San José State University and The College of New Jersey: A Historical Overview

San José State University (SJSU) and The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) are two public universities with rich histories and distinct identities. SJSU, located in the heart of Silicon Valley, boasts a legacy of innovation and a strong connection to the tech industry. TCNJ, situated in Ewing Township, New Jersey, stands as the state's first normal school, with a tradition of excellence in teacher education and a commitment to liberal arts and professional programs.

San José State University: From Normal School to Powerhouse

Early Beginnings and Evolution

San José State University has undergone several name changes throughout its history, reflecting its evolving mission and scope. It began as Minns' Evening Normal School (1857-1862), then became the California State Normal School (1862-1921), followed by San Jose State Teachers College (1921-1935), San Jose State College (1935-1972), and briefly California State University, San Jose (1972-1974).

The institution's origins can be traced back to a private normal school in San Francisco that closed after only a year. Politicians John Swett and Henry B. Janes sought to establish a normal school for San Francisco's public school system and approached George W. Minns to be the principal for the nascent institution. The normal school began operations in 1857 and became known as the Minns Evening Normal School.

In 1861, after the continued success of the Evening School, a committee was formed to create a report on the merits of fully funding a state normal school and presented its report to the California State Legislator in January 1862.

Relocation and Challenges

In 1868, discussions began about finding a permanent location for the Normal School, with a consensus that it needed to separate from the San Francisco Board of Education and relocate. Several cities bid to host the school, but San Jose became the preferred site after the San Jose Railroad Company funded a tour of the city and potential locations for the entire student and faculty body. The school moved to San Jose in 1871 and was given Washington Square Park.

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The first building on Washington Square opened in 1871 and was completed in 1876. However, it was destroyed in a fire in 1880. Principal Charles H. Allen requested emergency funds from the California State Legislator for a new building. This sparked debate in the senate about the school's effectiveness and whether it should be moved elsewhere. The California State Senate voted to move the school to Los Angeles, but objections from the California State Assembly kept it in San Jose. The legislature ultimately provided partial emergency funds for a new building, which was completed in 1881.

Growth and Transformation

The second State Normal School Building, built to replace the one destroyed in 1880, was destroyed in the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake. The California State Normal School Bell, forged in 1881, remains on the San Jose campus.

Immediately after the failed attempt to move State Normal School to Los Angeles, California State Senator J.P. West sponsored a bill to create a "Branch State Normal School" in Los Angeles. The bill was passed by both houses and opened in August 1882.

In 1922, the State Teachers College at San Jose adopted the Spartans as the school's official mascot and nickname. In 1930, the Justice Studies Department was founded as a two-year police science degree program, offering the first policing degree in the United States.

During World War II, in 1942, the old gym (now Yoshihiro Uchida Hall) was used to register and collect Japanese Americans before sending them to internment camps.

Activism and Modernization

During the 1960s and early 1970s, San Jose State College experienced a surge in political activism among its students, including protests against the Vietnam War. One of the largest protests occurred in 1967 when Dow Chemical Company, a major manufacturer of napalm, came to campus to recruit.

In 1963, students and alumni organized to save Tower Hall from demolition, leading to its refurbishment and reopening in 1966. It was again renovated and restored in 2007.

In 1985, the CADRE Laboratory for New Media was established. In 1999, San Jose State and the City of San Jose combined their main libraries to form the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library, which opened in 2003.

In 2008, SJSU received a CASE WealthEngine Award for raising over $100 million. In 2012, NASA Ames Research Center awarded SJSU $73.3 million to participate in developing systems for improving air and space travel safety and efficiency.

Campus Development

California State Normal School did not receive a permanent home until it moved from San Francisco to San Jose in 1871. The original campus consisted of several rectangular, wooden buildings with a central grass quadrangle. These buildings were declared unsafe following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and were being torn down when an aftershock occurred and no damage was observed. Demolition was stopped, and the remaining portions of the buildings were transformed into Tower Hall, Morris Dailey Auditorium, Washington Square Hall, and Dwight Bentel Hall.

