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San José State University Faculty Papers of H. Brett Melendy
MSS-2009-05-01
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Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
SJSU Special Collections & Archives
Title: San José State University Faculty Papers of H. Brett Melendy
Identifier/Call Number: MSS-2009-05-01
Physical Description:
63 boxes
(67.6 linear feet)
Date (inclusive): 1893-2008
Date (bulk): 1942-1985
Abstract: The San José State University Faculty Papers of H. Brett Melendy, 1893-2008 (bulk 1942-1985), consists of materials created
and collected by H. Brett Melendy while serving as the University Archivist (1983-1987), as well as personal records. The
records consist of academic journals, newspaper clippings, photographs, typed and handwritten papers, and framed commendations.
Specific folders in boxes 3, 27, 28, 42, 46, 47, & 50 are restricted.
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 Faculty Papers of H. Brett Melendy, MSS-2009-05-01, San José State University Library Special Collections
& Archives.
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.
Collection processed and finding aid EAD encoded by Jane Gilvin. Reviewed by Danelle Moon and Erin Louthen. Three boxes of
accruals related to Melendy's research and publications were processed and added to the collection (Series VI) by Fiona DuBrock
in February 2019. Eight boxes of accruals were added by Antonia Victoria Rock in July 2023.
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.
Born in Eureka, California, H. Brett Melendy (1924-2008) spent most of his life in California and Hawaii. He received his
Master of Arts in Education in 1948 and his Doctorate in History in 1952 from Stanford University. During this time, he also
taught high school in Fresno, California. Melendy began his university academic career as a history professor at SJSU in 1955.
He served in several positions while at San José State University including: Academic Council Faculty Chair; Associate Academic
Vice President; Dean of Undergraduate Studies; History Department Chair; History Professor; Interim Academic Vice President;
and University Archivist. Melendy also spent some of his academic career as an administrator and history professor in the
Hawaiian University system in the 1970s. His written work includes the books
Chinese and Japanese Americans;
Asians in America: Filipinos, Koreans, and East Indians; co-author of
The Governors of California: Peter H. Burnett to Edmund G. Brown, as well as numerous scholarly articles.
In addition, Melendy conducted oral history interviews of select San José State University administrators and faculty from
1983 to 1988. Melendy served as the University Archivist from 1983-1987 on a half-time basis, while also maintaining half-time
responsibilities as the Director of the Engineering Institute in the Engineering Department. In 1987 the University Archivist
position was eliminated by Academic Vice President Arlene Okerlund. From 1987 to 1994, Melendy continued to work in the History
and Engineering Departments, and in 1993 he was awarded Professor Emeritus status.
San Jose State University Office of the President, John T. Wahlquist records, MSS-2009-04-04, San Jose State University Library
Special Collections & Archives.
San Jose State University Office of the President, Robert D. Clark records, MSS-2009-08-03, San Jose State University Library
Special Collections & Archives.
Guide to the San José State College Presidential Office Administrative Records 1899-1970 (bulk 1950-1970), Collection No.
MSS-2009-04-01. San José State University Archives Collection.
Guide to the San José State University Academic Senate Records 1952-2002 (bulk 1970-1999), Collection No. MSS-2009-03-07.
San José State University Archives Collection.
Guide to the San José State University President's Office, Gail Fullerton Records 1950-1994 (bulk 1978-1991), Collection No.
MSS-2009-04-03. San José State University Library Special Collections & Archives.
Guide to the San José State University President's Office, John Bunzel Records 1963-1984 (bulk 1970-1978), Collection No.
MSS-2009-06-01. San José State University Library Special Collections & Archives.
Melendy, H. Brett.
Howard Brett Melendy, Professor of History and Past Chairman of the History Department, Academic Council Faculty Chairman,
Interim Academic Vice President, Associate Academic Vice President, and University Archivist, San José State University, 1955-1970;
1979-Present: An Oral History.
San José, California: San José, 1988. Oral history interviews of the San José State University Oral History Project, 2005-2006,
Collection No. MSS-2006-04-01. San José State University Archives Collection.
The San José State University Faculty Papers of H. Brett Melendy, 1893-2008 (bulk 1942-1985), document Melendy's long-term
tenure at San José State University and specifically his work as the University Archivist from 1983-1987. The records consist
of academic journals, newspaper clippings, photographs, typed and handwritten papers, statistical reports and audits. In addition
to papers gathered from other staff and faculty, Melendy's personal papers and research are also included. The collection
also documents several lawsuits filed against the university by faculty, as well as the business of the faculty union, the
United Professors of California.
This collection is arranged into nine series: Series I. Academic Departments, 1957-1983; Series II. Academic Senate & the
Economics Department, 1970-1978; Series III. Business Affairs, 1931-1979; Series IV. California Departments of Controller,
Auditor Education & Finance, 1929-1973; Series V. California Pioneer Contest & History Department Student Papers, 1958-1975;
Series VI. Faculty Papers, 1893-2008; Series VII. Miscellaneous University Groups, 1971-1984; Series VIII. Ombudsman, 1967-1970;
and Series IX. United Professors of California, 1971-1982.
University Archives Collection
Record Group: 6.5.1
Subjects and Indexing Terms
San José State University -- History
San José State University -- Faculty
College administrators -- California -- San José.
Universities and colleges -- Faculty -- Labor unions
United Professors of California
San José State University. Library. Special Collections & Archives