San José State University

San José State University, commonly shortened to San José State and SJSU, is the founding campus of what became the California State University system. The urban campus in San Jose, California has an enrollment of about 32,000 students and claims to have more graduates working in Silicon Valley than any other college or university.^[2]

San José State was founded as the California State Normal School by the California Legislature on May 2, 1862, and is the oldest public university in California. The California State Normal School was itself derived from the Minn's Evening Normal School, which was also known as the San Francisco Normal School. The San Francisco normal school, led by principal George W. Minns trained elementary teachers as part of that city's high school system from 1857 to 1862. Thus, the school now called "San José State" is even older than the University of California, Berkeley (the Organic Act, which established the University of California, was signed into law on March 23, 1868), but not quite as old as the College of California established in 1855, which was the predecessor of the University of California.

History

Bell commissioned for the California State Normal School in 1881

What is now called San José State was founded by the California Legislature on May 2, 1862, as the California State Normal School when the state of California took over the Minns' Evening Normal School, also known as the San Francisco Normal School, a city funded normal school in San Francisco, California. The school moved to San José in 1871, and was given Washington Square Park at Fourth and San Carlos Streets to locate its campus, where it remains to this day.

In 1881, the first branch campus of the California State Normal School was announced, which later became the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). To commemorate San José's identity as the original California State, the bell pictured at right was forged with the words "California State Normal School, A.D. 1881". After creation of the Los Angeles campus, the San José campus was officially known as the California State Normal School, San José. Six years later in 1887, the school was renamed the "State Normal School" by the California Legislature.

In 1921, the school's name was changed to the State Teachers College at San Jose. In 1935, the State Teachers Colleges became the California State Colleges, administered from the State Department of Education in Sacramento. As a result, the school's name was changed again, this time to San Jose State College. In 1961, the California State Colleges became a separate entity (later the California State University (CSU) system). In 1972, SJSC was granted university status, and the name was changed to California State University, San José. However, in 1974, the California Legislature decided to change the school's name to "San José State University". (Note the addition of the acute accent in "José", reflecting the original Spanish spelling.)

An 1880s lithograph of the original California State Normal School campus in San Jose.

The Justice Studies Department has the distinction of being the first degree-granting program in criminal justice in the United States. The department was founded as the Police School in 1930. A stone monument with a plaque sit close to the site of the original Police School near Tower Hall.

In 1942, the old gym (now named Yoshihiro Uchida Hall, after judo coach Yosh Uchida) was used to register and collect Japanese Americans before sending them to internment camps. Ironically, Uchida's parents and siblings were among those processed in the building.

In 1972–1973 the Economics Department experienced political turmoil. The Administration conducted a purge of left-leaning professors. For several years thereafter, the Economics Department was under censor by the American Association of University Professors.

The English Department has sponsored the annual Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest since 1982.

In 1999, San José State and the City of San José agreed to combine their main libraries to form a joint City/University library located on campus, the first known collaboration of this type in the United States. The combined library faced opposition, with critics stating that the two libraries have very different objectives and that the project would be too expensive. Despite opposition, the project proceeded, and the new Martin Luther King, Jr. Library opened on-time and on-budget in 2003. The new library has won several national awards since its initial opening in 2003.

In March 2007, a group of San Jose State students sponsored an official student initiative to restore the words "California State University" to the school's public identity while preserving the "San Jose State" name as part of balanced city-state identity for the school. The measure garnered substantial Bay Area TV and news coverage. Although the measure was defeated, some 606 currently enrolled students voted for the measure, amounting to 25% of the students casting ballots in the election.

In 2008 then-university president Don Kassing made the controversial decision to ban blood drives on campus due to the FDA's long-standing policy barring gay men from donating blood, and its violation of the campus non discrimination policy. "I recognize the importance of giving blood and we know that universities are a significant source of blood," he wrote in an E-mail sent to faculty, staff, students, and alumni. "Our hope is that the FDA will revisit its deferral policy in a timely manner, and we may soon be able to hold blood drives on this campus again." This decision was born out of a grievance submitted to the office of Equal Opportunity by Residential Life Coordinator Seth Hodge after his concerns were dismissed by the leadership in University Housing and has since gained national attention through the media.

