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Guide to the San José State University Academic Senate Records
MSS-2009-03-07
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Title: SJSU Academic Senate Records
Dates: 1952-2004
Bulk Dates: 1970-1999
Collection number: MSS-2009-03-07
Creator:
San José State University Academic Senate
Collection Size:
3 Hollinger boxes, 1 flat box, 86 Paige boxes
(103.96 linear feet)
Repository:
San José State University. Library.
San José, California 95192-0028
Abstract: The SJSU Academic Senate Records, 1952-2004 (bulk 1970-1999), document the history and administrative responsibilities of
the Academic Senate. The records consist of general, administrative and committee files, budget reports and correspondence,
as well as newspaper clippings and audio tapes. The records also include files from the Academic Council, the forerunner to
the Academic Senate. In addition, the Academic Senate files document the departmental and program controversies in the Economics
and Athletic departments in the 1970s and 1980s, as well as the Koehmstedt civil rights case, which challenged the university's
accommodation policies for students with learning disabilities. This collection is arranged into two series: Series I. Administrative
Files, 1952-2002 (bulk 1970-1999); and Series II. Economics Department, 1974-1979.
Physical location: For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English
The collection is open for research.
Copyright is 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 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. Copyright restrictions also apply
to digital reproductions of the original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research and educational purposes.
Academic Senate Records, MSS-2009-03-07, San José State University Special Collections and Archives.
Collection processed by Robert Donahue. Finding aid EAD encoded by Robert Donahue and Mary Ellen Petrich. Reviewed by Danelle
Moon and Erin Louthen.
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.
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.
In May of 1952, President John T. Wahlquist (1952-1964) authorized the formation of the Faculty Council against the advice
of former SJSU President Thomas MacQuarrie (1927-1952). The Faculty Council was the first of its kind among the California
State college campuses. Its purpose was to serve as the official channel to bring faculty opinion to the attention of the
administration. The Faculty Council was renamed the Academic Council in 1963, and its new charter described the council as
the official representative body of SJSU faculty. In 1974, the Academic Council became the Academic Senate.
Currently, the San José State University Academic Senate has fifty-four members including six students, and includes representation
from the administration, including the president, provost and college deans. The Academic Senate's duties include formulating
university policy, communicating recommendations to the university president on such matters as faculty affairs, curriculum,
instruction, student affairs, and finances, and other matters relevant to the welfare of San José State University.
Gilbert, Benjamin F, and Charles Burdick.
Washington Square, 1857-1979: The History of San José State University. San José: San José State University, 1980.
Norton, T.M. "Notes on the History of the Academic Senate."
http://www.sjsu.edu/senate/Notes.htm (accessed 03/19/2009).
"San José State University: About SJSU."
http://www.sjsu.edu/about_sjsu/ (accessed 03/19/2009).
Walsh, James P.
San José State University: An Interpretive History, 1950-2000. San José: San José State University, 2003.
Scope and Content of Collection
The SJSU Academic Senate Records, 1952-2004 (bulk 1970-1999), document the history and administrative responsibilities of
the Academic Senate. The records consist of general, administrative and committee files, budget reports, and correspondence,
as well as newspaper clippings and audio tape. In addition, the records document departmental and program controversies in
the Economics and Athletics departments in the 1970s and 1980s, as well as the Koehmstedt civil rights case, which challenged
the university's accommodation policies for students with learning disabilities.
This collection is arranged into two series: Series I. Administrative Files, 1952-2002 (bulk 1970-1999); and Series II. Economics
Department, 1974-1979.
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. Academic Senate -- History
San José State University. Academic Senate -- Records and correspondence
San José State University. Academic Senate -- Civil rights -- Trials, litigation, etc.
San José State University. Academic Council -- History
San José State University. Academic Council -- Records and correspondence
San José State University. Athletics Dept. -- History
San José State University. Economics Dept. -- History
San José State University -- Faculty
San José State College -- History
California State University, San José -- History
San José State University -- History
Universities and colleges -- California -- San José
College teachers -- California -- San José
Education, Higher -- California -- San José