Description
The SDSU Historical Collection documents the university's history from its beginnings as a normal school through its transition to a state college. The
collection dates from approximately 1897-1956, with the bulk of the documents created prior to 1935. It consists primarily
of paper records including correspondence and financial records. The collection documents the relationship between students,
administrators, and Vice President W.F. Bliss during the school's early years. The collection also documents student enrollment
and attendance; the school's financial stability; programs and invitations including Dedication Day and May Day festivities
from 1903-1935; student activities and organizations; and faculty involvement with administration. It has been divided into
four series: Administrative Records, Faculty Records, Student Organization Records, and Artifacts.
Background
Founded March 13, 1897, San Diego State University began as the San Diego Normal School, a training facility for elementary
school teachers. A Board of Trustees appointed by the governor held its first meeting on June 3, 1897 to choose a location
for the school. A site on Park and El Cajon Boulevards was chosen by the Board which then turned its attention to the construction
of the school and the selection of a president. In September of 1898 the Board chose Samuel Black as the new president of
the San Diego Normal School.
Restrictions
The copyright interests in some of these materials have been transferred to or belong to San Diego State University. The nature
of historical archival and manuscript collections means that copyright status may be difficult or even impossible to determine.
Copyright resides with the creators of materials contained in the collection or their heirs. Requests for permission to publish
must be submitted to the Head of Special Collections, San Diego State University, Library and Information Access. Permissions
is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical item and is not intended to include or imply permission
of the copyright holder(s), which must also be obtained in order to publish. Materials from our collections are made available
for use in research, teaching, and private study. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including
but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials.
Availability
This collection is open for research.