Guide to the San José State University Faculty Papers of H. Brett Melendy
SJSU Library Special Collections & Archives
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library
San José State University
One Washington Square
San José, CA 95192-0028
Phone: (408) 808-2062
Fax: (408) 808-2063
Email: special.collections@sjsu.edu
URL: http://library.sjsu.edu/sjsu-special-collections/sjsu-special-collections-and-archives
© 2009
Trustees of the California State University. All rights reserved.
Guide to the San José State University Faculty Papers of H. Brett Melendy
Collection number: MSS-2009-05-01
SJSU Special Collections & Archives
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library
San José State University
One Washington Square
San José, CA 95192-0028
Phone: (408) 808-2062
Fax: (408) 808-2063
Email: special.collections@sjsu.edu
URL: http://library.sjsu.edu/sjsu-special-collections/sjsu-special-collections-and-archives
Finding aid funded by the generous support of the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).
- Processed by:
- Jane Gilvin
- Date Completed:
- 2009
- Encoded by:
- Jane Gilvin
© 2009 Trustees of the California State University. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: San José State University Faculty Papers of H. Brett Melendy
Dates: 1928-1985
Bulk Dates: 1955-1985
Collection number: MSS-2009-05-01
Collector:
Melendy, H. Brett, 1924-2008
Collection Size:
52 boxes
(21.68 linear feet)
Repository:
San José State University. Library.
San José, California 95192-0028
Abstract: The San José State University Faculty Papers of H. Brett Melendy, 1928-1985 (bulk 1955-1985), consists of materials collected
by H. Brett Melendy while serving as the University Archivist (1983-1987). The records consist of academic journals, newspaper
clippings, photographs and typed and handwritten papers. This collection is arranged into nine series: Series I. Academic
Departments, 1957, 1970-1983; Series II. Academic Senate & the Economics Department, 1970-1978; Series III. Business Affairs,
1931-1979; Series IV. California Departments of Controller, Auditor, Education & Finance, 1929-1973; Series V. California
Pioneer Contest & History Department Student Papers, 1958-1975; Series VI. Faculty Papers, 1928-1985; Series VII. Miscellaneous
University Groups, 1971-1984; Series VIII. Ombudsman, 1967-1970; and Series IX. United Professors of California, 1971-1982.
Physical location: For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English
Access Restrictions
Specific folders in boxes 3, 27, 28, 42, 46, 47, & 50 are restricted.
Publication Rights
Copyright is assigned to the San José State University Library Special Collections &
Archives. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to
the Director of Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Special Collections
& Archives as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the
copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader. Copyright restrictions also apply to digital
reproductions of the original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research and educational purposes.
Preferred Citation
San José State University Faculty Papers of H. Brett Melendy, MSS-2009-05-01, San José State University Library Special Collections
& Archives.
Project Information
This finding aid was created as part of the Survey and Cataloging Project, a two-year San José State University Library grant
project funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. The project began in 2008.The Project Director
is Danelle Moon. The Project Archivist is Erin Louthen.
Processing Information
Collection processed and finding aid EAD encoded by Jane Gilvin. Reviewed by Danelle Moon and Erin Louthen.
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.
Born in Eureka, California, H. Brett Melendy (1924-2008) spent most of his life in California and Hawaii. He received his
Master of Arts in Education in 1948 and his Doctorate in History in 1952 from Stanford University. During this time, he also
taught high school in Fresno, California. Melendy began his university academic career as a history professor at SJSU in 1955.
He served in several positions while at San José State University including: Academic Council Faculty Chair; Associate Academic
Vice President; Dean of Undergraduate Studies; History Department Chair; History Professor; Interim Academic Vice President;
and University Archivist. Melendy also spent some of his academic career as an administrator and history professor in the
Hawaiian University system in the 1970s. His written work includes the books
Chinese and Japanese Americans;
Asians in America: Filipinos, Koreans, and East Indians; co-author of
The Governors of California: Peter H. Burnett to Edmund G. Brown, as well as numerous scholarly articles.
