Guide to the San José State University Oral History Project Collection
Processed by Veronica Cabrera, Reviewed by Danelle Moon.
SJSU Library Special Collections & Archives
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library
San José State University
One Washington Square
San José, CA 95192-0028
Phone: (408) 808-2062
Fax: (408) 808-2063
Email: special.collections@sjsu.edu
URL: http://library.sjsu.edu/sjsu-special-collections/sjsu-special-collections-and-archives
© 2008
Trustees of the California State University. All rights
reserved.
Guide to the San José State University Oral History Project Collection
Collection number: MSS-2006-04-01
SJSU Special Collections & Archives
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library
San José State University
One Washington Square
San José, CA 95192-0028
Phone: (408) 808-2062
Fax: (408) 808-2063
Email: special.collections@sjsu.edu
URL: http://library.sjsu.edu/sjsu-special-collections/sjsu-special-collections-and-archives
- Processed by:
- Veronica Cabrera
- Date Completed:
- 2008
- Reviewed by:
- Danelle Moon
- Encoded by:
- Veronica Cabrera
© 2008 Trustees of the California State University.
All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: San José State University Oral History
Project Collection
Dates: 2005-2006
Collection number: MSS-2006-04-01
collection size:
2 Boxes
1 Linear Foot
Repository:
San José State University Library.
San José, California 95192-0028
Abstract: This collection contains audio tapes
and transcripts documenting the experiences of key
administrators and faculty from San José State University. The
oral histories described, reflect the changes in campus governance,
curriculum and student life from 1952 to the present.
Physical Location: For current information on the
location of these materials, please consult the Library's Online catalog
languages: Languages presented in the collection:
English
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 from manuscripts must be submitted in writing
to the Director of Special Collections. Permission for publication
is given on behalf of the San José State University Library Special
Collections & Archives as the owner of the physical items and is not
intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder,
which must also be obtained by the reader.
Preferred Citation
San José State University Oral History Project, MSS-2005-04-01,
San José State University Library Special Collections &
Archives.
Processing Information
Processed and EAD encoded by Veronica Cabrera, 2008.
History
San José State University (SJSU) has the distinction of being the oldest public
institution of higher education on the West Coast. The early history of SJSU began
in 1857 in San Francisco with the formation of the Minns’ Evening Normal School.
The Minns’ Evening Normal School provided the foundation for the formation of the
first California State Normal School in 1862 and firmly established the college and
university system in the state. In 1870 the campus moved from San Francisco to San José.
San José State University’s name has evolved along with the institution. In 1921
San José State Normal School became San José State Teachers College, later renamed
San José State College in 1935, later renamed California State University, San José
in 1972 when it achieved university status, and finally, San José State University
in 1974. From its beginnings as a normal school to train teachers for the developing
frontier, SJSU has matured into a metropolitan university offering more than 134
bachelor's and master's degrees with 110 concentrations. The California State University
system is the direct descendant of the San José Normal School.
The SJSU Special Collections & Archives received a generous donation from Hobert W.
Burns, former Academic Vice President, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, to sponsor
the San José State University (SJSU) Oral History Project. This donation provided the funding needed to interview
key administrators, faculty and staff. These interviews document the history of the
university from 1952 to the present, and provide a rich array of personal accounts of
student and campus life, faculty and university governance and policymaking.
Scope and Content
This Collection consists of fifteen audio interviews, interview transcriptions, and
project correspondence from San José State University Oral History Project, conducted
in 2005 and 2006. The Interviews were conducted by Dr. Margo McBane, Bonnie Montgomery
and Suzanne Guerra. Each interviewee was asked to reflect on their early experiences
working at SJSU, to describe key historical events, to discuss changes in policy, and
to comment on the how these policies impacted the students, faculty, and administration.
The interviewees include: Wanda Blockhus, Jack Douglas, Lester Lange, Mary Male, Brett
Melendy, Sam Milioto, George Moore, James Noah, Lela Nobel, Theodore Norton, Jay Pinson,
Wiggsy Sivertsen, James Walsh, Reverend Benton White, Jo Bell Whitlach, Ruth Jaffe.
