Collection Guide
Collection Title:
Collection Number:
Get Items:
Guide to the San José State University Office of the President, John Bunzel Records
MSS-2009-06-01
View entire collection guide
Search this collection
Table of contents
Title: San José State University Office of the President, John Bunzel Records
Dates: 1963-1984
Bulk Dates: 1970-1978
Collection number: MSS-2009-06-01
Creator:
San José State University. Office of the President
Collection Size:
71 boxes
(86.25 linear feet)
Repository:
San José State University. Library.
San José, California 95192-0028
Abstract: The Office of the President is the highest administrative office for the campus, reporting to the California State University
(CSU) Chancellor and Board of Trustees, respectively. As such, the Office of the President records document the overall policies,
practices and procedures of the daily operation of the campus, as well as the interaction with other CSU campuses and with
the CSU administration. The Office of the President, John Bunzel Records, 1963-1984 (bulk 1970-1978), document Bunzel's tenure
as university president. The records consist of administrative files, correspondence, news releases, newspaper clippings,
and reports. This collection is arranged into five series: Series I: Administrative Records, 1963-1984 (bulk 1970-1978); Series
II: Speeches, 1971-1978; Series III: Correspondence, 1970-1977; Series IV: Meeting Minutes, 1966-1979; and Series V: Restricted
Materials, 1969-1984.
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, however, Box 71 is restricted.
Copyright is assigned to the San José State University 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. Copyright restrictions may apply to digital reproductions of the
original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research and educational purposes.
San José State University Office of the President, John Bunzel Records, MSS-2009-06-01, San José State University Library
Special Collections & Archives.
Collection processed by Robert Donahue. Finding aid EAD encoded by 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.
The Office of the President is the highest administrative office for the campus, reporting to the California State University
(CSU) Chancellor and Board of Trustees, respectively. As such, the Office of the President records document the overall policies,
practices, and procedures of the daily operation of the campus, as well as the interaction with other CSU campuses and with
the CSU administration.
John H. Bunzel (1970-1978) graduated from Princton University magna cum laude in 1948 with a bachelor's degree in political
science, and he received his Ph.D. in political science from the University of California, Berkeley in 1954. Bunzel was appointed
president of San José State University in 1970, succeeding the popular President Robert D. Clark (1964-1969), and Acting President
Hobert W. Burns (1969-1970). During his tenure, Bunzel gained national attention for his reasoned resistance to intimidation,
and his defense of academic freedom during a time of campus unrest.
President Bunzel (1970-1978) had a tumultuous relationship with the faculty at San José State University. Bunzel's administration
was also burdened by Governor Ronald Reagan's cuts to the education budget beginning in the early 1970s, which further exacerbated
the tense atmosphere at the university. Bunzel exalted academic excellence, and emphasized research and publishing requirements
on par with the University of California system. Many faculty members resisted this educational philosophy, arguing that according
to the 1960 Master Plan for Higher Education, the California State University system had traditionally concentrated more on
teaching than research or publication. President Bunzel clashed with the faculty again over the issue of shared governance
during the Economics Department controversy during the 1970s. Due to political and ethical issues between two factions of
the department, the Economics Department had difficulties performing even basic personnel functions such as recruiting. President
Bunzel subsequently appointed a special receivership committee to handle administrative functions of the Economics Department
without the authorization of the Academic Senate. The Academic Senate opposed this action and censured Bunzel in 1975, partially
because he failed to consult the Senate on such an unprecedented move. After eight challenging years as SJSU president, Bunzel
left the university, accepting the position of Senior Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University in
1978.
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." 1999.
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.
Academic Senate Records. SJSU University Archives Collection.
http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt5k4034vh/
The California and San José State University Master Plan for Higher Education Records. SJSU University Archives Collection.
http://oac4.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt2r29r6d1/
Academic Council Records. SJSU University Archives Collection.
http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt5r29r8r3/
Scope and Content of Collection
The Office of the President is the highest administrative office for the campus, reporting to the California State University
(CSU) Chancellor and Board of Trustees, respectively. As such, the Office of the President records document the overall policies,
practices and procedures of the daily operation of the campus, as well as the interaction with other CSU campuses and with
the CSU administration. The Office of the President, John Bunzel Records, 1963-1984 (bulk 1970-1978), document Bunzel's tenure
as university president. The records consist of administrative files, correspondence, news releases, newspaper clippings,
and reports.
This collection is arranged into five series: Series I: Administrative Records, 1963-1984 (bulk 1970-1978); Series II: Speeches,
1971-1978; Series III: Correspondence, 1970-1977; Series IV: Meeting Minutes, 1966-1979; and Series V: Restricted Materials,
1969-1984.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
the library's online public access catalog.
Bunzel, John H., 1924-
San José State University -- President's Office -- History
San José State University -- President's Office -- Records and correspondence
San José State College -- History
San José State University -- History
California State University, San José -- History
Education, Higher -- California -- San José