In addition, Melendy conducted oral history interviews of select San José State University administrators and faculty from
1983 to 1988.
Melendy served as the University Archivist from 1983-1987 on a half-time basis, while also maintaining half-time responsibilities
as the Director of the Engineering Institute in the Engineering Department. In 1987 the University Archivist position was
eliminated by Academic Vice President Arlene Okerlund. From 1987 to 1994, Melendy continued to work in the History and Engineering
Departments, and in 1993 he was awarded Professor Emeritus status.
Bibliography
Gilbert, Benjamin F., and Burdick, Charles.
Washington Square, 1857-1979: The History of San José State University. San José, California: San José State University, 1980.
Walsh, James P.
San José State University: An Interpretive History, 1950-2000. San José, California: San José State University, 2003.
Related Material
Bunzel, John.
John H. Bunzel, President 1970-1978, San José State University: An Oral History. San José, California: San José, 1987.
Gilbert, Benjamin F. and Melendy, H. Brett.
The Governors of California: Peter H. Burnett to Edmund G. Brown. Georgetown, California: Talisman Press, 1965.
Melendy, H. Brett.
Howard Brett Melendy, Professor of History and Past Chairman of the History Department, Academic Council Faculty Chairman,
Interim Academic Vice President, Associate Academic Vice President, and University Archivist, San José State University, 1955-1970;
1979-Present: An Oral History.
San José, California: San José, 1988.
Oral history interviews of the San José State University Oral History Project, 2005-2006, Collection No. MSS-2006-04-01. San
José State University Archives Collection.
Wright, Milburn.
Milburn D. Wright, Dean of the School of Business 1956-1974, Professor of Business 1939-1956, San José State University: An
Oral History.
San José, California: San José, 1984.
Scope and Content
The San José State University Faculty Papers of H. Brett Melendy, 1928-1985 (bulk 1955-1985), document Melendy's long-term
tenure at San José State University and specifically his work as the University Archivist from 1983-1987. The records consist
of academic journals, newspaper clippings, photographs, typed and handwritten papers, statistical reports and audits. In addition
to papers gathered from other staff and faculty, Melendy's personal papers are also included. The collection also documents
several lawsuits filed against the university by faculty, as well as the business of the faculty union, the United Professors
of California.
Arrangement
This collection is arranged into nine series: Series I. Academic Departments, 1957, 1970-1983; Series II. Academic Senate
& the Economics Department, 1970-1978; Series III. Business Affairs, 1931-1979; Series IV. California Departments of Controller,
Auditor Education & Finance, 1929-1973; Series V. California Pioneer Contest & History Department Student Papers, 1958-1975;
Series VI. Faculty Papers, 1928-1985; Series VII. Miscellaneous University Groups, 1971-1984; Series VIII. Ombudsman, 1967-1970;
and Series IX. United Professors of California, 1971-1982.
Subject Headings
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
the library's online public access catalog.
Melendy, H. Brett (Howard Brett)
San José State University -- University Archivist -- History
San José State Teachers College -- History
San José State College -- History
California State University, San José -- History
San José State University -- History
Education, Higher -- California -- San José
Collection Contents
SERIES I:
Academic Departments
1957-1983
Physical Description: 2 boxes
Series Scope and Content Summary
The material in this series documents the Art, Nursing, Psychology and Science Education Departments. Of special note is a
brief history of the Art Department covering the years 1911-1957, written by faculty member Warren Faus for the 1957 San José
State University Centennial Celebration. Faus went on to chair the Art Department from 1960-1967, and then served as Dean
of the School of Humanities and Arts until his retirement in 1974.
Arrangement
This series is arranged by department.
