Walsh, James P., 1937-

James P. Walsh was born in 1937 in San Francisco, California, the younger of two sons of Irish immigrant parents. Walsh's career spanned 35 years at San Jose State. During that time, he served as Chair of the History Department (1982-86), Associate Dean of the College of Social Sciences (1987-1988), Dean of the College of Social Sciences (1988-1994), and Academic Vice President [renamed Provost] (1995). San Jose State University: an interpretive history,1950-2000 is the result of James Walsh's recommendation to University President Robert L. Caret that the previous university history, Washington Square, 1857-1979, San Jose State University, was out of date and that a new history was needed. He spent one additional year researching and writing the history of continuing education and international studies at SJSU (2005). The resulting manuscript, Continuing education since 1857: San Jose State University, chronicles the connection between the development of San Jose State University as a modern institution and the continuing education programs that existed at the beginning of its institutional life.

The chronology of San Jose State University's various name changes is as follows: Minns' Evening Normal School is founded in 1857; is renamed California State Normal School in 1862; becomes San Jose State Normal School in 1887; is renamed San Jose State Teachers College in 1921; becomes San Jose State College in 1935; is incorporated into the California State Colleges (now the 23-campus California State University system) in 1961; becomes California State University, San Jose, in 1972; and is renamed its current title, San Jose State University (SJSU), in 1974.

The First class of San Jose State Normal School research records, 1827-2009 (1827-1922 bulk) was compiled by SJSU Emeritus Professor of History, James P. Walsh. This research collection originated from his earlier publication One and the same: The history of continuing education at San Jose State University, 1857-2007 published in 2006. During the research process for One and the Same, Walsh discovered the history of the first graduates of the State Normal School. Walsh began the process to document in greater detail the lives of the first sixteen graduates (In order of class ranking: Ellen Casey, Mary A. Casebolt, Alice T. Baker, Laura Field, Eliza Hawkhurst, Kate Kennedy, Lizzie Kennedy, Adelia B. Kimball, Mariana Alley Willis, Caroline L. Hunt, Dorcas S. Prescott, Mary Louise Tracy, Mary B. Lynde, Hannah Marks, Beatrice Weed, and Annie E. Dubois) of the San Jose State Normal School, and has since published the article "Tadhg" Let's Change the Subject," published in Back to the Future of Irish Studies; Festschrift for Tadhg Foley, edited by Maureen O'Conner and published in 2009. As he notes in his book and article, the first graduating class consisted of sixteen women, fifteen were single, and one was married. These women migrated to California during the gold rush era, and several of them came from Irish immigrant families. The State Normal School laid the foundation for public higher education in California, and the graduates became the first credentialed teachers in the state.