University of California, Irvine, School of Humanities records, 1965-2010

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Summary

Creators:

University of California, Irvine. School of Humanities

Abstract:

This collection comprises records from the School of Humanities at the University of California, Irvine from 1965 until 2010. The records include meeting minutes of the Humanities Cabinet, the Humanities Executive Committee, and the faculty; and material relating to the Humanities Studio (formerly known as the Language Lab and Humanities Instructional Resource Center), which include newsletters, correspondence, planning documents, annual reports, documentation on grant funded projects, press clippings and publicity, teaching materials, administrative files, and digital media. This collection also contains media clippings from the UCI Film and Video center, including newsletters, schedules, articles, promotion, and correspondence relating to events.

Extent:

2.2 Linear Feet (4 document boxes) and 0.5 unprocessed linear feet

Language:

English .

Preferred citation:

University of California, Irvine, School of Humanities records. AS-069. Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California. Date accessed.

For the benefit of current and future researchers, please cite any additional information about sources consulted in this collection, including permanent URLs, item or folder descriptions, and box/folder locations.

Background

Scope and content:

Biographical / historical:

The Division of Humanities at the University of California, Irvine was founded in 1965 and was one of five liberal arts divisions when the campus opened. Samuel McCulloch, the founding dean of Humanities, was appointed in 1963 and created four departments that would serve as the foundational core of the Division: English and Comparative Literature, Foreign Languages and Literature, History, and Philosophy. Classics was later added as its fifth department under the direction of Professor Theodore F. Brunner. Under Dean McCulloch, the division also enrolled its first graduate students to its M.F.A. Programs in Writing.

By 1967, the Regents of the University of California turned the five original liberal arts divisions into individual schools within the university, and the Division of Humanities became the School of Humanities. This was the first structure of its kind among all of the UC campuses. Dean McCulloch served as dean until 1969 and was succeeded by Hazard Adams in 1970.

In the early 1970s, the School of Humanities launched a doctorate in Critical Theory, making UC Irvine the only university in the country to offer a doctorate in that field. The Humanities Core Course was also implemented in 1970. Dean Adams was succeeded by William Lillyman from 1974-1982 and Kendall Bailes from 1982-1985. In the 1980s, Dean Bailes was instrumental in the founding of the Organized Research Unit in Critical Theory and in bringing the system wide University of California Humanities Research Institute to UC Irvine. Also during the 1980s, the East Asian Languages and Literature department (presently the Department of East Asian Studies) was established. Pauline Yu also joined UC Irvine in 1989 as founding chair and a leading Chinese poetry scholar.

Terrence Parsons became dean from 1985-1991, followed by Spencer Olin from 1991-1996, and Karen Lawrence from 1998-2007. The 1990s and 2000s were marked by expansion and growth for the School of Humanities. Two new buildings completed the Humanities quad: Humanities Instructional Building and Humanities Gateway. The Samuel Jordan Center for Persian Studies and Culture was founded in 2006, one of the first centers of its kind.

Vicki Ruiz became dean from 2008-2012, followed by Georges Van Den Abbeele from 2013-2018, and Tyrus Miller from 2018 to present. The School continues to expand in its academic scholarship having added special programs such as Religious Studies and Armenian Studies, and also creating cross-collaboration among different schools on campus such as Global Cultures, Medical Humanities, Shakespeare, Humanities and Law and more.

Chronology
Date	Event
1963-1969	Samuel McCulloch becomes founding Dean
1965	Division of Humanities was one of five liberal arts divisions when UC Irvine's campus opened
1967	Division of Humanities became the School of Humanities
1970-1972	Hazard Adams becomes the 2nd Dean
Early 1970s	Launched a doctorate in Critical Theory and the Humanities Core Course
1974-1982	William Lillyman becomes the 3rd Dean
1982-1985	Kendall Bailes becomes the 4th Dean
1985-1991	Terrence Parsons becomes the 5th Dean
1992-1996	Spencer Olin becomes the 6th Dean
1998-2007	Karen Lawrence becomes the 7th Dean
2008-2012	Vicki Ruiz becomes the 8th Dean
2013-2018	Georges Van Der Abbeele becomes the 9th Dean
2018-present	Tyrus Miller becomes the 10th Dean

Acquisition information:

Transferred from the School of Humanities, 1988. Additional material from the Language Lab and Humanities Instructional Resource Center was transferred by Judi Franz in 2019. Additional materials transfered from the Department of Film and Media Studies by Amy Fujitani in 2022.

Processing information:

Processed by Audrey Pearson, 2007. Updates to the collection title (formerly University of California, Irvine, School of Humanities meeting minutes) and addition of 2019 accrual by Sarah Glover, 2019. Accession 2023-005 added by Gabrielle Wood in 2023.

Arrangement:

This collection is arranged in alphabetical order by committee. Accession 2019.039, an unprocessed addition to the collection, is listed at the end. Accession 2023-005, a minially processed collection, is listed at the end.

Rules or conventions:

Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Indexed terms

Subjects:: University of California, Irvine
Humanities -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- California -- Irvine
Names:: University of California, Irvine. School of Humanities
University of California, Irvine. School of Humanities
McCulloch, Samuel C. (Samuel Clyde)

Access and use

Restrictions:: The collection is open for research.
Terms of access:: Property rights reside with the University of California. Copyrights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permission to reproduce or to publish, please contact the University Archivist.