortolazzo

  • CSM President, 1956–1968
  •  
Julio's StoryCSM President Julio Bortolazzo in the 1960s

Isago Isao Tanaka

  • Staff photographer for the San Mateo Community College District, 1964–1993
Isago's StoryIsago Isao Tanaka at work in the 1970s

Washington Kingsby (CSM Class of 1962)

  • CSM’s first Peace Corps volunteer
  • Olympic boxing coach, 1964

Washington's StoryWashington Kingsby, second from left, and Ivoirien boxers he trained on assignment with the Peace Corps for the 1963 Friendship Games in Dakar, Senegal

Robin Heyeck

  • Fine-art letterpress printer and paper marbler
  • CSM professor of English, 1965-2001
  • Instructor in CSM’s feminist Re-Entry Center for women
Robin's StoryCSM emeritus Professor Robin Heyeck and the Chandler-Price platen press on which she prints fine-art limited editions of poetry and prose

Arnett Caviel

  • CSM counselor and professor of counseling and life skills
  • Former EOPS director, dean of Special Programs and Services and interim chancellor, among many other roles
Arnett's StoryArnett Caviel, right, with Skyline College students in the 1970s

Vince Rascon

  • CSM professor of art; Champion of Mexican culture and of U.S.-Mexican cross-cultural understanding

Vince's StoryVince Rascon with some of his work in the 1960s

Asian Pacific American Film Festival

  • CSM event now in 11th year showcases talent, culture, history and activism
Film FestivalCSM Ethnic Studies Professor Emeritus Lewis Kawahara

Merv Griffin (1943)

  • Entertainment mogul got his start staging a spicy San Mateo Junior College assembly
Merv GriffinMerv Griffin ’43 emceed the first dance of the San Mateo Junior College school year and furnished the entertainment for an assembly earlier that day

Spring Fever

  • Spring Fever brightened CSM students’ hearts from the 1970s until well into the 1990s

Spring FeverStudents race in the fountain outside the library in May 1992 as part of Spring Fever Week

Espresso comes to CSM

  • Student-run Café International poured the campus’ first espresso in 1989 and served up coffee and community for more than 25 years
EspressoCafé International circa 1990 in the former CSM student center, near where today’s Health and Wellness Building now stands

Coyote Point

  • Million-dollar views and plentiful recreation uplifted CSM’s makeshift postwar campus
  •  
Coyote PointStudents between classes at Coyote Point

Jacqueline Grossman Massing (Class of 1976)

  • Holocaust survivor and escapee from Nazi-occupied France
  • Student body president, 1975
  • Activist for affordable child care on campus
Jackie MassingJackie Massing campaigns for Associated Students of CSM president in December 1974

Mary Meta Lazarus Child Development Center

  • CSM’s onsite child development center celebrates 40 years of affordable, high‑quality care
  •  
Child Development CenterCSM Child Development Center Coordinator Maggie Barrientos interacting with young students

College Readiness Program

  • A College of San Mateo program founded for Black learners in the idealistic 1960s changed the lives not just of its students but also of its teachers and supporters
CRPCRP Students in 1968

CRP Becomes EOPS

  • Students’ frustration at losing a valued program for learners of color spurred lawmakers in 1969 to create today’s EOPS
  •  
CRP > EOPSCSM’s College Readiness Program Flier

EOPS: "Above and Beyond" Support

  • CSM’s Extended Opportunity Programs and Services (EOPS) goes the extra mile to help students overcome steep barriers to success
EOPSEOPS coordinator with former students

The Soccer Wars of 1931

  • Nine-year-old San Mateo Junior College made a bold statement of identity in bucking convention to vote soccer a major sport
Soccer WarsCoach Sam Francis is at far left in this 1931 yearbook photo

CSM’s Solidarity Statement of Equity

  • In a season of pain, the campus community resolves to create a culture that is antiracist and equity-advancing

Solidarity StatementKristi Ridgway and Jeremiah Sims

George H. W. Bush Visits CSM

  • Vice-presidential nominee topped off 1980 campaign stop with a jog around campus
Campaign StopGeorge H.W. Bush leads CSM runners on a jog around campus Oct. 1, 1980 with Bulldog track coach Bob Rush, left, and U.S. Rep. Pete McCloskey, right

