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INVENTORY OF THE GLENN S. DUMKE PAPERS, 1935-1989
CSU 027
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Table of contents
Title: Glenn S. Dumke Papers
Dates: 1935-1989
Collection Number: CSU 027
Creator:
Dumke, Glenn S.
Extent:
61 linear feet
[86 boxes]
Repository:
California State University Historical Archives
California State University, Dominguez Hills
Archives & Special Collection
University Library, Room G-145
1000 E. Victoria Street
Carson, California 90747
Phone: (310) 243-3013
URL: http://archives.csudh.edu/
Abstract:
The Glenn S. Dumke collection (61 linear ft.) encompasses materials from 1935-1989. These materials include;
documents, articles, correspondence, photographs, art work, journals, books, newspaper clippings, microfiche
and artifacts. The collection includes extensive correspondence files from 1957-1989. Selected executive
correspondence exists on microfiche for the years 1962-1982. The overwhelming amount of material in this
collection is written or typed correspondence (including personal letters), speeches, and reports. Copies of
virtually every major speech Dumke gave from 1957-1989 can be found in this collection. There are extensive
holdings of minutes, memos, reports, and correspondence from the Boards of Trustees of the CSU (1962-1982).
Some of the most important materials in this collection relate to the creation and implementation of the
Master Plan for Higher Education in California. There are confidential reports, memos, and recommendations,
as well as correspondence, speeches, and testimony, all chronicling the creation of the CSU.
Language: Collection material is in English
There are no access restrictions on this collection.
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director of Archives
and Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical
materials and not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
[Title of item], GLENN S. DUMKE PAPERS, Courtesy of the Department of Archives and Special Collections. University Library.
California State University, Dominguez Hills.
It is unclear when all of the materials in this collection were acquired by the California State
University Archives, Dominguez Hills. It appears that the Dumke materials were acquired on at least four
or five different occasions. The first acquisition included eleven boxes and seems to have occurred in
July of 1982, as a donation from Dr. Dumke. The second acquisition might have occurred sometime in 1984.
The third major acquisition may have occurred in November of 1987, although it also very possible that items
trickled into the archives throughout the year. Materials received in the second and third acquisitions
probably came from the Chancellor’s Office or from Dumke himself. The fourth acquisition may have come from
Dorothy Dumke some time after the former Chancellor died. It is virtually impossible to recreate the records
of the acquisition of materials for the Dumke collection because no donor agreements or schedules exist.
Furthermore, it appears that a preliminary inventory was prepared only for the first eleven boxes received in
1982. The processor has arranged meeting minutes, speeches, and correspondence chronologically when the
materials were not found in any particular order (such as by subject). Where an original filing order appears
to still exist, the materials were not rearranged.
The collection was initially processed, and an early draft of this finding aid created, under the supervision of the Director
of the
Archives and Special Collections, California State Archives, Dominguez Hills, Assistant Professor,
Karen Jean Hunt. The collection was processed by Mike Knight in September of 1999, with the assistance of
Traci Liley and Olya Sharova. The addendum was processed by Kim Leaming in June of 2004. The collection was
re-processed during 2004-2006 CSU Archives Processing Project.
Glenn Dumke was born May 5, 1917 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. At age five, his family moved to Glendale, California where his
father, William Frederick Dumke, became a buying agent for a major Los Angeles grocery business. Originally, his mother,
Marjorie Schroeder Dumke, was the home maker, largely responsible for raising Glenn and his sister. After William died, she
went to work as a title searcher in the Land and Titles Office of Los Angeles. Glenn Dumke’s k-12 schooling occurred at the
UCLA Training School before attending Occidental College as a history major. While at Occidental, Dumke also studied art and
photography before graduating with his history degree in 1938.
Dumke earned a Master’s Degree in History from Occidental and his Ph.D. from UCLA in 1942. Dr. Dumke then took
up a teaching position at Occidental College in their history department as a specialist in Western American
and Hispanic history. On February 3, 1945, he married Dorothy D. Robison. While teaching at Occidental, Dr.
Dumke conducted extensive historical research, published countless articles, and several books. His most
notable publications during his Occidental years were the books,
The Boom of the Eighties in Southern California
(1944),
Mexican Gold Trail: The Journal of a Forty-Niner (1945), and co-authorship of the book,
A History of the
Pacific Area in Modern Times
(1949). In later years, Dr. Dumke also published some material under the pseudonyms
Glenn Pierce and Jordan Allen. In 1950, Dr. Dumke was offered the position of Dean of Faculty at Occidental,
although he also continued to teach occasional classes.
In 1957 Dr. Dumke accepted the position of President of San Francisco State College (SFSC). This was a move
he regretted immediately and even explored means of backing out of the appointment and staying at Occidental.
Dr. Dumke realized the Presidency was a huge step up for his career but his letters reveal he was not
enthusiastic about leaving Occidental, where he had pursued his academic career for more than twenty years.
Shortly after taking up this new position, he was invited to participate on the committee creating the
Master Plan for California’s higher education system. Dr. Dumke was offered a position on the committee
because of his teaching background as well as his experience as a college administrator. Dr. Dumke had also
gained a reputation as an outspoken advocate of state-wide educational standards.