Campus

Tower Hall, the most recognizable building at SJSU

The main campus is a rectangular area in downtown San Jose, California, bordered by San Fernando Street (north), Fourth Street (west), San Salvador Street (south), and Tenth Street (east).

California State Normal School never had a permanent home in San Francisco and was moved to San José in 1871. The original California State Normal School campus in San José consisted of a rectangular, wooden building with a central grass quadrangle. The wooden buildings were destroyed by fire in 1880 and were replaced by a stone and masonry structure of roughly the same configuration in 1881. This building was declared unsafe following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and was being torn down when an aftershock of the magnitude that was predicted to destroy the building occurred and no damage was observed. The demolition was stopped, and the portions of the building still standing were made into four halls: Tower Hall, Morris Dailey Auditorium, Washington Square Hall, and Dwight Bentel Hall. These four buildings are the oldest on campus. A $2 million renovation of Tower Hall, the oldest and most recognizable building on campus, was announced in October 2005.

Paseo San Carlos runs through campus, along the former route of San Carlos Street

Formerly, San Carlos Street, Seventh Street and Ninth Street crossed the campus, creating essentially six small schools separated by roads clogged with traffic. Beginning in the fall of 1994, the streets were closed and converted to pedestrian walkways and green belts within the campus. San Carlos Street was renamed Paseo San Carlos, Seventh Street became El Paseo de César Chávez, and Ninth Street is now called the Ninth Street Plaza. Three of the six residential brick blockhouses have been demolished, and phase one of the new student village was completed in 2005. If this phase is a success, the three remaining red brick residence halls and Joe West Hall may be demolished and replaced with phase two of the project. However, the school's commuter school status and lower rents in the surrounding community have depressed demand for this new student housing, and future phases are uncertain.

The new housing complex, called Campus Village, is a more than US$200 million project designed to replace the old residence halls. The concrete poured for this project was the largest amount of concrete poured in California. Campus Village consists of three buildings ranging from seven to fifteen stories tall. The project was completed in the fall of 2005 and doubled student capacity for on-campus housing. Campus Village has housing options for first-year students, upper-class students, graduate students and faculty, staff or guests of the university.

SJSU International House

San Jose State University is also proud of its diverse culture. SJSU International House is a famous housing facility for domestic as well as international students of the university. It is a home to approximately 70 students. International House (also known as I-House) accommodates residents from approximately over 35 countries worldwide each semester. The International House was founded by very generous alumni of San Jose State University, Alan and Phyllis Simpkins. It also has close ties with San Jose Rotary; who have successfully finished number of projects like a computer lab for the residents.

Southeast entrance of the King Library

The new Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library, which opened its doors on August 1, 2003, won the Library Journal’s prestigious 2004 Library of the Year award, the publication’s highest honor. The King Library is the first collaboration of its kind between a university and a major U.S. city. The library is eight stories high and has 475,000 square feet of floor space.

San José's first public library occupied the same site from 1901 to 1936, and the Wahlquist Library occupied the site from 1961 to 2000, at which point it was torn down to begin construction of the King Library.

The Business Classroom Project was a US$16 million renovation of the Boccardo Business Education Center. Renovations included state-of-the-art telecommunications as well as interior and exterior upgrades.

The university boasts a year-round, outdoor Olympic-size swimming pool that is the largest in Northern California. The Event Center Arena has a full gym including basketball and racquetball courts, a weight room, and a climbing wall. It also plays host to rock concerts and other events. The student union features a bowling alley and large game room.

Spartan Stadium, the other athletic fields, additional student housing and overflow parking are located on the South Campus on Seventh Street, about 2.4 km (1.5 miles) south of the main campus.

San José State maintains a facility at Norman Y. Mineta San José International Airport as part of the Aviation Department, and manages the Moss Landing Marine Laboratories in Moss Landing, California, on the Monterey Bay, a cooperative research facility of seven CSU campuses.

