Collection Guide
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Gunderson (Norman) Cybernetic Systems Program Collection
MSS.2012.06.12
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Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
SJSU Special Collections & Archives
Title: Norman Gunderson Cybernetic Systems Program Collection
Identifier/Call Number: MSS.2012.06.12
Physical Description:
1 boxes
(1.25 linear feet)
Date (inclusive): 1952-2004 (bulk 1967-1984)
Abstract: This collection is comprised of professional materials, periodicals, ephemera, correspondence and photographs documenting
Norman O. Gunderson's significant career as dean of School of Engineering at San Jose State University (1955-1970), as director
of Masters Degree Program in Cybernetic Systems (1970), and as a legislative and educational consultant to Santa Clara County
Director of Transportation after his retirement from academia (1975-1991). The bulk of this collection (1967-1984) contains
primary and secondary sources that delineate Norman O. Gunderson's role in the conception, establishment and expansion of
SJSU's Masters Degree Program in Cybernetic Systems. In 1970, Gunderson resigned as dean to direct the establishment and development
of SJSU's Masters Program in Cybernetic Systems, an interdisciplinary curriculum focused on technology-oriented problem solving
methodologies within political, economic, social, and moral systems. Included in these files are curriculum proposals, course
description, lecture notes, correspondences, event brochures, newspaper clippings, and compiled course and research readings.
Other significant parts of the collection include documents related to Gunderson's effort to help SJSU School of Engineering
obtain its state accreditation to offer graduate degree engineering programs and to provide research opportunities for faculty.
The collection also contains personal effects and memorabilia, e.g., awards, honorable mentions, and miscellaneous biographical
materials.
The collection is open for research.
Copyright has been assigned to San José State University Library Special Collections & Archives. All requests for permission
to publish or quote from materials must be submitted in writing to the Director of Special Collections & Archives. Permission
for publication is given on behalf of 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.
Norman Gunderson Cybernetic Systems Program Collection, MSS-2012-06-12, San José State University Library Special Collections
& Archives.
Collection processed by Xiaoda Wang. Finding aid created using Archivists' Toolkit. Reviewed by Danelle Moon.
This collection focuses primarily on Norman O. Gunderson's (1918-1996) academic career at San Jose State College. Born in
Laramie, Wyoming in 1918, Gunderson obtained a bachelors degree in Civil Engineering from University of Wyoming in 1939. After
graduation, he worked for U.S. Soil Conservation Service Bureau of Reclamation (1939-1941), then he entered U.S. Army and
retired as Lieutenant Colonel (1941-1946). In 1942, Gunderson married Bonne Jeane Davis. In 1947, Gunderson received a M.A.
in Civil Engineering from University of Wyoming. Immediately afterwards, Gunderson was offered the position as assistant professor
of Engineering at San Jose State College. In 1955, Gunderson was promoted to Dean of San Jose State College's Department of
Engineering. During his tenure, he directed an effort to challenge the state-imposed restrictions on engineering education
at the state college level, and successfully helped San Jose State College's Department of Engineering obtain its accreditation
to offer graduate degree engineering programs and to provide research opportunities for faculty. Notably in the 1966-1967
academic year, Gunderson had the honor of inviting and accommodating the incessant futurist and architect Buckminster Fuller
(1895-1983) as San Jose State College's first "Distinguished Scholar in Residence." In 1970, Gunderson resigned to direct
the establishment and development of San Jose State College's Masters Program in Cybernetic Systems, an interdisciplinary
curriculum focused on technology-oriented problem solving methodologies within political, economic, social, and moral systems,
which he had previously conceived during his deanship. After his retirement in 1983, Gunderson served as a legislative and
educational consultant for Santa Clara County Transportation and supervised University Fellowship Program.
Scope and Content of Collection
This collection is comprised of professional materials, periodicals, ephemera, correspondence and photographs documenting
Norman O. Gunderson's significant career as Dean of the Department of Engineering at San Jose State College (1955-1970), as
director of the Masters Degree Program in Cybernetic Systems (1970), and as a legislative and educational consultant to Santa
Clara County Director of Transportation after retirement (1975-1991). In 1970, Gunderson resigned as dean to direct the establishment
and development of San Jose State College's Masters Program in Cybernetic Systems, an interdisciplinary curriculum focused
on technology-oriented problem solving methodologies within political, economic, social, and moral systems. The bulk of this
collection (1967-1984) contains primary and secondary sources that delineate Norman O. Gunderson's role in the conception,
establishment and expansion of this program. Included in these files are curriculum proposals, course description, lecture
notes, correspondences, event brochures, newspaper clippings, and compiled course readings. Other significant parts of the
collection include documents related to Gunderson's effort to help San Jose State College's Department of Engineering obtain
its state accreditation to offer graduate degree engineering programs and to provide research opportunities for faculty. The
collection also contains personal effects and memorabilia, e.g., awards, honorable mentions, and miscellaneous biographical
materials.
Norman Gunderson Cybernetic Systems Program Collection is arranged into six series: Professional Materials, 1962-1991; Periodicals,
1954-1996; Correspondence, 1952-2001 (bulk 1980-1987); Ephemera, n.d., 1956-1996; Photographs, n.d., 1961-1968, 1980-1989;
Biography and Awards, n.d., 1960, 1987-2004.
Gunderson, Norman O. "Cybernetics and Man in the engineering curriculum."
Journal of Engineering Education 56, no. 10 (1996): 362-365.
Gunderson, Norman O.
An Oral History Conducted by the San Jose State University Archivist. Conducted by H. Brett Melendy. San Jose, CA: SJSU, 1987.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
San José State University -- Faculty
High technology and education -- California -- Santa Clara County
Cybernetics –- Research
Santa Clara County Transportation Agency -- History
San José State University. College of Engineering -- Curricula
Ferguson, Cherielyn