About the Department

Fresno State Normal School was established by an act of the California Legislature on April 10, 1911.  The original campus was what is now Fresno City College. Mathematics was one of the original disciplines taught, although mathematics didn't belong to any department at the time.

The school became Fresno Teachers College in 1921 and the first mention of a PhD mathematics instructor, Frank Roy Morris, appeared in the April 1922 Circular of Information (i.e., Catalog) although he came to the school in 1921. Frank Morris earned his PhD in mathematics from the University of California in 1918.

The Department of Mathematics and Engineering first appeared in the April 1924 Circular of Information as a department with Frank Morris as the chair. At that time Dr. Morris was listed as an Assistant Professor of Mathematics. In the January 1925 Circular of Information, Dr. Morris was listed as an Associate Professor of Mathematics, and in March 1928 was listed as Professor of Mathematics.

On September 15, 1935 the school was renamed Fresno State College.  The photo of Dr. Morris shown here came from the 1934 Campus (the school yearbook). At that time the mathematics faculty consisted of four full-time and two part-time members and the department had a student enrollment of about 300.

In 1948, the Department of Mathematics and Engineering split into two separate departments, with Dr. Morris as head of the Mathematics Department.

In 1952, under President Arnold Joyal, the Departments were put into Divisions. The Mathematics Department was put in the Division of Physical Sciences and Dr. Morris was named head of the Division and also remained head of the Department of Mathematics.