CSM Centennial Logo

  • Ryan Kelley’s winning design for digital media class is top vote-getter among four finalists
Centennial LogoCSM Centennial Logo

Charles S. “Jum” Morris

  • College president, 1931-1952
  •  
College PresidentCollege president Charles S. Morris with student leaders at Coyote Point circa 1949

SMJC Becomes CSM

  • 1954 name change reflects college’s breadth of course offerings and community role
Name ChangeThe campus newspaper remade its banner over spring break 1954 for the change

Delaware

  • Depression-era San Mateo Junior College learned that while new buildings are important, what’s more important is the community they hold
Delaware CampusFront entrance of the Delaware science building in the 1940s

Whiskerinos, Daisy Dukes and Smokers

  • CSM students in decades past found ways to creatively let off steam
  •  
Letting off SteamWhiskerinos

Sotero Rivera Avilés (CSM Class of 1959)

  • Poet of the Puerto Rican experience; Professor of literature; Disabled Korean War veteran
  •  
PoetSotero Rivera Avilés and grandchild Raquel Salas Rivera

What’s Cooking on the Hill

  • Two iron chefs dominate CSM’s 1994 faculty/staff cookbook: Trustee Tullio Bertini and language arts Professor Jim Bell. We share some recipes.
RecipesJim Bell in class at CSM

Carlena Cushing “Ma” Morris

  • Wife of college President Charles S. “Jum” Morris
  • Founder/director of CSM residence halls and volunteer initiatives
Carlena Morris CSM Centennial Carlena Cushing “Ma” Morris

CSM in World War II

  • The first thing San Mateo Junior College did after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, was to hold an air-raid drill on its Baldwin and Delaware campuses.
World War II“Dry Martini” B-17 Flying Fortress

Promise Scholars

  • What’s better than free college?
  • Free college with caring support and help to succeed
Free CollegePromise Scholars

Awesome Astronomy

  • CSM’s AA/AS degree programs in astronomy cap a long record of student success and community outreach in the field
Astronomy DegreesAstronomy Professor Darryl Stanford

Clovis the Library Crow

  • A bird who moved into CSM’s library became a 1970s symbol of freedom and resistance
Library CrowClovis the Library Crow

The Original Bulldog

  • In the 1920s, CSM had a real English Bulldog.
  • His name was Rival Goldstone.
Rival's StoryRival GoldStone - The Original Bulldog

Marjorie Brace Landrum (CSM Class of 1924)

  • First student to register at then-San Mateo Junior College
  • Longtime secretary at Mills Memorial Hospital
Marjorie's StoryMarjorie Brace Landrum

Louise Glenn Breedlove (CSM Class of 1974)

  • First CSM female varsity swimmer
  • Early-stage Genentech employee
Louise's StoryLouise Glenn Breedlove

Jean Wirth

  • Visionary educator and counselor
  • Coordinator, CSM College Readiness Program (1966-69)


Jean's StoryJean Wirth

Ed Roberts (CSM Class of 1962)

  • Disability rights pioneer
  • First quadriplegic to graduate from CSM and UC Berkeley
  • Founder of America’s first disabled-students program
  • First severely disabled MacArthur “genius grant” recipient
Ed's StoryEd Roberts (CSM Class of 1962)

Les Williams (CSM Class of 1939)

  • First African-American twin-engine bomber pilot
  • Member of World War II-era Tuskegee Airmen
  • Entrepreneur, dancer and dance-studio owner
  • Attorney in San Mateo County for 30 years
Les' StoryLes Williams (CSM Class of 1939)

Archie Williams (CSM Class of 1935)

  • 1936 Olympic champion, 400 meter run
  • Pilot, flight instructor and trainer of Tuskegee Airmen
  • Meteorologist with the Army Air Weather Service
  • Math and computer science teacher for 22 years
Archie's StoryArchie Williams (CSM Class of 1935)

The day it snowed on College Heights

  • Snow sometimes dusts the Bay Area’s highest peaks, such as 4,000-foot Mount Diablo. On the morning of Feb. 5, 1976, the College of San Mateo community woke to much more snow, much closer to home.
Snow DayThe day it snowed on College Heights
Celebrating 100 Years of Academic Excellence