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Beginning in 1994, the on-campus segments of San Carlos Street, 7th Street, and 9th Street were closed to automobile traffic and converted to pedestrian walkways and green belts. San Carlos Street was renamed Paseo de San Carlos, 7th Street became Paseo de César Chávez, and 9th Street is now called the Ninth Street Plaza.

Completed in 1999, the Business Classroom Project was a $16 million renovation of the James F. Boccardo Business Education Center. The $1.5 million Heritage Gateway project was completed in the same year.

A $2 million renovation of Tower Hall was completed in 2007. The Diaz Compean Student Union features a food court, bookstore, study area, ballrooms, a bowling alley, music room, and game room. A $90 million expansion and renovation of the student union commenced in September 2010 and was completed in June 2014.

Construction of a new health center was completed in March 2015. In August 2015, a $55 million renovation of the Spartan Complex was completed.

In January 2023, the California State University Board of Trustees approved a public-private partnership to transform the former Alfred E. Alquist state office building site into new housing for SJSU faculty, staff, and graduate students.

A new student recreation and aquatic center opened in April 2019, and construction of a new interdisciplinary science building broke ground in April 2019.

SJSU's South Campus houses athletics facilities, including CEFCU Stadium, and the athletics department administrative offices. In April 2014, a new $76 million master plan to renovate the South Campus was unveiled.

Locations and Facilities

The SJSU main campus comprises approximately 55 buildings situated on a rectangular, 154-acre (62.3 ha) area in downtown San Jose. The campus is bordered by San Fernando Street to the north, San Salvador Street to the south, South 4th Street to the west, and South 10th Street to the east.

SJSU manages the Moss Landing Marine Laboratories (MLML) in Moss Landing, California, at Monterey Bay, a cooperative research facility of seven CSU campuses.

Other facilities include the SJSU International and Extended Studies facility and the University Club, a 16-room residence facility for faculty, staff, visiting scholars, and graduate students.

Academics and Rankings

SJSU's doctoral degree offerings include a Ph.D. program in library and information science offered jointly through Manchester Metropolitan University in Manchester, England, a doctor of audiology (Au.D.), and an Ed.D.

News & World Report college rankings, San Jose State was ranked No. 3 in the western United States. SJSU was ranked No.

SJSU's undergraduate engineering program was ranked tied for No. SJSU was ranked No. 107 out of approximately 500 institutions nationwide on the 2022 Forbes America's Top Colleges list. SJSU was ranked No. 43 nationally on the Forbes list of top public universities and colleges. Forbes also ranked SJSU No. Money magazine ranked San Jose State No. 31 nationally out of approximately 625 schools it evaluated for its 2022 "Best Colleges in America" ranking. Money also ranked SJSU No. 27 nationally on its 2022 list of Best Public Colleges, No. 39 on its list of Best Colleges for Engineering Majors, and No. 19 on Money's list of Best Colleges in the West. Finally, Money magazine ranked San Jose State No. SJSU was ranked No.

colleges and universities in the Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education College Rankings 2025. Washington Monthly ranked SJSU No. 53 nationally out of 603 master's universities (2022). The Webometrics Ranking of World Universities, which provides an assessment of the scholarly conte…

The College of New Jersey: A Legacy of Teacher Education and Liberal Arts

Foundation and Early Years

The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) was established on February 9, 1855, by an act of the New Jersey Legislature, making it the first teacher training institution in New Jersey and the fifth in the United States. Originally known as the New Jersey State Normal School, it was located in Trenton on Clinton Avenue for its first 73 years.

Relocation and Expansion

In 1928, a suburban tract of 210 acres (85 ha) was purchased in nearby Ewing Township, and preparations were underway to relocate the college. The first building erected on the new campus was Green Hall, built in traditional Georgian colonial style. The majority of buildings now on campus reflect Green Hall's architecture.

