While it’s been 50 years since they were produced, a collection of videos promoting Humboldt State College offer support for that concept while also serving as a reminder of the progressive changes that have occurred within what is now known as Humboldt State University.
The videos, recently digitized by the HSU Library and uploaded to the video collection for public viewing, feature segments on several academic disciplines, along with an entertaining short about homecoming. Together, they comprise an overview film titled Here’s Humboldt that is archived within the California Light & Sound Collection.
“Humboldt State is large enough to provide excellent facilities and faculty, and yet small enough to view each student as an individual and not just a number,” narrator Paul Corbin says, introducing viewers to HSC. “But a college is more than just a location, a campus, a group of buildings,” he explains, over a backdrop of students walking in and out of familiar structures.
In 1964, the year the videos were produced, HSC enrollment numbered around 3,000 students. Humboldt State’s 2014 fall census indicates an enrollment of 8,485, but the student-to-faculty ratio of 22-1 illustrates the continuing commitment to individual attention.
The films were produced by a combination of HSU professors and local media professionals. George Goodrich was producer, and Pete Palmquist served as editor. Palmquist and Michael Glimpse operated the cameras. Corbin, who voiced the project, was an undergraduate student who went on to a successful career in TV and radio broadcasting.
Highlighted academic departments include Wildlife, Psychology, Physical Sciences, Forestry, Communications and Journalism, Business, Botany, Biology, Performing Arts, Fisheries, and Art.