Oral history interviews of the San José State University Oral History Project , 2005-2006.

ArchivalResource

Oral history interviews of the San José State University Oral History Project , 2005-2006.

This Oral History Project documents the history of San José State University (SJSU) from 1952 to the present. The interviews cover a wide spectrum of subjects from student life, faculty and university governance, policymaking, capital campaigns, and changes in higher education in California. Collectively these interviews document the sweeping social, political and economic changes that shaped American society and which thereby transformed academic life and culture at SJSU. The post-war years offered great prosperity and new opportunities for college students in California. The impact of the civil rights movement and the Vietnam war, forever changed academics and influenced the development of new programs and disciplines, including the formation of New College (1968-1980), an experimental interdisciplinary school, and new majors in African American Studies, Chicano Studies, Asian American Studies, and Women Studies. Changes in curriculum and the diversity of the student body and faculty led to a watershed that moved the institution forward from a small college to a major metropolitan university. The interviews and in particular, the account of Reverend Benton White, professor of religious studies, present some of the challenges the university faced in addressing civil rights on campus and in society. Many of the themes from these interviews shed light on student and faculty strikes during the Vietnam war, the Tommy Smith and John Carlos 1968 Olympics controversy, the development of an ombudsman position to address racial discrimination and other social justice issues on campus. The tumult of the civil rights movement and anti-war demonstrations on campus, mirrored other college and university experiences across the United States, yet laid the foundation for a more democratic and diverse institution. This collection contains audio tapes and transcripts documenting the experiences of key administrators and faculty from San José State University. The oral histories described, reflect the changes in campus governance, curriculum and student life from 1952 to the present. The interviewees included: Wanda Blockhus, Jack Douglas, Ruth Jaffe, Lester Lange, Mary Male, Brett Melendy, Sam Milioto, George Moore, James Noah, Lela Nobel, Theodore Norton, Jay Pinson, Wiggsy Sivertsen, James Walsh, Reverend Benton White and Jo Bell Whitlach.

1 linear feet (2 boxes).Sound recordings : 15 sound cassettes (60 min. each.) : analog.Transcripts : 15 folders.

Information

SNAC Resource ID: 7088927

San Jose State University

Related Entities

There are 22 Entities related to this resource.

San José State University. Library. Special Collections & Archives

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Organizational History In 1857 the San Francisco Board of Education established an evening school for current and prospective teachers in the city. The school became know as the Minns' Evening Normal School, named after the principal, Washington Minns. In 1862, the California State Legislature formally established Minns' school as the first California State Normal School. The school remained in San Francisco until the California State Legisla...

Pinson, Jay,

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Noah, James,

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Jaffé, Ruth

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Male, Mary

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White, Benton, Reverend,

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Douglas, Jack D.

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Sivertsen, Wiggsey,

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Milioto, Sam,

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Moore, George

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BLOCKHUS, WANDA

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Nobel, Lela,

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MONTGOMERY, BONNIE J.

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McBane, Margo,

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Melendy, Brett,

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Whitlatch, Jo Bell

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Lange, Lester H.

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San José State University Oral History Project .

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San José State University

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Guerra, Suzanne,

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Norton, Theodore Mills

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Walsh, James P. M.

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