Organizational History
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 José, 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 José 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.
In the late 1950s California faced a large increase in the number of students entering state colleges and universities. Several factors contributed to this increase, including the post-World War II Baby Boom, educational assistance for military veterans, immigration to California, larger high school graduating classes and more of those students pursuing a college education. 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 José State University. Subsequently, the plan became a model for other states and countries.
The Master Plan Survey Team was created in June of 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 José State University was developed to prepare the campus for the next 10 to 15 years, and includes a discussion of closing 7th Street to vehicular traffic or the possibility of creating a traffic bypass. Although 7th Street was eventually closed to traffic in 1994, the initial proposal was not accepted by the San José City Council, as documented by newspaper clippings included in these records. The plans also include purchasing additional land and erecting new buildings on the San José State University campus. Discussion of demolishing or renovating historic Tower Hall and whether the Trustees would purchase all of the land proposed is also documented in the records. Tower Hall was not demolished and remains one of the iconic buildings on campus.
From the guide to the California and San José State University Master Plan for Higher Education Records, 1954-1987, 1958-1962, (San José State University. Library.)
