San Marcos to Get Branch of S. Diego State

The California State Board of Trustees on Wednesday selected what once was a chicken ranch in San Marcos as the site for a northern San Diego County branch of San Diego State University.

The unanimous action by the board, meeting in Long Beach, paves the way for negotiations on purchase of the land and lays the groundwork for construction of what ultimately would be the state system’s 20th branch campus.

“The board was very impressed with the economic expansion in north San Diego County and now they have committed to a site where we will provide quality higher education for that corner of the world,” said Lee Grissom, a trustee from San Diego.

Effort Begun in 1968

Efforts to build a northern campus date to 1968, when Sen. William Craven (R-Oceanside) introduced legislation that would have created a branch. That effort failed, but a decade later Craven helped secure a state grant that enabled the university to open a small academic center in a San Marcos shopping center where a few SDSU classes are given.

Enrollment at the center has risen in recent years and growth in the northern part of the county persuaded university officials of the need for further expansion. The branch campus also is expected to serve the growing areas of southern Riverside and Orange counties.

The campus would be the first branch added to the state university system in two decades, according to Deputy Provost Jack Smart. In 1965, trustees approved the construction of Cal State Bakersfield, which opened its doors in 1969.