In 2007, the School of Library and Information Science, the largest graduate program at San Jose and the largest of its type in the world with 2,500 graduate students, opened a virtual campus in Second Life, complete with faculty offices, classrooms, student lounge and library e-resources. The project was supported by grants from a number of sources including the Soros Foundation.

Organization

As a university of the California State University System, San José State falls under the jurisdiction of the California State University Board of Trustees and the Chancellor of the California State University.

The chief executive of San José State is the President of San José State University. The current president is Jon Whitmore, who was appointed to the position on May 14, 2008.^[3]

San José State offers 69 bachelors degrees with 81 concentrations, and 65 masters degrees with 29 concentrations.

The university has seven colleges and six schools:

• College of Applied Sciences & Arts
• College of Business
• College of Education
• The Charles W. Davidson College of Engineering
• College of Humanities & the Arts
• College of Science
• College of Social Sciences
• School of Art & Design
• School of Journalism & Mass Communications
• School of Library & Information Science
• School of Music & Dance
• School of Nursing
• School of Social Work

as well as International and Extended Studies, which coordinates continuing education and professional development programs.

The San Jose School of Library and Information Science is the largest program of its type in the world. Its Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) degree is accredited by the American Library Association and the school library media credential by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education. In 2008 it began a Master of Archives and Records Administration focussing on electronic records in government and the corporate world and an innovative Gateway PhD program with Queensland University of Technology. The School is nationally ranked and was named the #1 e-learning service provider in its discipline by U.S. News and World Report.

Athletics

Main article: San José State Spartans

The State Normal School at San Jose football team in 1910. Jerseys display a large "N" for the "Normal".

The university has participated in athletics since it fielded a baseball team in 1890. SJSU sports teams are known as the Spartans, and compete in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) in NCAA Division I (FBS, formerly known as Division I-A for football). San Jose State University sports teams have won NCAA titles in track and field, golf, and boxing. The school has achieved an international reputation in judo, having won 42 out of 46 national championships in the sport (as of 2007).^[4] Additionally, SJSU students and alumni have won more than half of the U.S. olympic medals in judo. The SJSU men's club ice hockey team was ranked #1 in the west (ACHA) for the 2005–2006 season.

SJSU alumni have won 18 Olympic medals through the years, dating back to the first gold medal won by Willie Steel in track and field in the 1948 Olympics. Alumni have won medals in track and field, swimming, judo and boxing. Due to pressures created by Title IX, several of these programs have been eliminated, including the historical track team known as "Speed City" which produced Olympic medalists and social activists Lee Evans, John Carlos and Tommie Smith.

San Jose State University was a boxing powerhouse during the latter years of NCAA sanctioned intervarsity boxing. The university is one of only a select number of colleges that sponsor a top-flight intercollegiate boxing team.

In July 2007, SJSU was selected by the United States Olympic Committee to serve as the primary processing center for all Team USA members bound for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. All team members enjoyed the SJSU campus housing and dining, during at least two days of document checks, health exams, cultural briefings, portrait sittings, uniform fittings, and last-minute workout sessions. The actual location of the processing center on the SJSU campus was kept secret for security reasons.

Notable among a number of songs commonly played and sung at various events such as commencement, convocation and athletic games are: San Jose State Spartans fight song.

Faculty and research

San José State has about 1,600 faculty members, 87 percent of whom hold doctorate degrees.

Research collections located at SJSU include the Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies and the Martha Heasley Cox Center for Steinbeck Studies.

SJSU research partnerships include the SJSU Metropolitan Technology Center at NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, the Cisco Networking Laboratory, and the Moss Landing Marine Laboratories.

It is also home to various institutes, such as the Mineta Transportation Institute. Since 2001, the university has operated the Survey and Policy Research Institute (SPRI), which conducts the quarterly, high-profile California Consumer Confidence Survey and many other research projects.

