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Guide to the San José State University Engineering Department Records
MSS-2009-11-05
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Table of contents
Title: San José State University Engineering Department Records
Dates: 1946-1973
Bulk Dates: 1950-1965
Collection number: MSS-2009-11-05
Creator:
San José State University.
Collection Size:
4 boxes
(5 linear feet)
Repository:
San José State University. Library.
San José, California 95192-0028
Abstract: The San José State University Engineering Department Records, 1946-1973 (bulk 1950-1965), document the department's accreditation
approval process, as well as requests for advanced curriculum and coursework leading to a Bachelor of Science in Engineering.
The records consist of accreditation materials such as curriculum requirements set by the Engineering Education Committee
(EEC), grade point average studies, graduate information, and enrollment reports. The records also include departmental news
releases and publicity. This collection is arranged into two series: Series I. Accreditation Materials and Reports, 1946-1973
(bulk 1950-1965); and Series II. News Releases and Publicity, 1966-1985.
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English
The collection is open for research.
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 Engineering Department Records, MSS-2009-11-05, San José State University Library Special Collections
& Archives.
Collection processed by Thomas Stamps. Collection revised by R. Schuyler Selden. EAD encoding by Silke Higgins. 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.
San José State University President Thomas W. MacQuarrie (1927-1952) created the engineering program in 1945, with Dr. Ralph
J. Smith serving as the department head. Thomas E. Leonard and S. Brooks Walton were hired as the first engineering teachers
in 1946, and initial coursework included construction, production, and food processing. Engineering instruction began in the
laboratories located in the basement of the Science Building. The program moved to Quonset huts in the late 1940s, and remained
there until the Engineering Building was completed in 1954. The decade of the 1950s represented a period of tremendous growth
for the program. In 1956, the State Board of Education and the State Department of Education approved programs preparing students
for work in specific fields of engineering, including civil, electrical, industrial, general, mechanical process and metallurgy.
In addition, graduate courses in engineering were granted accreditation status at the university in 1964. The Engineering
Department experienced another era of growth in the 1980s, including the construction of a new Engineering Building which
featured state-of-the-art equipment and laboratory facilities. In 1985, the Engineering Department offered eight engineering
and two aeronautics programs for students.
Today, each of the eight engineering majors offered at the university, including chemical, civil, electrical, industrial,
computer science, mechanical, and materials engineering are accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology.
In addition, SJSU's College of Engineering was ranked 12th among engineering programs for master's-level institutions in U.S.
News and World Report's "America's Best Colleges 2009," and is the top provider of engineers to Silicon Valley companies.
Gilbert, Benjamin F.
Pioneers for One Hundred Years: San José State College, 1857-1957. San José, California: San José State College, 1957.
Gilbert, Benjamin F., and Burdick, Charles.
Washington Square, 1857-1979: The History of San José State University. San José, California: San José State University, 1980.
San José State University.
About SJSU.
http://www.sjsu.edu/about_sjsu/
San José State University.
Quick Facts: Charles W. Davidson College of Engineering. http://www.engr.sjsu.edu/about/
Walsh, James P.
San José State University: An Interpretive History, 1950-2000. San José, California: San José State University, 2003.
San José State University Campus Buildings Records, MSS-2010-02-03, San José State University Special Collections & Archives.
Scope and Content of Collection
The San José State University Engineering Department Records, 1946-1973 (bulk 1950-1965), document the department's accreditation
approval process, as well as requests for advanced curriculum and coursework leading to a Bachelor of Science in Engineering.
The records consist of accreditation materials such as curriculum requirements set by the Engineering Education Committee
(EEC), grade point average studies, graduate information, and enrollment reports. The records also include documents regarding
departmental news releases and publicity.
This collection is arranged into two series: Series I. Accreditation Materials and Reports, 1946-1973 (bulk 1950-1965); and
Series II. News Releases and Publicity, 1966-1985.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
the library's online public access catalog.
San José State University -- Engineering Department -- History
San José State College -- History
California State University, San José-- History
San José State University -- History
Engineering -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- United States
Universities and colleges -- Accreditation -- California -- San Jose
San José State University -- Accreditation
Education, Higher -- California -- San José