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.

Robert L. Caret assumed the responsibilities as president of San José State University on February 6, 1995. Dr. Caret previously held the position of provost and executive vice president at Towson State University in Maryland. He received his bachelor's degree in Chemistry and Mathematics from Suffolk University in 1969, and a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of New Hampshire in 1974. We wrote five textbooks on chemistry, and co-authored the book, Myths and Realities in Higher Education Administration (1990). While president of San José State (1995-2003), Caret played a major role in acquiring funds for the university, and brought a vision for SJSU as the metropolitan university of Silicon Valley. Working side by side with former San José Mayor Susan Hammer, Caret also initiated a partnership with the City of San José to create the jointly designed, constructed and managed Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library, which opened in 2003.