Description
The Francisco Jiménez Papers, 1962-2010, document Jiménez's achievements as a writer and university professor. Jiménez's written
works, primarily collections of short stories, document his childhood and adolescence as the son of migrant farm workers.
He recounts his personal and academic journey, from working alongside his parents while living in abject poverty and struggling
to learn English at school, to eventually receiving his BA at Santa Clara University, as well as his MA and Ph.D. at Columbia,
and returning to SCU as a professor, where he would teach for more than four decades. The collection ranges from paper materials
and correspondence from his teaching career; to letters, certificates, plaques, and newspaper articles concerning his written
works; to art projects and letters from students after reading his books. This collection is arranged into seven series: Series
I. Academic Activities, 1962-2009; Series II. Writings, 1971-2005; Series III. Speaking Engagements & Events, 1996-2009; Series
IV. Awards & Honors, 1980-2009; Series V. Letters from Schoolchildren, 1991-2010; Series VI. Writings by Others, 1974-2002;
and Series VII. Audiovisual Materials, 1985-2002.
Background
Francisco Jiménez was born June 29, 1943 in San Pedro Tlaquepaque, Mexico, and immigrated illegally to the United States at
the age of four. His family lived in abject poverty while working as migrant farm laborers. As a result, Jiménez was not able
to attend school consistently, often missing large portions of the academic year to work in the fields to help support his
parents and siblings. Eventually, however, he began to excel both in his studies and his mastery of English, particularly
after his family settled in Santa María, California. When Jiménez was in eighth grade, he and his family were deported, but
eventually returned to the country legally. Jiménez graduated from Santa Clara University in 1966 with a B.A. in Spanish.
He received a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship to attend Columbia University, where he received his master's degree in 1969 and Ph.D.
in 1972. While studying at Columbia, he married Laura Facchini, whom he met at Santa Clara, and they would have three children—Francisco,
Miguel, and Tomás. Santa Clara University was founded in 1851 by the Society of Jesus as Santa Clara College and is California's oldest operating
institution of higher learning. It was established on the grounds of Mission Santa Clara de Asìs, the eighth of the original
21 California missions. The college originally operated as a preparatory school and did not offer courses of collegiate rank
until 1853. The institution became known as the University of Santa Clara in 1912, when the schools of engineering and law
were added. For 110 years, Santa Clara University was an all-male school. In 1961, women were accepted as undergraduates and
Santa Clara University became the first coeducational Catholic university in California. The number of students and faculty
tripled over the next decade and the university began the largest building program in school history with eight residence
halls, a student union, and an athletic stadium. In the early 1970s, the Board of Trustees voted to limit the size of the
undergraduate population, an action that was intended to preserve the character and ensure the quality of the university for
generations to come. In 1985, the university adopted Santa Clara University as its official name.
Extent
26.6 linear feet
(43 boxes)
Restrictions
Materials in Archives & Special Collections may be subject to copyright. All requests for permission to publish from manuscripts
must be submitted in writing to the University Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Archives & Special
Collections as the owner of the physical materials, and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder,
which must also be obtained. Copyright restrictions also apply to digital reproductions of the original materials.
Availability
Collection is open for research.