Golden Gate University (GGU or Golden Gate) is a private university in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1901, GGU specializes in educating professionals through its schools of law, business, taxation, technology, accounting, and undergraduate studies. The university offers 8 undergraduate degrees and 17 graduate degree programs.[4]
The night school was renamed the Evening College on October 1, 1896, and became a full-fledged operation in 1901 with the creation of a law school. The law school was the first of the Y's educational departments to offer a full degree-level course, and thus the university traces its founding to the law school's establishment. Courses in Accountancy and Business Administration leading to the degree of Bachelor of Commercial Science began in 1908. Later, courses in foreign trade were added. The YMCA building was destroyed in the fire that followed the 1906 earthquake. Following the earthquake, the school was conducted out of tents, and later leased space at 1220 Geary St. (now Geary Boulevard near Franklin Street in the Western Addition). In November 1910 the school moved into the YMCA's new building (closed in 2009) at 220 Golden Gate Avenue at Leavenworth Street, in the Tenderloin neighborhood.[8]
A student contest in 1927 resulted in the adoption of the new name Golden Gate, originally suggested by law student Charles H. Pool Jr. (1895–1977) (LLB 1925) because contest judges thought it symbolized "romantic California".[9] The institution was separately incorporated from the Central YMCA on May 18, 1923, as Golden Gate College with the power to confer degrees as California law then provided.[10] The college became fully independent of the YMCA in 1962; however, the "Y" contributed members to the school's Board of Trustees for some time thereafter.[11]
In 1972, the college expanded and elevated itself to university status. In 1979, a new "west wing" of the university was completed, where most of the classroom space is located today.
Academics
Golden Gate University is primarily a post-graduate institution focused on professional training in law and business, with its smaller undergraduate programs linked to its larger graduate and professional schools. Its six schools, with the year a university degree was first offered in the academic discipline, are:
Golden Gate University School of Law was founded in 1901. The School of Law offers the Master of Legal Studies, LLM, and JSD (Doctor of Juridical Science) degrees. The school is no longer accepting students seeking the JD degree after failing to satisfy American_Bar_Association accreditation requirements, including especially, the requirement that students attain a 75% pass rate on the Bar_examination within two years of graduation.[16]
The School of Undergraduate Studies offers the degrees of Associate of Arts, BA, and BS.
Golden Gate first offered distance education programs in 1993 via correspondence, online courses in 1997, then began offering fully accredited online degree programs in 1998. Online offerings include 13 graduate degrees, two undergraduate degrees, seven graduate certificates, and 10 undergraduate certificates, all of which can be completed entirely online.[20] GGU's Online program is rated #89 in U.S. News & World Report's list of the Top Online Graduate Business Programs,[21] while the online bachelor's program was ranked #63 out of 1,200 programs evaluated.[22] GGU currently uses the Moodle online learning platform to manage and deliver course content.
Rankings
Washington Monthly Ranked GGU #1 on its list of Best Colleges for Adult Learners four years in a row (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019)[23][24]
TaxTalent ranked Golden Gate University the highest-regarded MS Tax program in the United States along with DePaul University, which tied for first place. The results were based on the responses of 127 heads of corporate tax departments across the country.[25]
Administration
At its incorporation as a separate institution from the YMCA in 1923, the college governance was divided between a four-member (increased to nine members in 1948) Board of Governors, which ran educational programs of the college including the conferral of degrees, and a five-member Board of Trustees to hold the college property. The appointments of the director, governors and trustees were made by the San Francisco YMCA. A 1948 reorganization raised the director of education to president, the incumbent director, Nagel T. Miner (since 1931), becoming president. In September 1949 the board of governors and board of trustees were merged, with all current trustees retiring, and the members of the board of governors being elected onto the board of trustees, which had 14 members out of a possible maximum of 21 members.
Currently, the university is managed by a self-sustaining board of trustees of between 15 and 20 members. Trustees serve 3-year terms with one-third up for election annually. The president of the university and the president of the Alumni Association hold voting seats on the board. Additionally, there are four non-voting ex officio members, the President of the Student Government, the President of the Student Bar Association (law school student government); the President of the University Faculty Senate, and the chair of the law faculty. The trustees are selected from the worlds of business, law, accounting, taxation, and philanthropy.[26] Since 2003 the majority of trustees have been alumni of the university. Of the current trustees[27] all but three have at least one academic degree (excluding honorary degrees) from GGU.[28]
The day-to-day operation of the university is in the hands of a president, provost, vice-presidents, and the deans of the schools (Accounting, Business, Law, Undergraduate Studies, Taxation, and Technology).
Presidents
Before 1948, the top executive was called the educational director.
GGU shown at night--second building on the right (the taller building behind is the Chase Bank)
The GGU campus is located at 536 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94105 [38][39] in the Financial District of San Francisco. It maintains satellite teaching/learning sites in the following locations:
The Seattle learning site (opened in 1974) is the only one located outside of California. It offers programs in taxation.
Students
Roughly 67 percent of students who attend Golden Gate University are in graduate business programs, 12
percent are in undergraduate programs and 21 percent are law
students.
According to Data USA, "The enrolled student population at Golden Gate University-San Francisco is 32.4% White, 17.5% Hispanic or Latino, 17.2% Asian, 12.7% Black or African American, 1.65% Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islanders, 1.32% American Indian or Alaska Native, and 1.11% Two or More Races."[40]
^GGU by the Numbers, GGU Magazine, July 13, 2011 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on November 16, 2011. Retrieved September 11, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^"Law for Busy Men". San Francisco Call. September 6, 1902.
^"For Young Men Only: Thirteenth Season at the Young Men's Christian Association". The (San Francisco, Calif.) Morning Call. October 31, 1893. p. 8 col. 6.
^Miner, Nagel T. (1983). The Golden Gate University Story, Volume 1. San Francisco 94105: Golden Gate University Press. p. 14. ISBN0-943844-01-0. The author was the president of GGU from 1931 to 1958.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
^History of Higher Educational Annual 2001. p. 62.
^Sharpe, Russell T. (1990). The Golden Gate University Story, Volume 2. San Francisco 94105: Golden Gate University Press. p. 272. ISBN0-943844-02-9. The author was the president of GGU from 1958 through 1970.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
^"Golden Gate University Elects New Officers to Board of Trustees; New Officers, New Members -- Mostly GGU Alumni". Businesswire. November 5, 2002.
^ abcMiner, Nagel (1982). "The Law School 1930-1941". digitalcommons.law.ggu.edu. Golden Gate University School of Law. pp. Chapter 7 in: The Golden Gate University Story, Volume One, pp. 69–82. (Golden Gate University Press, 1982.). Retrieved January 10, 2021.
^ abcMiner, Nagel (1982). "The Law School 1944-1950". digitalcommons.law.ggu.edu. Golden Gate University School of Law. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
^"Celebrating 100 Years". digitalcommons.law.ggu.edu. Golden Gate University School of Law. 2001. pp. Digital Commons: Articles About GGU Law. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
^Butz, Otto W.; Butz, Velia; Donnelly, Nisa (2008). "The Law School Comes of Age (1970-1992)". digitalcommons.law.ggu.edu. Golden Gate University School of Law. p. Chapter 7 in: Voyage of Discovery, A History of Golden Gate University, Volume III 1970–1992, pp. 153–193. (Golden Gate University Press, 2008). Retrieved January 10, 2021.