Collection Guide
Collection Title:
Collection Number:
Get Items:
San José State University Office of the President, Robert D. Clark Records
MSS.2009.08.03
View entire collection guide
Search this collection
Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
SJSU Special Collections & Archives
Title: San José State University Office of the President, Robert D. Clark Records
creator:
San José State University
Identifier/Call Number: MSS.2009.08.03
Physical Description:
54.0 boxes
(53.42 linear feet)
Date (inclusive): 1953-1970
Abstract: Collection contains documents of President, Robert D. Clark Records, 1953-1970. The records consist of administrative files,
correspondence, newspaper clippings, meeting minutes, reports, awards and recognition certificates.
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.
San José State University Office of the President, Robert D. Clark Records, MSS-2009-08-03, San José State University Library
Special Collections & Archives.
Collection processed by Elizabeth Lopez. Finding aid EAD encoded by Mary Ellen Petrich. Reviewed by Danelle Moon and Erin
Louthen. Series VI created, and accruals added to it, by Dana V. Lema in November 2017.
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.
Robert D. Clark was the first president screened and nominated by a representative faculty group at San José State University.
Clark was born in Nebraska in 1910, and graduated from Pasadena College in 1931 with a B.A. in English. He taught at Pasadena
College while attending the University of Southern California where he earned his M.A. in 1935 and his PhD. in 1946.
Clark served as president of San José State University from 1964-1969, a period characterized by student unrest, racial tension,
and state budget cuts in higher education. During his tenure, Clark emphasized academic excellence, aesthetic beauty, and
the institutional improvement of the campus. Clark's vision was reflected through campus projects such as the creation of
the experimental interdisciplinary school New College (1968-1980), the renovation of Tower Hall, and the acquisition of the
Marine Laboratory facility at Moss Landing.
Despite the unrest and violence of the 1960s, Clark moved the college forward as a stronger institution, while at the same
time showing great empathy for student protests during the civil rights movement and the Vietnam War. Clark's presidency contributed
much to the university's curriculum development and set an example for mutual cooperation and community relations. In 1969,
Clark resigned from SJSU and accepted a position as president of the University of Oregon, a position he held until his retirement
in 1975.
California State University Board of Trustees Records, MSS-2009-03-10
San José State University Oral History Project Collection, MSS-2006-04-01
San José State College Presidential Office Administrative Records, MSS-2009-04-01
Robert D. Clark Papers, 1928-1990, Coll. 285, Special Collections & University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries, Eugene,
Oregon.
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, Robert D. Clark Records, 1953-1969 (bulk 1964-1969), document Clark's
tenure as university president. The records consist of administrative files, correspondence, newspaper clippings, meeting
minutes, and reports.
This collection is arranged into six series: Series I. Administrative Records, 1957-1970 (1967-1969); Series II. Budget Files,
1956-1968 (bulk 1965-1968); Series III. Correspondence, 1964-1969 (bulk 1966-1968); Series IV. CSU Trustees Records, 1964-1969
(bulk 1966-1969); Series V. Meeting Minutes, 1953-1969 (bulk 1966-1968); and Series VI: Awards and Recognition (1965-1966).
Subjects and Indexing Terms
African American students -- California -- San José.
Discrimination in housing -- California -- San José.
Education, Higher -- California -- San José.
College administrators -- California -- San José.
College presidents -- California -- San José.
San José State University
San José State University President's Office -- History.
San José State University President's Office -- Records and correspondence.
San José State University -- Athletics Dept. -- History.
San José State University -- History.
Clark, Robert D. (Robert Donald), 1910-2005.
San Jose State College