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Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
Archives & Special Collections, Santa Clara University Library
Title: Francisco Jiménez Papers
creator:
Jiménez, Francisco
Identifier/Call Number: MSS.2010.03.29
Identifier/Call Number: 90
Physical Description:
26.6 linear feet
(43 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1962-2010
Abstract: 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.
Physical Location: This collection is located in Santa Clara University Library's Archives & Special Collections.
Language of Material: The majority of the collection is in English, with some letters and other documents written in Spanish.
Collection is open for research.
Some materials in this collection are restricted. Permission must be gained by the University Archivist before viewing.
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.
The Francisco Jiménez Papers, MSS.2010.03.29, Santa Clara University Library Archives & Special Collections.
Collection processed by Emilie White, with assistance from Shannon Hartman. Reviewed by Erin Louthen. Finding aid EAD encoded
by Shannon Hartman. Folder-level descriptive information added by Mia Hope and Daniela Baez in 2018.
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.
After teaching several classes at Columbia, Jiménez returned to Santa Clara University in 1973 as an assistant professor,
becoming a full professor several years later. He went on to be named the Phil and Bobbie Sanfilippo Professor and Fay Boyle
Professor of Santa Clara's Department of Modern Languages and Literatures. Jiménez would hold a variety of administrative
positions at Santa Clara as well, including director of the Division of Arts and Humanities, Associate Vice President of Academic
Affairs, director of the Institute on Poverty and Conscience, and director of the Ethnic Studies Program. His prestige as
a professor also led to his service on the California Commission for Teacher Preparation and Licensing, the California State
Humanities Council, and the Western Association Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities (WASC). In 2002,
Jiménez was named the U.S. Professor of the Year by CASE and the Carnegie Foundation. In addition to his work in the classroom,
Jiménez also edited, translated, and co-authored various essays and books on Latin American language, literature, and culture
while at Santa Clara. He officially retired from the university in 2015, after an academic career of more than forty years.
Jiménez began writing about his childhood and adolescence during his time as a student at Santa Clara University and Columbia
University. His first short story, "The Circuit," was published in 1973 in
Arizona Quarterly. Jiménez did not continue writing autobiographical short stories, however, until on sabbatical from Santa Clara in 1995.
He published his first story collection,
The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child, in 1997. In the following years, he released
Breaking Through (2001),
Reaching Out (2008), and
Taking Hold: From Migrant Childhood to Columbia (2015). Two of his stories have also been published as picture books for younger children,
La Mariposa (1998) and
Christmas Gift/El Regalo de Navidad (2000). Jiménez's books have been translated into multiple languages, including Spanish, and recorded as audiobooks. His
works have earned countless honors, including the 1997 Americas Award, the 1998 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, and the Pura
Belpré Honor Book designation in 2002. Jiménez's writings have also garnered both critical and popular acclaim for giving
voice to an underrepresented segment of American society, and for celebrating the value of hard work, education, and one's
personal and cultural identity.
Bibliography
Carlile, Susan. "'Challenges Give Meaning to Our Lives:' Francisco Jiménez and Social Justice."
The Alan Review 32.1 (2004): 41-49. Web (Accessed June 25, 2015)
"Curriculum Vitae."
Santa Clara University Modern Languages and Literatures. Santa Clara University, 2015. Web (Accessed June 25, 2015)
"Dr. Francisco Jimenez: Short Biography."
Santa Clara University Modern Languages and Literatures. Santa Clara University, 2015 (Accessed June 25, 2015)
"Francisco Jiménez."
Authors and Artists for Young Adults. Vol. 32. Detroit: Gale, 2000.
Biography in Context. Web (Accessed June 25, 2015)
"Francisco Jimenez."
Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale, 2007.
Literature Resource Center (Accessed June 25, 2015)
"Francisco Jimenez." Directory of American Scholars. Gale, 2002.
Biography in Context. Web (Accessed June 25, 2015)
"Prof. Francisco Jiménez."
Santa Clara University Modern Languages and Literatures. Santa Clara University, 2015. Web (Accessed June 25, 2015)
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.
Bibliography
Santa Clara University. "About SCU – History." www.scu.edu/about/history.cfm (Accessed Nov. 23, 2010)
McKevitt, Gerald, S.J.
The University of Santa Clara: A History, 1851-1977. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 1979.
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.
Scope and Content of Collection
The Francisco Jiménez Papers document Jiménez's experiences as an academic and author. The collection includes correspondence,
primarily from publishers or agents regarding Jiménez's books, fellow professors and administrators regarding university business,
and students and alumni in the form of thank-you notes. There are also some letters and cards from other authors of Latin
American and Chicano literature, including Rudolfo Anaya, Tomás Rivera, Luis Leal, and Alma Flor Ada. A large section of the
collection is comprised of letters from schoolchildren, many written after a visit from Jiménez, or after reading one (or
several) of his books as a class. The collection also contains a wide variety of newspaper clippings, articles, and photocopies,
usually of book reviews for Jiménez's works or news stories about his achievements as a writer or teacher. The collection
features various awards and plaques that Jiménez won over the years, both for his books and his academic career, as well.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Chicano literature (English)
Education, Higher -- United States -- California
Mexican American authors
Novelists, American -- 20th century -- Archival resources
University of Santa Clara (Calif.)
Santa Clara University (Calif.). Department of Modern Languages and Literatures
Santa Clara University (Calif.)
Santa Clara College (Calif.)