Golden Gate University

Golden Gate University

Former names	YMCA Evening College (1901–1923) Golden Gate College (1923–1972)
Motto	Civium in moribus rei publicae salus (Latin)
Motto in English	The welfare of the state depends upon the morals of its citizens
Type	Private, nonprofit
Established	1901
Endowment	$50.2 million (2016)
President	David J. Fike, PhD
Academic staff	653
Students	5,300
Location	San Francisco, California, United States
Campus	Urban
Colors	Blue and White
Mascot	Griffin
Affiliations	Western Association of Schools and Colleges
Website	www.ggu.edu

Golden Gate University (informally referred to as GGU, or simply as Golden Gate) is a private, nonprofit, nonsectarian, coeducational university located in the Financial District of downtown San Francisco, California. Founded in 1901, GGU specializes in educating professionals through its schools of law, business, taxation, and accounting. The university offers two undergraduate degrees with eight concentrations and 15 graduate degrees with 24 concentrations.

The university evolved out of the literary reading groups of the San Francisco Central YMCA at a time when, according to one contemporary estimate, only one of every two thousand men had a college education. GGU shares its YMCA roots with a number of other U.S. universities, including Capital University Law School, Michigan State University College of Law, Northeastern University (Boston, Massachusetts), Northern Kentucky University Salmon P. Chase College of Law, Roosevelt University, South Texas College of Law, University of Toledo College of Law, Western New England University, and Youngstown State University. On November 1, 1881 at the YMCA building at 232 Sutter Street, which the organization had occupied since 1868, the YMCA Night School was established. Classes were offered in bookkeeping, mathematics, stenography, elocution, Spanish and gymnastics. Successful completion of these courses led to a certificate that was recognized by more than 100 colleges and trade schools. Other offerings of the association would include a common school for boys. In April 1894 the YMCA moved to a new five-story building at the northeast corner of Mason and Ellis Streets.