Collection Guide
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San Jose State Normal School Diploma and Certificate Collection
MSS-2019-10-04
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Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
SJSU Special Collections & Archives
Title: San Jose State Normal School Diploma and Certificate Collection
Identifier/Call Number: MSS-2019-10-04
Physical Description:
1 flat file drawers
Physical Description:
23 folders
Date (inclusive): 1877-1904
Abstract: This collection contains diplomas and certificates belonging to graduates of the San Jose State Normal School spanning the
late 1800s to the early 1900s; formats include paper as well as parchment. These materials were created by the Normal School,
the State of California Educational Department, the Board of Education, and the Department of Public Instruction.
This collection consists of diplomas and certificates belonging to students who attended the San Jose State Normal School
in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Materials include: Normal School, State of California Educational Department, Board of
Education, and Department of Public Instruction certificates and diplomas awarded to Normal School alumni. Also included are:
a Normal School Browning Literary Club certificate, a Louisiana Purchase Exposition silver medal award for a Normal School
exhibition, an 1880s lithograph of the first Normal School building, and the Normal School 1885 graduating class' roster photograph
with graduation program pamphlet. Brief biographical information on Normal School graduates in this collection was gathered
from the Alumni Records (Handwritten Journals) in the San Jose State Normal School Records, MSS-2010-04-01, San Jose State
University Library Special Collections & Archives.
This collection is arranged chronologically.
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
Jose, 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 Jose 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.
Collection is open for research.
Copyright has not 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.
San Jose State Normal School Diploma and Certificate Collection, MSS-2019-10-04, San Jose State University Library, Special
Collections & Archives
Processed by Jacob Rabinowitz, Fall 2019
San José State Normal School Records, MSS-2010-04-01, San Jose State University Library Special Collections & Archives.
San José State University Artifacts and Memorabilia Collection, MSS-2011-09-19, San José State University Library Special
Collections & Archives.
San José State University Student Memorabilia Collection, MSS-2011-06-23, San José State University Library Special Collections
& Archives.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Diplomas -- San Jose State Normal School
Diplomas -- California. Department of Public Instruction
Diplomas -- California. State Board of Education
Awards -- Louisiana Purchase Exposition (1904 : Saint Louis, Mo.)
San Jose State Normal School -- History
San José State Normal School -- Memorabilia
San José State University. Library. Special Collections.