SJSU/CSU: Established 1862

Use of "1857" Dishonors California

View 1862 California Legislation Creating the California State Normal School (now "San Jose State") (pdf)

View SJSU 1862 Resolutions (pdf)

CSU students and alumni in San Jose recently asked the University to reaffirm May 2, 1862, as the official date of establishment of what is now called San Jose State University, and as the date from which the entire CSU system developed (see SJSU 1862 resolutions above).

The California State Normal School (now, "SJSU"), the founding campus of what became the CSU system, was established by the California Legislature on May 2, 1862. The 1857 year currently used by SJSU refers to establishment of a City of San Francisco night school that existed from 1857 to 1862 and was never located in San Jose. The state institution in San Jose used the correct 1862 year for most of its existence until it was changed it to "1857" in more recent years. For example, the 1919 California State Normal School catalog at right says "Established in 1862".

A growing number of San Jose students and alumni believe that the degrees awarded by the California State University campus in San Jose would more valuable and recognizable if the school honored its California State identity, including its authentic date of establishment by the State of California. Almost all state universities use their date of state charter rather than the date of establishment of private or municipal schools from which they were derived. For example, the University of California, Berkeley, was derived from a school founded in 1848, but Berkeley still uses 1868, its date of charter by the State of California, as its official date of establishment.

So why did "San Jose State" stop using its real year of establishment in favor of "1857"? One can only guess that it was to appease "SJSU" provincialists who preferred that name and were uncomfortable with 1862 because it is associated with the school's original "California State" identity.

Nevertheless, even after the school's 1957 "cenntenial" the University recognized and celebrated its authentic date of establishment. In fact, for approximately six years in the late 1950s and early 1960s, the school celebrated "Founder's Day" to commemorate its May 2, 1862, establishment by the California Legislature. See SJSU 1862 Celebrations. Today, however, the University for the most part identifies some unspecified date in "1857" as its time of establishment. In addition, the University bookstore, Spartan Shops, sells collegiate gear with "1857" on it. These practices contravene California law and is a dishonor to the State of California, the California Legislature, and the memory of the California State Normal School, its students, graduates, faculty and administrators.

If you care about your school's most authentic traditions, its reputation and integrity, and about how your California State tax dollars are being spent in a manner that harms the University and its students and alumni, please join us in contacting SJSU's president at sjsupres@sjsu.edu and the CSU Chancellor at creed@calstate.edu.

Ask them to restore integrity and honesty to San Jose's identity by requiring:

(1) that the school's authentic May 2, 1862 date of establishment be used,

(2) that the school be identified in all marketing materials as the oldest public institution of higher learning in California (not on the West Coast);

(3) that the California State Normal School (1862-1921) and the California State University, San Jose (1971-1974) names be properly identified in all historical accounts in University publications, marketing materials and media; and

(4) that the school's historic Eureka Seal be recognized and used as the school official seal.