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Title: Spencer C. Olin papers
Date: 1944-2006,
Date (bulk): bulk 1966-2006
Collection Number: MS-F024
Creator:
Olin, Spencer C.
Extent:
3.4 linear feet
(4 boxes)
Languages: The collection is in English.
Repository:
University of California, Irvine. Library. Special Collections and Archives.
Irvine, California 92623-9557
Abstract: This collection comprises the extant professional papers of Spencer C. Olin, founding faculty member, administrator, and professor
emeritus of history at the University of California, Irvine (UCI). His papers contain research files related to his book
Major Problems in California History, teaching materials for two undergraduate courses titled "California in Modern America" and "Utopian Experiments in American
History," research files documenting Orange County, and research files documenting the history of UCI. The papers include
photographs, clippings, journal articles, correspondence, and notes.
Important Information for Researchers
The collection is open for research. One file of restricted personnel information has been separated and will be open for
research in 2073.
Property rights reside with the University of California. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and
their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or to publish, please contact the Head of Special Collections and Archives.
Spencer C. Olin papers. MS-F024. Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California.
Gift of Spencer C. Olin, 2006.
Processed by Audrey Pearson, 2007.
Spencer Olin is a founding faculty member of the University of California, Irvine (UCI), Department of History and has been
a prominent professor and administrator throughout UCI's history. A native Californian, Olin received a B.A. from Pomona
College (1958) and an M.A. and Ph.D. from Claremont Graduate University (1961, 1965). His focus has been on modern American
history, particularly California and the West. Over the years, Olin also served UCI in many administrative capacities, including
acting vice chancellor for Student Affairs (1965-1966), chair of the Department of History (1977-1982), chair of the Academic
Senate (1986-1988), director of the Humanities Core Course (1989-1991), dean of the School of Humanities (1992-1996), and
acting Executive Vice Chancellor (1994). In recognition of his dedication and academic excellence, Olin has been the recipient
of numerous awards, including the Daniel G. Aldrich, Jr. Distinguished Service Award (1991), the Historical Society of Southern
California's Martin Ridge Retrospective Award (2001), the UCI Alumni Association Extraordinarius Award (2006), and the UCI
Medal (1998), the highest campus honor.
Olin is the author or co-author of six books relating to American history and has published numerous articles, essays, and
book reviews in publications such as
The Journal of American History,
Western Historical Quarterly,
Pacific Historical Review,
California History, and
Radical History. He was a co-curator of the 2006 UCI Library exhibit
Under Construction Indefinitely: Forty Years of Designing UCI, during the campus's fortieth anniversary celebration. As of 2007, Olin is retired and lives in Irvine with his wife, Rita
Olin, who retired from UCI as a financial analyst.
Biography/Organization History
| 1937 February 13 | Born in Los Angeles, California |
| 1958 | Received B.A. from Pomona College |
| 1961 | Received M.A. from Claremont Graduate University |
| 1965 | Received Ph.D. from Claremont Graduate University |
| 1964-1965 | Instructor in history, Pomona College |
| 1965 | Joined UCI's faculty as assistant professor of history |
| 1965 September - June 1966 | Acting vice chancellor for Student Affairs |
| 1968 | Published California's Prodigal Sons: Hiram Johnson and the Progressives (Berkeley: University of California Press). |
| 1969-1978 | Associate professor of history, UCI |
| 1971-1972 | Visiting lecturer in history, University of Stirling, Scotland |
| 1972 | Published Racism in California: A Reader in the History of Oppression (New York: Macmillan), co-edited with Roger Daniels |
| 1977 - 1982 | Chair of the Department of History |
| 1979 | Published Why War? Ideology, Theory, and History (Berkeley: University of California Press) with Keith Nelson |
| 1981 | Published California Politics, 1846-1920: The Emerging Corporate State (San Francisco, Calif.: Boyd & Fraser Pub. Co.) |
| 1982-1997 | Professor of history, UCI |
| 1983-1989 | Member and vice president of the board of directors for the Irvine Campus Housing Authority |
| 1986 - 1988 | Chair of the Irvine Division of the Academic Senate |
| 1989 - 1992 | Director of the Humanities Core Course, UCI |
| 1989 - 1991 | With Sandra Campbell, co-chair of the UCI Campus Campaign |
| 1991 | Co-edited and co-authored Postsuburban California: The Transformation of Orange County Since World War II (Berkeley: University of California Press) with Rob Kling and Mark Poster |
| 1991 | Received First Annual Daniel G. Aldrich, Jr. Distinguished Service Award |
| 1992 | Acting dean of the School of Humanities |
| 1992 - 1996 | Dean of the School of Humanities |
| 1994 | Acting Executive Vice Chancellor |
| 1997 | Published Major Problems in California History: Documents and Essays (Boston: Houghton Mifflin) with Sucheng Chan |
| 1997 | Professor emeritus of history, UC Irvine |
| 1998 | Awarded the UCI Medal |
| 2001 - 2002 | Acting director of the Center for Global Peace and Conflict Studies |
| 2001 | Historical Society of Southern California honored California's Prodigal Sons with the Martin Ridge Retrospective Award |
| 2004-2006 | Appointed Edward A. Dickson Emeritus Professor, in honor of the longest-serving regent in University of California history, to work with the University Archivist on UCI's Fortieth Anniversary Historical Records Project |
| 2006 | Received UCI Alumni Association Extraordinarius Award |
Collection Scope and Content Summary
This collection comprises the extant professional papers of Spencer C. Olin, founding faculty member, administrator, and professor
emeritus of history at the University of California, Irvine (UCI). His papers contain research files related to his book
Major Problems in California History, teaching materials for two undergraduate courses titled "California in Modern America" and "Utopian Experiments in American
History," research files documenting the history of Orange County, California including the Oneida community, and research
files documenting the history of UCI. The papers include photographs, clippings, journal articles, correspondence, and notes.
This collection is arranged in 4 series:
- Series 1. University of California, Irvine files, 1979-2006. 0.5 linear feet
- Series 2. Research files, 1950-2004. 2.5 linear feet
- Series 3. Teaching materials, 1970-1985. 0.2 linear feet
- Series 4. Writings, 1966-1997. 0.2 linear feet
Publications authored by Olin were removed and catalogued separately in Special Collections. Several widely available journals
were removed and discarded.
The following terms have been used to index this collection in ANTPAC, the library's online public access catalog.
Olin, Spencer C. -- Archives.
University of California, Irvine -- Faculty -- Archives.
University of California, Irvine. Archives.
Oneida Community -- Photographs.
Utopias -- United States -- Archives.
Orange County (Calif.) -- History.
California -- Archives.
Genres and Formats of Materials
Photographic prints -- California -- Orange County -- 20th century.
Clippings -- 20th century.
Letters -- California -- