San José State University Engineering Department Records, 1946-1973, bulk 1950-1965

Printable guide [HTML]

Summary

Title:
San José State University Engineering Department Records
Dates:
1946-1973, bulk 1950-1965
Creators:
San José State University.
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.
Extent:
4 boxes (5 linear feet)
Language:
Languages represented in the collection: English
Preferred citation:

San José State University Engineering Department Records, MSS-2009-11-05, San José State University Library Special Collections & Archives.

Background

Scope and content:

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.

Biographical / historical:

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.

Acquisition information:
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.
Processing information:

Collection processed by Thomas Stamps. Collection revised by R. Schuyler Selden. EAD encoding by Silke Higgins. Reviewed by Danelle Moon and Erin Louthen.

Arrangement:

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.

Rules or conventions:
Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: a Content Standard
Bibliography:

Gilbert, Benjamin F. <em>Pioneers for One Hundred Years: San José State College, 1857-1957.</em> San José, California: San José State College, 1957.

Gilbert, Benjamin F., and Burdick, Charles. <em> Washington Square, 1857-1979: The History of San José State University</em>. San José, California: San José State University, 1980.

San José State University. <em>About SJSU.</em><a href="http://www.sjsu.edu/about_sjsu/" target="_blank" class="external-link"> http://www.sjsu.edu/about_sjsu/</a>

San José State University. <em>Quick Facts: Charles W. Davidson College of Engineering.</em> http://www.engr.sjsu.edu/about/

Walsh, James P. <em> San José State University: An Interpretive History, 1950-2000</em>. San José, California: San José State University, 2003.

About this collection guide

Date Prepared:
© 2010
Date Encoded:
Machine-readable finding aid created by R. Schuyler Selden. Machine-readable finding aid derived from MS Word. Date of source: March 10, 2010.

Access and use

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

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.

Preferred citation:

San José State University Engineering Department Records, MSS-2009-11-05, San José State University Library Special Collections & Archives.

Location of this collection:
One Washington Square
San Jose, CA 95192-0028, US
Contact:
408-808-2062
special.collections@sjsu.edu
Website