Beginning in 1925, the institution offered its first four-year baccalaureate degrees and engaged in a transitional program of expansion. Programs in graduate study were instituted in 1947, followed by accreditation from various national associations in the 1950s. The enactment of the Higher Education Act of 1966 paved the way for TCNJ to become a comprehensive institution by expanding its degree programs into a variety of fields aside from the education of teachers.

Academic Programs

The College of New Jersey offers degrees in over 50 liberal arts and professional programs. TCNJ also offers a 7-year combined B.S./M.D. (Bachelor of Science/Doctor of Medicine) program for graduating high school students in conjunction with New Jersey Medical School.

Campus Life and Housing

First-year students at TCNJ choose a room assignment in Travers/Wolfe Tower, Centennial Hall, Cromwell Hall, Norsworthy Hall, or any room in the Allen/Brewster/Ely Complex. Second-year students live in New Residence, Eickhoff Hall, Townhouses East, and Decker Hall. Upperclassmen typically live in Townhouses South or West, or in one of the two apartment complexes: Phelps Hall and Hausdoerffer Hall. Upperclassmen may also live in one of the various College Houses that surround the campus.

In 2013, groundbreaking began for The Campus Town complex. The Campus Town complex has space to house 446 juniors and seniors in one-, two- and four-bedroom apartments. The Campus Town complex houses an 11,500-square-foot fitness center that replaced the college's 4,000-square-foot gym. The apartments and the fitness center are only open to the students, but the complex's retail stores are open to the public. Barnes & Noble is an anchor tenant, with a 14,000-square-foot store.

Student Activities and Organizations

In the mid-2000s, TCNJ began to put a more concentrated effort on student entrepreneurship. Administrative resources were put toward counseling and workshops for students. The Mayo Business Plan Competition in April 2012 saw numerous student groups competing for $12,000 to launch their start-up businesses. There are over 230 recognized student organizations at TCNJ. Greek life at TCNJ is governed by the Inter-Greek Council.

The Brower Student Center (BSC) is the student center on campus; it was named after former president Clayton R. Brower. The BSC was built in 1976.

Arts and Culture

The College of New Jersey is home to the David Sarnoff Museum, formerly located at Princeton Junction. The collection detailing the life of NBC founder David Sarnoff is now located in Roscoe L. West Hall. Various art exhibits can be found in galleries at the Art and IMM building. The exhibits feature the work of student artists, professional artists, and local artists.

Student Media

The Signal has been The College of New Jersey's student-run newspaper since 1855. It has won numerous awards and has placed first many times in the General Excellence category for collegiate news publications at the New Jersey Press Association awards. TCNJ Magazine is another publication, covering both current campus life and alumni affairs. The Perspective, an openly left-leaning student news booklet, is the school's newest publication, having been first published in 2009.

On the literary side, The Lion's Eye and The Siren are both student-made magazines filled with poetry, prose, and artwork by students. The Seal was TCNJ's yearbook since its first publication in 1911.

WTSR (91.3 FM) is the college's non-commercial radio station, which services Mercer County and Bucks County, Pennsylvania, while also broadcasting over the internet. The station began in 1958 as WTSC but was approved for an FM license in the fall of 1965. The station is fully student-run and enlists the help of both students and community volunteers.

Lions Television (abbreviated 'LTV') has been the student-run television station on campus since 2008. Its studio and office are located in Kendall Hall, and its content can be viewed online or on campus televisions on channel 2-2.

Athletics

The College of New Jersey has 22 varsity teams and 18 club teams, including multiple programs that have achieved national recognition and success. Its varsity teams are members of the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) and compete in Division III of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

Rankings and Recognition

The College of New Jersey is consistently ranked among the top public universities in the region. U.S. News & World Report consistently ranks TCNJ as one of the top public regional universities in the North.

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