Box 1
Art & Psychology Departments
1957,
1970-1976
Box 2
Nursing & Science Education Departments
1976-1983
SERIES II:
Academic Senate & the Economics Department
1970-1978
Physical Description: 5 boxes
Series Scope and Content Summary
The material in this series documents the Academic Senate investigation into the 1974 disenfranchisement of the Economics
Department by SJSU President John Bunzel (1970-1978). The series includes a copy of the 1975 lawsuit brought against the university
by members of the department. This event is also documented in the San José State University Academic Senate Records. Materials
related to a 1974 Academic Senate retreat and a 1977-78 evaluation of the Dean of Undergraduate Studies are also included
in this series.
Arrangement
This series is arranged by subject.
Access Note
Folder "Review Committee for Dean of Undergraduate Studies 1977-1978" in Box 3 is restricted.
Box 3
Academic Senate Retreat & Dean Review
1974-1978
Boxes 4-7
Senate Response to Economics Department Disenfranchisement
1970-1976
SERIES III:
Business Affairs
1931-1979
Physical Description: 6 boxes
Series Scope and Content Summary
The material in this series documents independent audits conducted on specific campus organizations, including Spartan Shops,
Inc., the San José State College Foundation and the Associated Students. State budget process position justification letters
and other correspondence related to the budget from 1953-1960 are also included in this series.
Arrangement
This series is arranged chronologically.
Boxes 8-10
Audit Reports
1931-1979
Box 12
Organizational Structure
1945-1958,
1968-1973
Box 13
Audit Reports
1955-1979
SERIES IV:
California State Departments of Controller, Auditor, Education and Finance
1929-1973
Physical Description: 4 boxes
Series Scope and Content Summary
The material in this series documents the activities of the California State Departments of Controller, Auditor, Education
and Finance. The records from the State Department of Education concern the entire California State College system, and contain
records of enrollment by geographical area for the years 1933-1955. Reports on the employment status of 1933-1935 graduates
with a teaching credential for the state are also included. The State Controller, Auditor and Finance records included here
offer data specific to the San José State University campus documenting the years 1929-1973.
Arrangement
This series is arranged alphabetically by department, and then chronologically within each folder.
Box 14
State Audits of San José State College
1948-1963
Box 15
Annual Reports for California State Colleges
1935-1955
Box 16
State Teaching Schools Statistical Data
1938-1957
Box 17
State Audit of Campus Organizations
1929-1973
SERIES V:
California Pioneer Essay Contest & History Department Student Papers
1958-1975
Physical Description: 1 box
Series Scope and Content Summary
The material in this series includes student essays submitted to the California Pioneers of Santa Clara County Historical
Essay Contest, as well as papers written for history courses taught by Dr. Benjamin Gilbert. Gilbert and Melendy co-authored
The Governors of California: Peter H. Burnett to Edmund G. Brown. Gilbert also wrote
Pioneers for One Hundred Years: San José State College, 1857-1957. The California Pioneers of Santa Clara Essay Contest is held yearly.
Arrangement
This series is arranged alphabetically by student surname.
Box 18
Pioneer Essays & History Department Student Papers
1958-1975
SERIES VI:
Faculty Papers
1928-1985
Physical Description: 21 boxes
Series Scope and Content Summary
The material in this series consists of the administrative, personal and research records of H. Brett Melendy, as well as
the papers of Math Professor Dr. Marjorie Pickering Filling; Dean of the Business School Dr. Milburn D. Wright; and other
retired faculty and staff.
Arrangement
This series is arranged alphabetically by professor surname, and then chronologically within each box.
Access Note
Folders "Consultants," "Budgets & Expenses," "In Kind Contribution Completed," "Expenditures Monthly" and "Research Association
Correspondence" in Boxes 27 and 28 are restricted.
