San Jose State University. Master Plan Committee.

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 Jose, 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 Jose 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.

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, in 1974.

In the late 1950s, California faced a large increase in the number of students entering state colleges and universities. As a result, the state legislature passed the California Master Plan for Higher Education, also known as the Donahue Act, in 1960 outlining how the state would deal with the rising enrollment in the state university, college and junior college systems. The California Legislature's adoption of the Master Plan recognized the importance of higher education to the state's economy and committed resources to promote low tuition costs for state residents. Admission standards were set for each system and a new governance system was established for the state colleges including San Jose State University. Subsequently, the plan became a model for other states and countries.

The Master Plan Survey Team was created in 1959 when Bakersfield Democratic Assemblyperson Dorothy Donahue introduced the resolution for the Master Plan to the California Assembly. Two years later, the newly established Trustees for the California State University system coordinated "Campus Physical Master Plans" for individual campuses. The 1962 plan for San Jose State University was developed to prepare the campus for the next 10 to 15 years.

From the description of California and San Jose State University Master Plan for Higher Education records, 1954-1987 bulk 1958-1962. (San Jose Public Library). WorldCat record id: 424646825