A newly remodeled Westfield San Francisco Centre opened today with President Robert Corrigan, Maria Schriver, Mayor Gavin Newsom and other public figures in the crowd.

With a glass ceiling atrium above and the bustle of Market Street below, SF State will relocate two of its nine colleges to the 835 Market St. building this January.

The largest urban mall west of the Mississippi, the Downtown Center will house the SF State College of Extended Learning and graduate business programs on the entire sixth floor and part of the fifth floor of the building.

The move will mean relocating some 7,700 students from the old extended learning campus located at 425 Market. Approximately 700 students will come from SF State’s MBA program at the main campus and the executive MBA program in Redwood City.

John Dopp, the director of graduate business programs, said it will provide better opportunities for SF State graduate business students.

"Well first it means much greater exposure and access to the business community downtown," Dopp said. The proximity of the new facility, Dopp said, may mean more guest speakers from and interaction with San Francisco's business community than is now available at SF State's main campus. It will also allow for "more networking and collegiality" among graduate business students than before.

"We'll have a complete new facility to call our own instead of being scattered all over (the main) campus."

Extended learning courses taken at the Holloway campus will remain there.

The Market and Powell Streets mega-mall, which is owned by the Westfield company of Australia, will feature the west coast flagship of Bloomingdales, a 9-screen CinéArts-Century Theatres movie complex, a large spa, offices and over 150 boutiques and shops.

“It means more space and more classrooms,” said Ellen Griffin, spokeswoman for SF State.

The Downtown Center will have 31 classrooms and 9 computer labs, Griffin said.

Funds to pay for the new Downtown Center came from the school’s overall budget and registration and course fees.

No new parking garages have been built for the property but public transportation available, including seven MUNI bus lines, the MUNI Metro, BART and AMTRAK buses.

“An expanded downtown campus will signicantly enrich the continuing education opportunities that the College of Extended Learning provides to the San Francisco Bay Area community,” said College of Extended Learning Dean Gail Whitaker in a press release.

Funds to pay for the new Downtown Center came from the school's overall budget and registration and course fees.

No new parking garages have been built for the property but public transportation available, including seven MUNI bus lines, the MUNI Metro, BART and AMTRAK buses.

The College of Extended Learning is primarily geared toward assisting working professionals in providing skills needed for career advancement or change.
Altogether more than 60 programs are available including paralegal, holistic health and multimedia technology.

No prior degree is necessary to attend the CEL but some programs may have pre-requisites. Prices for each program vary. For more information on the CEL programs visit www.cel.sfsu.edu .