Boxes 19-20
Melendy Academic & Administrative Papers
1964-1988
Box 21
Melendy Academic & Personal Papers
1973-1988
Boxes 22-23
American Historical Association Newsletter
1974-1988
Box 24
Articles, Inscribed
1959-1978
Box 25
Bulletin of Chinese Historical Society of America
1969-1980
Boxes 26-28
National Endowment for Humanities Grants
1973-1983
Box 29
Hawaiian Periodicals
1967-1988
Box 30
Melendy Professional & Personal Incoming Correspondence
1966-1988
Box 31
Melendy Professional Outgoing Correspondence
1967-1988
Boxes 32-33
Melendy Research Correspondence
1964-1988
Boxes 34-35
Pickering Filling Papers
1968-1982
Box 36
Wright Papers
1933-1981
Boxes 37-39
Staff & Faculty Papers
1928-1985
SERIES VII:
Miscellaneous University Materials
1971-1984
Physical Description: 1 box
Series Scope and Content Summary
The material in this series documents the Black Masque Honor Society for female undergraduate juniors and seniors, as well
as the Presidential Committee for the Future of Education formed by San José State University President John Bunzel (1970-1978)
in 1971.
Arrangement
This series is arranged alphabetically by format, and then chronologically within each folder.
Box 40
Black Masque & Presidential Committee on the Future of Education
1971-1984
SERIES VIII:
Ombudsman
1967-1970
Physical Description: 1 box
Series Scope and Content Summary
The San José State University Ombudsman is an impartial party appointed to receive complaints, give information or facilitate
communication between students and members of the university community. The position was created by San José State President
Robert D. Clark (1964-1969) in the late 1960s in response to student Civil Rights protests. This series documents a particularly
controversial time for the university and for the nation, and includes correspondence, press releases and newspaper articles
chronicling such events as the Survival Faire, student unrest, and the Tommie Smith and John Carlos Black Power salute at
the 1968 Olympics. Held on campus, the Survival Faire started as a class project, but became a larger community event to promote
environmental awareness, capped by the burial of a car on Earth Day. Also during this time, Dr. William Shockley, well known
eugenicist and supporter of sterilization, participated in the program entitled "Black is Becoming." A Nobel Prize winner
in 1958, and co-inventor of the transistor and leader in the semi-conductor industry, Shockley spent the last years of his
life studying intelligence, race, and eugenics, and believed that science could solve human problems. Needless to say, his
views on race and intelligence during the height of the Civil Rights movement created some campus conflict.
This series also contains information documenting the 1968 Olympics, specifically the incident involving Tommie Smith and
John Carlos, two participating San José State College athletes. Smith and Carlos raised their arms in a Black Power salute
while standing on the winners podium. The act was widely publicized and both men received death threats afterwards. Public
response to these and other events that occurred on the San José State University campus during the late 1960s and early 1970s
are well-documented in this series.
Arrangement
This series is arranged chronologically.
Box 41
Ombudsman Correspondence
1967-1970
SERIES IX:
United Professors of California
1971-1982
Physical Description: 11 boxes
Series Scope and Content Summary
The material in this series documents the United Professors of California Union on the San José
State University campus. It covers collective bargaining, local union business, membership,
payroll deductions, state meetings and political actions.
Arrangement
This series is arranged by subject.
Access Note
Folders "Bank Statements & Checks 1971-1976 (1)," "Bank Statements & Checks 1971-1976 (2)," and
"Grievances: Academic Freedom Committee, 1973-1975" in Boxes 42 and 50 and all of Boxes 46-47 are restricted.
Box 42
United Professors of California Files
1971-1977
Boxes 43-44
Collective Bargaining
1974-1982
Box 45
Economics Department & Faculty Conditions
1973-1981
Boxes 46-47
Personnel Files
1973-1982
Box 48
Local Union Files
1972-1981
Box 49
Local Union Membership
1974-1981
Box 50
Nomination, Payroll Deductions & Political Actions
1973-1980
Box 51
United Professors of California Statewide Meetings & Fliers
1974-1981
Box 52
United Professors of California Newspapers & Fliers
1973-1982