Notable faculty members

MacQuarrie Hall, home of the mathematics, computer science, criminal justice, and health sciences departments

• James J. Asher — professor emeritus of psychology, inventor of Total Physical Response (TPR).
• Jim Bunner - News Director KEYT, Multiple Emmy awards
• Elbert Botts —chemist, inventor of the epoxy used to secure Botts dots.
• Terry Christensen — political commentator, community activist, expert on California and local politics. Has authored many books on various subjects.
• Kevin Corker  — Cognitive Science and Human Factors practitioner, worked closely with NASA in administering the Human Factors Research and Technology Program
• Celia Correas de Zapata — scholar of Latin American women writers
• Allen Strange — musician and composer; author of Electronic Music: Systems, Techniques, and Controls, a key text on modular analog synthesis, and other texts on modern music practices.
• Larry Engelmann- Professor Emiritus of History and author of Feather in the Storm: A Childhood Lost in Chaos
• Mark Fruin — expert on Japanese business
• Alejandro Garcia — physicist, author of Numerical Methods for Physics [1]
• Larry Gerston — political commentator, expert on California politics and co-author of Recall: California's Political Earthquake
• Daniel Goldston — mathematician, develops methods for proving that there are arbitrarily large primes that are unusually close together
• Dan Harkey — co-founder of the Enterprise Software Technologies program at SJSU. Author, programmer, and speaker.
• Ken Haycock — Professor and Director, School of Library and Information Science.
• Kevin Jordan — psychologist, works closely with NASA in developing the Human Factors Research and Technology Program
• Tom Layton — archaeologist, documented origin of the shipwreck "Frolic" off the Mendocino coast, for which he has received national media attention
• Jessica Mitford — author of The American Way of Death and The American Way of Life. Recognized for revolutionizing the funeral industry.
• Rudy Rucker — computer science professor and science fiction author
• Susan Shillinglaw — author, sometimes regarded as the world's leading expert on John Steinbeck, director of the Center for Steinbeck Studies for 18 years.
• Richard Sinn — An industry expert lecturer at SJSU since 1998. Author of textbook Software Security Technologies. Software Architect in industry (Yahoo, IBM, Oracle, silicon valley startups), and speaker.
• Joel Slayton — new media artist, former publishing editor and chair of MIT Press, director of Leonardo/ISAST (international society for art, science, and technology), chairperson for the ISEA 2006/Zero One San José Festival, and director of the CADRE Laboratory for New Media
• Randall Stross — author of eBoys, The Microsoft Way and Steve Jobs and the NeXT Big Thing
• Yoshihiro Uchida — head coach, SJSU Judo Team, 1964 U.S. Olympic Judo Team (also an alumnus — BS Biology, 1947)
• Brent Walters — Expert on early church history; director of the Centre for Early Christian Studies and curator of the Ante-Nicene Archive (the largest private library in the country regarding the first 3 centuries of the Common Era). He is also an alumnus from SJSU's Philosophy department. [2]
• Donald M. West — chemist, co-author of Analytical chemistry, an introduction, the standard first year textbook in the field; emeritus as of 1995
• Michael Cruz Business Professor

Students

The campus has approximately 32,000 students. It is one of the most ethnically diverse in the nation, with large Asian (mostly southeast Asians including Vietnamese, Filipinos, Thais, and Hmong) and Latino enrollments. The majority of students are commuters who live outside the immediate area of the campus.

SJSU is ranked #45 among public colleges and universities in the West that offer only undergraduate and master's programs, according to the latest survey by U.S. News & World Report [3]. On the national level, the university tied for 14th place for the best undergraduate engineering program, placed 5th for the best computer engineering program, and tied for 5th place for the best industrial/manufacturing engineering program.

The SJSU College of Business is one of the 500 institutions worldwide that are accredited by the prestigious AACSB International at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. In addition, the College of Business is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and the California State Board of Education. The college is actively seeking corporate donations, and most recently received a donation of US$10 million from alumni Donald and Sally Lucas. Donald and Sally Lucas are the founders of the Lucas Dealership Group, one of the top 25 automobile dealerships in the country. Beginning in the summer of 2007, its undergraduate business honors program [4] was internationalized and launched its first annual 14-day study trip to Beijing and Shanghai.

