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San José State University Commencement & Honors Convocations Records
MSS-2009-02-03  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Access
  • Publication Rights
  • Preferred Citation
  • Project Information
  • Processing Information
  • Organizational History
  • Scope and Content
  • Arrangement
  • University Archives Collection

  • Language of Material: English
    Contributing Institution: SJSU Special Collections & Archives
    Title: San José State University Commencement & Honors Convocations Records
    Identifier/Call Number: MSS-2009-02-03
    Physical Description: 15.0 boxes (12.67 linear feet)
    Physical Description: 101 Rolls of microfilm
    Date (inclusive): 1889-2018
    Date (bulk): 1956-1968
    Abstract: The San José State University Commencement & Honors Convocation Records, 1889-2018 consists of programs, event planning paperwork, newspaper clippings, scrapbooks and correspondence for the university's commencement and honors convocation ceremonies, as well as programs for the African American (later renamed to Black Grad) and Chicano Commencement ceremonies. Photographs and negatives are included in the records.

    Access

    The collection is open for research.

    Publication Rights

    Copyright has been assigned to the San José State University Library Special Collections & Archives. All requests for permission to publish or quote manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director of Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Special Collections & Archives as the owner of the collection. Copyright restrictions also apply to digital representations of the original materials. Use of digital files from or derived from these collections is restricted to research and educational purposes.

    Preferred Citation

    San José State University Commencement & Honors Convocations Records, MSS-2009-02-03, San José State University Library Special Collections and Archives.

    Project Information

    This finding aid was created as part of the Survey and Cataloging Project, a two-year San José State University Library grant project funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. The project began in 2008. The Project Director is Danelle Moon. The Project Archivist is Erin Louthen.

    Processing Information

    Collection processed by Jane Gilvin. Finding aid EAD encoded by Lynn Sheehy. Reviewed by Danelle Moon and Erin Louthen. Series III added by Dana V. Lema in 2017. Finding Aid updated by Christine Thuy Minh Nguyen in Feb 2023, adding Box 15.

    Organizational History

    In 1857 the San Francisco Board of Education established Minns' Evening Normal School for current and prospective teachers in the city. Named after its principal, George W. Minns, the institution was formally established as the first California State Normal School by the State Legislature in 1862. A decade later, the Legislature voted to move the Normal School to San José, and the school relocated to its new home on Washington Square prior to the fall term of 1872. After a fire destroyed the Normal School building in 1880, the Legislature authorized $200,000 to construct a new building on the same site. Completed in 1881, the building was commonly referred to as the Second State Normal School. After several names and curriculum changes, Minns' Normal school is now San José State University, offering more than 134 bachelor's and master's degrees with 110 concentrations, and is recognized as one of the top public universities granting such degrees in the West.
    Minns' Evening Normal School held commencement ceremonies in 1861 and 1862 with two graduating classes. After the institution became the California State Normal School, the first commencement was held on May 14th, 1863. The university's Honors Convocation was inaugurated in 1962 by the Phi Kappa Phi, Sigma Xi and Phi Beta Kappa Faculty Club honor societies. The convocation is intended to recognize President's and Dean's scholars--undergraduate students who have earned a 4.0 or 3.65 grade point average or higher in at least two contiguous semesters of the three semesters prior to the Honors Convocation, respectively.

    Scope and Content

    The San José State University Commencement & Honors Convocation Records 1889-2018 (bulk 1956-1968) consist of programs, event planning paperwork, newspaper clippings, scrapbooks and correspondence for the university's commencement and honors convocation ceremonies. Photographs are also included in the records as well as negatives and negative indexes document the commencement exercises. Letters inviting commencement speakers and copies of university presidents' speeches are also included. The extensive date range of commencement programs shows the growth of the student population and the evolution of the university's academic programs. Also documented is the move from three commencements per academic year to a single commencement ceremony. For many of the years covered in the records, event programs are the only items that exist documenting commencement and convocation ceremonies. Accrual in Feb 2023 added programs from the SJSU Annual African American Commencement (later renamed to Black Grad) and the SJSU Annual Chicano Commencement.

    Arrangement

    This collection is arranged into three series: Series I. Academic Senate Commencement Committee, 1925-1978 (bulk 1956-1968); Series II. Academic Affairs: Commencement & Honors Convocation, 1889-2017 and Series III: Academic Affairs: Commencement & Honors Convocation Negatives, 1990-1999.

    University Archives Collection

    Record Group: 8.2.1

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

    Commencement ceremonies -- California -- San Jose
    Education, Higher -- California -- San Jose
    San José State University -- History
    San José State Normal School -- History
    San José State Teachers College -- History
    California State University, San José -- History
    San Jose State College