We look back at 25 years of SF State Magazine through the covers that defined an era
A lot has changed in the last quarter century … including this magazine. But the mission statement in the very first issue of SF State (then SFSU) Magazine — cover-dated Fall 2020 — remains the same.
“This magazine is a new connection between San Francisco State and people who are important to us: our alumni, faculty, staff, students, donors and friends,” wrote University President Robert A. Corrigan. “It’s a way to inform you of the people and programs that make our University such a vital part of the Bay Area, and it demonstrates the many ways that San Francisco State connects with the world beyond our campus.”
Since those words were originally printed, a lot of issues (51, including this one), a lot of articles (more than we could count!) and a lot of design styles have come and gone. Yet the mission endures: to link alumni Gators to the San Francisco State University of today, still changing lives and shaping the world.
In this special anniversary retrospective, we highlight 11 standout covers that capture the story of SF State Magazine over the past 25 years. It’s a chance to see the magazine’s evolution — and reflect on the ongoing transformation of the University it chronicles.
The magazine’s inaugural issue (put together by Executive Editor Janet Wade and Senior Publications Editor John Kroll) featured a Q&A with “A Lesson Before Dying” author Ernest J. Gaines (B.A., ’57), a guide to using that promising new-ish tool “the World Wide Web” to land a job and an item about a new student publication (Golden Gate Xpress) set to replace the old Golden Gater.
The cover subject for the magazine’s third issue, Joe Marshall (M.A., ’74), has spent decades working to end youth violence and keep young people on the path to success. The Omega Boys Club, which he founded in 1989, continues that mission today as part of Alive & Free, the nonprofit he leads as executive director. The organization helps youth stay “alive and free” by addressing the root causes of violence, offering education, mentorship and college scholarships.
The cover of the Spring 2006 issue highlighted the University’s connection to influential painter Robert Bechtle. The image — Bechtle’s painting “New Stands, Los Banos, 1973” — displays his renowned photorealistic style. Inside the magazine is a feature tracing Bechtle’s art, approach and legacy, especially his decades as a professor in the SFSU Art Department. Recruited in 1968 by fellow photorealist and faculty member Richard McLean, Bechtle taught painting at SFSU for more than 30 years, shaping generations of artists and deepening the University’s ties to his California street‑scene vision.
“What’s out there?” this cover asks — and SFSU astronomers were offering some of the answers. The cover story explored SFSU’s expanding role in astronomy, from the search for extrasolar planets to investigations of how dark matter shapes the cosmos. Use of powerful telescopes and bold research strategies helped the University carve out a prominent place in astrophysics and gain recognition on the national stage.
As the magazine approached its 10th anniversary, the cover featured “Language of the Birds” — a sculpture by Dorka Keehn and alumnus Brian Goggin (B.A., BFA; ’90) in North Beach. Created with support from the San Francisco Arts Commission, the piece was showcased in a story celebrating public art by Gator artists.
Alumna Josie Iselin (MFA, ’94) provided the cover image for this issue — a striking photo of kelp. At the time, Iselin’s latest book, “An Ocean Garden: The Secret Life of Seaweed,” had just hit shelves. Iselin remains active as a photographer and book designer today. Her latest project is the web-based book “The Mysterious World of Bull Kelp” (bullkelp.info).
The art on this cover (by Dave Cutler) invites the reader to talk about sex — something SFSU faculty members were willing to do long before their peers at other universities. The cover story recounts how a once‑small Psychology class on human sexuality grew into a landmark course — “Variations of Human Sexuality” — that tackled taboo topics and drew hundreds of students. That course paved the way for today’s Department of Sociology and Sexuality Studies at SFSU.
Illustrator Peter Horvath used archival photos by Terry Schmidt and Phiz Mezey to create a striking collage that captured the high stakes and drama of the 1968 student strike at SFSU. The associated feature story (by podcaster and Department of Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts Professor Yumi Wilson) took a nuanced historical look back at the strike, with fresh interviews and archival research that traced how the protest reshaped higher education, led to the founding of the first College of Ethnic Studies and left a lasting legacy on campus governance and social justice movements.
The centerpiece of the magazine’s 39th issue was a fond farewell to outgoing SFSU President Leslie E. Wong, who was leaving the University after seven years of leadership. His parting words in a Q&A interview with the magazine are still resonant today: “There’s a spirt of confidence and optimism here that will persist, and I’m proud and honored to have been a part of that.”
As the COVID-19 pandemic spread, the magazine turned its focus to the toll lockdown was taking on students. Photos and personal stories submitted through Associate Professor of Journalism Kim Komenich’s “Photojournalism III” course became the backbone of a feature story, “The New Now,” capturing the isolation, stress and tedium of life in lockdown. The Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) took notice, naming SF State Magazine the 2021 Robert Sibley Magazine of the Year — the highest honor for university magazines.
With its 25th anniversary drawing near, SF State Magazine continued to evolve, with elements like a new paper stock, a less text-heavy design and an emphasis on bold original photography coming to the forefront. What direction will the magazine go in next? Keep coming back issue after issue to find out!
Want to continue your digital stroll through SF State Magazine’s last quarter century? Go to magazine.sfsu.edu/archive/archives.html.
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