The engineering, science, and business schools have more graduates working in Silicon Valley than any other university in the world. Nearly 200 SJSU graduates have founded, co-founded, served or serve as senior executives or officers of public and private companies reporting annual sales between US$40 million and US$26 billion. Notable engineering societies include local chapters of IDSA, IEEE and the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.

The College of Education has been accredited under the performance-oriented standards of the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education.

The school newspaper, the Spartan Daily, was founded in 1934, and is published four days a week when classes are in session. KSJS, 90.5 FM, is the university's radio station. Known for being one of the best college radio stations in the country and broadcasting with 1500 watts 24 hours a day, KSJS is a student-training ground that features five different types of music (electronic, urban, jazz, subversive rock, and rock en espanol), as well as a variety of public affairs programming.

Greek letter organizations

The school has 38 fraternity and sorority chapters including:

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Spartan Squad

The Spartan Squad is the official student booster club at San Jose State, and it started in 2005. The Spartan Squad is for all undergraduate and graduate students of San Jose State, and its intentions are to increase student attendance at sporting events and school pride overall on campus. The Spartan Squad members are easily recognized wearing the group's signature gold t-shirts, designed by San José State graphic design student Dang Nguyen. It's creators are class of 2006 graduates Matthew Olivieri and Brad Villeggiante.

Notable alumni

The College of Engineering Building

Statue in honor of Smith and Carlos' famous civil rights protest during the 1968 Olympics on the campus of SJSU