The concept of a unified, state-wide system, had been discussed on and off for many years. However, the
concept took on new urgency in the late 1940s and early 1950s as unprecedented numbers of Californians took
advantage of funding to attend college-especially returning veterans under the GI Bill. Educators and
politicians throughout the state realized that the existing independent campuses could not handle the sheer
numbers of students applying for higher education, and that these campuses were not providing uniformly high
standards of education. The Master Plan sought to create a two track system of higher education. The
Universities of California were to be research schools offering Ph.D.’s and the California State Universities &
Colleges were to be four year schools up to the Master’s Degree level.
From 1961-1962, Dr. Dumke served as the first Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs of the California State
College system. The first Chancellor of the new CSC system, Buell Gallagher, stunned the Board of Trustees
by resigning his position after just eight months. After a short search, the Board offered the Chancellorship
to Dr. Dumke. Dr. Dumke immediately tackled the daunting task of firmly establishing a state-wide program for
the new CSC system. One of his first important acts as the new Chancellor was the establishment of a
system-wide academic senate. He established the precedent of meeting with the campus presidents monthly as
well as allowing them strong input on most policy decisions. Dr. Dumke was also responsible for successfully
leading the movement to establish the permanent headquarters of the new CSC in Long Beach.
In the twenty years that Dr. Dumke served as Chancellor, he boasted many accomplishments that still
influence the CSU today. He expanded several policies that were first initiated when he was Vice Chancellor;
such as the creation of more accredited programs, stronger standards for accreditation of all programs, and
the establishment of a system-wide general education program. Early in his tenure, he strongly advocated
admission standards, although the CSU did not adopt these proposals until 1990. He also oversaw the creation
of additional CSU campuses including Dominguez Hills, Bakersfield, San Bernardino, and Sonoma. From 1965-1971,
Dr. Dumke was at the forefront of the efforts by the CSU opposing student and faculty strikes. In 1969 he
banned faculty strikes outright. He led political and public efforts opposing Governor Ronald Reagan’s
proposed cuts to the CSU system in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Dr. Dumke was one of the first California higher education administrators to recognize the changing nature
of student needs at the CSU. In 1971 he successfully initiated the “New Approaches to Higher Education”
Program. This initiative established the CSU off-campus and extension programs. In 1978, the Chancellor’s
office embarked on a new, aggressive, five year affirmative action plan to increase minority and women’s
attendance at the CSU. He was also instrumental in establishing legal counsel systems and legal services for
faculty and students at each of the CSU campuses.
Dr. Dumke retired as Chancellor in 1982. However, he remained active as President for several think tanks
including; “The Institute for Contemporary Studies” (1982-1986) and the “Foundation for the 21st Century”
(1986-1989). He also remained an active member on the Board of Trustees for a wide variety of organizations
such as Pepperdine University, University of the Redlands, Joint Council on Economic Education, The West Coast
Advisory Board, and the California Chamber of Commerce. Additionally, Dr. Dumke remained active in a host of
social clubs including; the Bohemian Club, Commonwealth Club, Los Angeles Club, Virginia Country Club, Rotary
Club (Long Beach), and the California Club.
For his accomplishments as a historian, educator, and administrator, Dr. Dumke received several prestigious
national awards including the USO Distinguished American Award and the award for Individual Excellence in
Education from the Freedoms Foundation. Dr. Glenn S. Dumke died suddenly of a heart attack on June 29, 1989.
He was survived by his wife Dorothy. They had no children.
The Glenn S. Dumke collection (61 linear ft.) encompasses materials from 1935-1989. These materials
include; documents, articles, correspondence, photographs, art work, journals, books, newspaper clippings,
microfiche and artifacts. The collection includes extensive correspondence files from 1957-1989. Selected
executive correspondence exists on microfiche for the years 1962-1982. The overwhelming amount of material
in this collection is written or typed correspondence (including personal letters), speeches, and reports.
Copies of virtually every major speech Dumke gave from 1957-1989 can be found in this collection. There are
extensive holdings of minutes, memos, reports, and correspondence from the Boards of Trustees of the CSC and CSU
(1962-1982). Some of the most important materials in this collection relate to the creation and implementation
of the Master Plan for Higher Education in California. There are confidential reports, memos, and
recommendations, as well as correspondence, speeches, and testimony, all chronicling the creation of the CSC.
Also found in the collection are hundreds of minutes, reports, correspondence, and memos related to
various organizations and committees, that Dumke was associated with (personally or in an official capacity)
from 1950-1989. There are also extensive travel logs and receipts documenting his activities from 1957-1982.
The collection holds newspaper clippings and photographs relating to Dumke or events, ceremonies, conferences,
associations, and issues, he was involved with as Dean of Faculty at Occidental, President of San Francisco
State College, and Chancellor of the CSU (1935-1989). Researchers should note that the CSUDH Archives also
holds transcripts of oral interviews with Dr. Dumke as well as some video and audio materials.
Arrangement
Arranged in seven series:
Education, Higher – California
Educational law and legislation – California
Master Plan for Higher Education
Public universities and colleges – California
Student movements – California – Berkeley – 1960-1970
Student protest
Universities and colleges – California
University administrators
University Systems, inc.
Allen, Jordan.
Dumke, Glenn S.
Dumke, Dorothy
Hayakawa, S. I. (Samuel Ichiyé), 1906-1992
California State University
California State University. Office of the Chancellor
Institute for Contemporary Studies
Occidental College
San Francisco State University
The following related collections are located in Archives & Special Collections, California
State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH).
- CSU Chancellor’s Office Collection
- CSU Reports Collection