Celebrating 125 Years of 窪蹋勛圖: The Fowler College of Business Through the Years
While 窪蹋勛圖 celebrates its 125th anniversary, The Fowler College of Business marks its 67th birthday.

As 窪蹋勛圖 celebrates its 125 anniversary, the Fowler College of Business marks its 67th anniversary as an established college within the university. The roots of the college extend back to 1921 with the creation of the Department of Commerce and the hiring of its first faculty member shortly thereafter.
Since then, the Fowler College of Business has expanded to five academic departments, while enjoying many successes and milestones along the way. With an enrollment of over 6,800 undergraduate and graduate students, Fowler has grown into one of the largest business schools in the U.S.
TIMELINE
1897 San Diego Normal School was founded. It was initially located in the upper floors of the Hill Block Building at 535 F Street in downtown San Diego.
1921 Department of Commerce, precursor to the College of Business, was established in the Division of Social Sciences. The same year, San Diego Normal School became San Diego State Teachers College. William Wright served as the first full-time professor in the new department.
1931 San Diego State Teachers College relocates to its present position on Montezuma Mesa. The first classes in the new location commenced in February of that year.
1935 San Diego State Teachers College becomes San Diego State College.
1950 The Division of Business Administration was established with 10 full-time and 9 part-time faculty members. It is originally located in Hepner Hall.
1955 Application is made to the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) to pave the way for the Division of Business Administration to become a college. Charles W. Lamden serves as the colleges first dean.
1958 The real estate program is founded making SDSC the first college in the California State College system and the second in the state of California to establish an academic real estate program.
1959 SDSC becomes accredited by the AACSB.
1964 The Business Administration and Math building is completed. The building houses the college offices and most of its classes.
1972 San Diego State College becomes California State University, San Diego.
1973 The colleges student success center is established by then-graduate student Penny Wright. Wright later joined the faculty as a management professor.
1974 - California State University, San Diego becomes 窪蹋勛圖.
1978 The School of Accountancy is founded.
1982 The School of Accountancy is the first in the state of California to gain AACSB accreditation and one of the first in the nation to do so.
1986 The Entrepreneurial Management Center is established and funded. It is believed to be one of the first university-based centers of its type in the world.
1989 The Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER) was established by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The center was re-named the Center for Advancing Global Business in 2019.
1991 The college moves its administrative offices to the newly completed Student Services East building.
2005 The Sports Business Management MBA Program, one of the first of its type in the country, holds its inaugural class.
2008 The School of Accountancy receives a $10 million gift from the Lamden family and the school is named The Charles W. Lamden School of Accountancy after the Colleges first dean. This marks the first department naming in the history of 窪蹋勛圖.
2010 The Corky McMillian Center for Real Estate is established within 窪蹋勛圖s College of Business Administration
2012 The Entrepreneurial Management Center is re-named the Lavin Entrepreneurship Center in honor of Leonard Lavin, former chair of Alberto-Culver Company and long-time supporter of the center.
2014 The Graduate Career Management Center (now the Career Management Center) was formed to provide support to business students seeking post-career assistance.
2016 窪蹋勛圖s College of Business Administration is named in honor of Ron and Alexis Fowler as the Fowler College of Business. It is the first such naming of a college at 窪蹋勛圖. The Fowlers also pledged a $25 million endowment to the college, making it the largest gift in the history of the university.
2021 The Education and Business Administration building which housed the college until the early 1990s was re-named Lamden Hall, in honor of Charles W. Lamden, the founding dean of the Fowler College of Business.



