Jack O'Connell Collection

View full record for Jack O'Connell with California Highway Patrol OfficerFormer State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Jack O'Connell, received a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from CSU, Fullerton and earned his secondary teaching credential from CSU, Long Beach in 1975. He returned to his high school alma mater to teach for several years and later, served his community on the Santa Barbara County School Board. Mr. O'Connell was elected to the 35th State Assembly District in 1982 and was re-elected by wide margins thereafter. In 1994, Mr. O'Connell was elected to the 18th State Senate District on California's Central Coast and easily won re-election in 1998. He was elected to serve as California's 26th State Superintendent on November 5, 2002, earning more votes than any other contested candidate in the country. Mr. O'Connell's mother, Ruth, was a nurse at the former Camarillo State Hospital and because of this tie, he always maintained an emotional connection with the area. In 1997, as a state senator, Mr. O'Connell authored SB 623, which approved the transfer of the Camarillo State Hospital to the California State University system. In September of 1998, Senator O'Connell's second senate bill, SB 1923, was approved by Governor Pete Wilson to facilitate the financing and support of the transition from mental facility to university. In 2003, Mr. O'Connell donated a variety of materials from his State Senate, Assembly, and Superintendent of Public Instruction service to initiate his own archival collection at CSUCI, including artifacts, documents, legislative bills, memorabilia, and photographs. The majority of the collection is divided according to issue, subject, year, and legislative body. There is quite a bit of material devoted to the transfer of the Camarillo State Hospital to CSUCI and CSUCI's early years. The processing of this collection is on-going; there is an on-line finding guide available for Record Group 1. Please contact the University Archivist for detailed information about the collection. SEE ALSO THE ROBERT LAGOMARSINO COLLECTION FOR CROSS-REFERENCING REGARDING ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES AND THE UNIVERSITY AND CAMARILLO STATE HOSPITAL COLLECTIONS REGARDING UNIVERSITY HISTORY. REGARDING COPYRIGHT: SEE https://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-fairuse.html OR https://ogc.harvard.edu/pages/copyright-and-fair-use IT IS INCUMBENT UPON THE RESEARCHER TO UNDERSTAND COPYRIGHT AND APPLY IT APPROPRIATELY. The Broome Library/Archives may not have copyright to certain items, and it is up to the researcher to clear copyright before reproducing such items, particularly, news articles, photographs, and artistic endeavors. The Broome Library/Archives cannot give copyright, when it does not have copyright. Researchers must also follow HIPPA. Please see the archivist for clarification. The images, documents, and oral histories posted here are for educational use only and are not to be duplicated, distributed, or reproduced, before receiving written approval from the CSUCI Archives and/or the owner/creator. With that approval, the Broome Library/Archives must be acknowledged as the source of the item. Please contact the archivist for approval and the correct citation with any reproduction request.