• Sherman Cocroft: Former defensive back for the Kansas City Chiefs
• Mike Sinyard: CEO and Founder of Specialized Bicycle
• Nirav Amin: NR Enterprises COO and Co-founder.
• Tariq Abdul-Wahad — NBA player (played at SJSU as Olivier Saint-Jean)
• Bettina Aptheker — author, professor, political activist
• Chauncey Bailey — B.A. Journalism, murdered Oakland journalist/editor
• James T. Beall Jr. — Assemblyman, 24th district and former County Supervisor
• Coby Bell — actor
• Bernd Behr — artist
• Ricky Berry — NBA player
• John Broussard: current wide receiver with the Jacksonville Jaguars
• David Brown — Co-Founder, Quantum Corporation
• Lee P. Brown — former Mayor of Houston, former Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy
• Lindsey Buckingham — musician best known for Fleetwood Mac
• Jim Bunner — multiple Emmy award winning TV Producer (NBC, CBS)
• Ben Nighthorse Campbell — former U.S. Senator from Colorado
• Ken Caminiti — former Major League Baseball player
• Cindy Chavez — former member of San José City Council, Delta Gamma alumna
• Danny Lee Clark  — American Gladiator "Nitro"
• Joey Chestnut — Competitive eater
• Finis Conner — Founder, Conner Peripherals
• Keith Connolly - Vice President Global Strategic Sourcing AT&T
• Christopher Darden — prosecutor in the O.J. Simpson murder case
• Rashied Davis —NFL Wide Receiver, Chicago Bears and former AFL player, San Jose SaberCats
• Michael Deaver — Deputy White House Chief of Staff for President Ronald Reagan
• Steve DeBerg — former NFL quarterback
• Robert V. Dees — President of the Coast Community College District
• Harry Edwards- Professor Emeritus of Sociology University of California, Berkeley, and author of The Revolt of the Black Athlete
• Mike Euglow VP, WW Recruiting with salesforce.com
• Mervyn Fernandez former NFL wide receiver with the Los Angeles Raiders
• Dian Fossey — ethologist and gorilla expert
• Robert "Bob" Foster — Mayor of Long Beach, CA; former President of Southern California Edison; former CSU Trustee.
• Kevin Frandsen  — Major League Baseball player for the San Francisco Giants.
• Jeff Garcia — Quarterback, Calgary Stampeders, San Francisco 49ers, Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Philadelphia Eagles and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Charles Ginsburg — engineer, inventor of the videocassette recorder
• Richard E. Gray - NASA test pilot
• Krazy George Henderson — professional cheerleader, inventor of the audience wave
• James Hodgins; former National Football League fullback with the St Louis Rams, Arizona Cardinals, and New York Jets
• Mike Honda — U.S. Representative from California
• Lou Henry Hoover — First Lady of the United States
• Darnell "Dr. Dunk" Hillman —former ABA/NBA player
• Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston - author of Farewell to Manzanar
• Pat Hughes — radio announcer, Chicago Cubs, television for Marquette Basketball, former announcer Milwaukee Brewers
• Pat Hurst — LPGA Golfer
• Juli Inkster — LPGA Golfer
• Jon C. Iwata — IBM Senior Vice President, Marketing and Communications
• Lisa Jevbratt — new media artist, participated with C5 in the 2002 Whitney Biennial
• Johnny Johnson — Former NFL running back
• James Jones: current wide receiver with the Green Bay Packers
• Rick Kane — former NFL running back with the Detroit Lions
• Omid Kordestani — Senior Vice President of Google
• Jayne Ann Krentz — author
• Bill Leavy — National Football League referee
• Bryan "Brain" Mantia — drummer, Primus, Guns N' Roses
• Jessica McClintock — fashion designer
• Dave Meltzer; editor of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter
• Omar Benson Miller; actor.
• Jenny Ming — former President of Old Navy
• Gordon Moore — co-founder of Intel (studied two years at SJSC, then graduated from U.C. Berkeley)
• Joe Nedney, National Football League kicker San Francisco 49ers
• Gaylord Nelson — U.S. Senator and Governor of Wisconsin
• Stevie Nicks — musician best known for Fleetwood Mac
• Lyn Nofziger — White House advisor to presidents Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan
• Leland F. Stott — Electrical Engineer at IBM
• Ed Oates — Co-founder of Oracle Corporation
• William Yaw Obeng — Arena Football League lineman San Jose Sabercats
• Christos Papanikolaou — Greek pole vaulter, Men's Pole Vault World Record Holder from October 24, 1970 to April 8, 1972.
• Ali Parsa — Iranian author and former editor of Computer Report
• Tom Petitthome — Former AFL player with the San Jose Sabercats
• Anthony Poshepny — Aka Tony Poe, CIA paramilitary officer who trained the United States Secret Army in Laos
• Ernie Reyes Sr. — Martial artist
• Fred H. Roster (born 1944), an American sculptor
• Robert Scoble — blogger, author, and technical evangelist
• Sim Tze Tzin Malaysian politician
• Kurtwood Smith — actor, best known for the role of Red Forman on That '70s Show
• Tommie Smith — 1968 Olympic gold medalist, best known for "Black Power" salute with fellow SJSC student and medalist John Carlos
• The Smothers Brothers, Tom and Dick Smothers — comedians
• John Swapsceinski — founder of RateMyProfessors.com
• Amy Tan — novelist
• Tyson Thompson: current kick returner with the Dallas Cowboys
• Joe Trippi — Political Campaign Specialist, Campaign Manager of Howard Dean 2004, Sigma Nu alumnus
• Peter Ueberroth — head of 1984 Summer Olympics, Time 1984 Man of the Year and commissioner (1984 – 1989) of Major League Baseball, Delta Upsilon alumnus
• Luis Valdez — playwright and director
• Dick Vermeil — American football coach^[5]
• Bill Walsh — American football coach^[6]
• Michael Whelan — artist
• Gerald Willhite — former NFL running back with the Denver Broncos
• David Willman — reporter, winner of the 2001 Pulitzer Prize
• Hamza Yusuf — Islamic scholar
• Rajan Zed: Hindu chaplain, first to deliver Hindu opening prayer in United States Senate.

Notes

External links

• Official website
• USNews Report: SJSU School Brief
• Gilroy Dispatch, January 20, 2007: "A Look Back at the History of San Jose State University"