Arrangement
This collection is arranged into one series: I. Oral History
Project, 2005-2006.
Subject Heading
The following terms have been used to index the description of this
collection in the library's online public access catalog.
San José State University-- Curricula--Programs
Education, Higher
Education--California--San José
San José State University (Calif.)
Collection Contents
Box/Folder 1/21-2/1
Series I
Oral History Project 2005-2006
2005-2006
Physical Description:
2 Boxes
Series Scope and Content Summary
This Oral History Project documents the history of SJSU from 1952 to the present.
The interviews cover a wide spectrum of subjects from student life, faculty and
university governance, policymaking, capital campaigns, and changes in higher education
in California. Collectively these interviews document the sweeping social, political and
economic changes that shaped American society and which thereby transformed academic
life and culture at SJSU. The post-war years offered great prosperity and new
opportunities for college students in California. The impact of the Civil Rights
Movement and Vietnam War forever changed academics and influenced the development of
new programs and disciplines, including the formation of New College (1968-1980), an
experimental interdisciplinary school, and new majors in African American Studies,
Chicano Studies, Asian American Studies, and Women Studies. Changes in curriculum and
the diversity of the student body and faculty led to a watershed that moved the
institution forward from a small college to a major metropolitan university. The
interviews and specially the account of Reverend Benton White, Professor of Religious
Studies, present some of the challenges the university faced in addressing civil rights
on campus and in society. Many of the themes from these interviews shed light on student
and faculty strikes during the Vietnam War, the Tommy Smith and John Carlos 1968
Olympics controversy, the development of an ombudsman position to address racial
discrimination and other social justice issues on campus. The tumult of the Civil
Rights Movement and anti-war demonstrations on campus, mirrored other college and
university experiences across the United States, yet laid the foundation for a more
democratic and diverse institution.
Personal Names
- Wanda Blockhus
- Business
- Jack Douglas
- Library
- Ruth Jaffe
- Chemistry
- Lester Lange
- Science
- Mary Male
- Special Education
- Brett Melendy
- History
- Sam Milioto
- Personnel Management
- George Moore
- History
- James Noah
- Journalism
- Lela Nobel
- Political Science
- Theodore Norton
- Political Science
- Jay Pinson
- Engineering
- Wiggsey Sivertsen
- Counseling
- James Walsh
- History
- Reverend Benton White
- Religious Studies
- Jo Bell Whitlach
- Library
Arrangement
This series is arranged alphabetically by Interviewee
Box/Folder 1/1
Interviewee Agreement/Signed
"2005-2006"
Box/Folder 1/2
Interviewee Correspondence
"2005-2006"
Box/Folder 1/3
Interviewee Resume/CV
"2005-2006"
Box/Folder 1/4
Photographs
"1992"
"1995"
"2005"
Box/Folder 1/5
Staff Correspondence
"2005-2006"
Box/Folder 1/6
Blockhurs, Wanda
"March 07, 2006"
Box/Folder 1/7
Douglas, Jack
"March 14, 2006"
Box/Folder 1/08
Jaffe, Ruth
"February 22, 2006"
Box/Folder 1/9
Lange, Lester
"January 27, 2006"
Box/Folder 1/10
Male, Mary
"February 12, 2006"
Box/Folder 1/11
Melendy, Brett
"February 27, 2006"
Box/Folder 1/12
Milioto, Sam
"February 22, 2006"
Box/Folder 1/13
Moore, George
"March 01, 2006"
Box/Folder 1/14
Noah, James
"February 25, 2006"
Box/Folder 1/15
Nobel, Lela
"February 27, 2006"
Box/Folder 1/16
Norton, Theodore
"March 03, 2006"
Box/Folder 1/17
Pinson, Jay
"March 07, 2006"
Box/Folder 1/18
Sivertsen, Wiggsey
"November 30, 2006"
Box/Folder 1/19
Walsh, James
"October 12, 2005"
Box/Folder 1/20
White, Benton (Reverend)
"April 26, 2006"
Box/Folder 1/21
Whitlach, Jo Bell
"February 22, 2006"
Box/Folder 2
Transcripts-Audio Tapes
"2005-2006"
