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Founded in 1960, the 274-acre Sonoma State University is dedicated to the liberal arts and sciences and offers undergraduate programs in business and economics, natural sciences, social sciences and arts and humanities.

Jean and Charles Schulz Information Center

Sonoma State University Art Gallery
1801 East Cotati Ave., Rohnert Park, CA. Open Tuesday through Friday, 11am to 4pm, Saturday and Sunday, 12 to 4pm, and closed Mondays and holidays. Admission is free. The Gallery is wheelchair-accessible.

Sonoma State University Center for the Performing Arts

Best Place to Discover Regional Writers Both Famous and Not-So-Famous
Jack London was the first writer to make a million bucks for his literary efforts, but the North Bay has been the home to many famous and not-so-famous authors over the years. Now the Jean and Charles Schulz Information Center, on the campus of Sonoma State University, has gathered together a collection of writers from London to sainted food writer M.F.K. Fisher and given them a space of honor. The $41.5 million center contains 600,000 books, but it's the acquisition of a nearly $500,000 collection of autographed and inscribed works by London donated by a Minnesota collector that really makes this regional writer's collection such a standout. It includes rare first editions of nearly all of London's titles, along with signed letters and original magazine articles. The center has also collected the works of many other notable Sonoma County scribes and will offer tutorial services for fledgling writers in the student body. --Bill English (Northern California Bohemian, March 22, 2001)

Best Place to Tie the Knot
Way back in the newly enlightened '60s, during Sonoma State University's very first years of operation--it moved to its current Rohnert Park location in 1966--the now venerable institution held a certain reputation. There were rumors of outlandish goings on--in and out the classroom. Some of them were true. That child psychology class that focused on playing with games and toys all day? True. That "class project"--also offered by the psychology department--in which students painted their bare behinds and then made pretty paper prints of them? True. But what about those other rumors, whispered tales about spontaneous co-ed, student-faculty skinny-dipping parties, once held frequently out at the pond? Sources close to the matter insist that the fabled "naked nights" ... are also true. And the starting-off point of all this nocturnal moisture-seeking was usually "the island," a charming, grass-covered, bridge-accessed spot in the middle of the man-made, duck-occupied pond. Which brings us to our point: The island, alas, has not seen such soul-stirring shenanigans in many a year, but its historical significance--and close logistical proximity to kitchen facilities at the student center--have made it into a surprisingly popular spot for weddings. It's not all that surprising, we suppose. Surrounded by green, rolling, well-manicured lawns, the pond can be nothing short of breathtaking on a bright spring or summer day. A perfect spot for saying the old "I do's." Besides, you've got to be picking up plenty of positive juju by pledging your troth on the very same spot where your forebears once got all naked and frisky, right? May your wedding night be so much fun. The pond is at the north-central edge of the campus, just east of the art building and a mere stone's throw from the campus commons. --David Templeton (Sonoma County Independent, March 25, 1999)

Best Geological Oddity
So Rolfe Erickson, professor of geology at SSU, is perhaps not strange enough to qualify as a Sonoma County oddity, though generations of his students--many of whom went on to have careers in the sciences--might gladly go so far as to call him one of a kind. There's his enthusiastic, storytelling approach to teaching the history of rocks and their various migratory behaviors, not to mention the professor's ever-present sense of humor and caustic satirical wit. Besides his joke-telling penchant and general educational excellence within the walls of SSU's Darwin Hall, Erickson also just happens to know roughly everything about geology. Which is a good thing, because for the last few years, he has held the singular distinction of being the official geology expert for the Encyclopaedia Britannica, providing annual geological updates to that esteemed receptacle of needed knowledge. Should anything of scientific note take place during the year--or any new theories arise to unseat previously held ones--Erickson is on the case, interpreting and elaborating on the particulars, all for the benefit of the encyclopedia-reading public. "I just sent off this year's compilation," Erickson proudly affirms. "Three of four new asteroid impacts have been discovered, so I wrote about that. I forget what else. Although," he cheerily mentions, "there was a lot about the decay and possible impending collapse of the west Antarctic ice sheet." Excuse me? That sounds serious. "Well, it has major ramifications for those of us who live in low coastal environments," he confirms. "Much of the west Antarctic ice sheet is melting back. It has been doing that for a long time, but it's perhaps becoming unstable at this point and is beginning to melt back a lot faster than before. When it melts back, the sea level will rise about 30 meters. That'll require many of us to move to higher ground--to the third floor of Darwin Hall, for sure. It'll be like Waterworld. That's when Kevin Costner will appear, roaring along." Sounds like too much excitement for me. I think I'll just read the book. --David Templeton (Sonoma County Independent, March 25, 1999)

Shining Brightly
The Green Music Festival on the SSU campus spotlights world-class chamber music stars. (North Bay Bohemian, July 3, 2003)

In Too Deep
Debt from college loans is bigger than ever. (North Bay Bohemian, February 27, 2003)

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