THE EARLY YEARS

In 1922 San Mateo Junior College began in unused rooms of the old San Mateo High School with just 33 students. The following year the college acquired a new home at the landmark Kohl Mansion located in what is now Central Park. As its popularity grew and enrollment increased the need for more space was apparent, so they moved once again, this time into the Baldwin Campus.
Photo: The Baldwin Campus.

THE DEPRESSION YEARS

San Mateo Junior College kept hope alive during the Depression Years when so many were out of work. Young people seemed at a loss for things to do and school seemed like a good idea to enhance their future, and best of all - it was free! Attendance swelled and students commuted from all over the Bay Area to attend classes. By 1939 the college was serving more than 1600 students, and an evening adult school was created that taught trade and vocational courses which proved to be a phenomenal sucess.
Photo: Commuter students attending classes at the Baldwin Campus.

THE WAR YEARS

The college was hit hard by World War II. Men enlisted for service, women went to work, and resources were directed toward the war effort all around the country. By 1944 enrollment had dropped to its lowest point since the Kohl Mansion days. When the war ended in 1945 enrollment surged and again more space was needed so the college leased space at Coyote Point. Classes were now held in three locations, The Peninsula Avenue Science Building, the Downtown Baldwin Campus and Coyote Point.
Photo: SMJC WWII banner, each star represents 25 faculty & student casualties.

THE BORTOLAZZO YEARS

In 1956 it was time for a change in management and Julio Bortolazzo was hired to man the helm. He was a big man, loud and demanding, but also charismatic and dynamic, and this powerful man he had big plans for the little junior college. He drafted a 25 year plan to build four campuses to serve the needs of students along the peninsula: the main campus - San Mateo Junior College and three satellite campuses - Skyline to the north, Canada to the south and a coastal campus in Half Moon Bay. The plan was adopted by the Board of Trustees in 1957, and the district purchased 153 acres on College Heights - the future home of CSM.
Photo: Julio Bortolazzo, SMJC President, 1956-1968

THE COLLEGE HEIGHTS YEARS

Construction began in 1960, and a meer three years later San Mateo Junior College campus opened and would become the largest two-year school in California, with 22,000 registered students. It was a great time for the college, enrollment was up, students were interested in learning and the college was seen as the epicenter of San Mateo. But a dark period for the college was approaching. There were several movements of great dimension happening at the time and the college was not immune the turmoil. It was a time of mixed emotions and confusion for the college in the era of the Civil Rights movement, Womens Liberation, the Free Speech movement, protesting the Vietnam War, and riots broke out on campus.

The seventies brought a quiet relief from the turmoil of the sixties. Classes were full from morning through evening, a child care center was opened on campus, and many programs for the disabled we introduced into the cirriculum. But the passage of Proposition 13 hurt the college enormously as funding changed from one based on need to one based on budget. Community colleges continue to remain the least funded of all educational institutions.
Photo: Land purchased on College Heights before and after construction.

A NEW ERA

The San Mateo County Community College District continues to serve the needs of the community, and those needs continue to evolve. The demographics include a more diverse student body as well as older students wanting enhance job skills.

The look of the campus is changing as well. A new science building is currently under construction, which is the first new building to be erected since the campus was built forty-years-ago. A new Regional Public Safety Training Building is also being constructed to house the Police Academy, and the Student Center will also be renovated to better serve of the students of today.

Today the College of San Mateo continues to provide a top-quality education to students in the Bay Area.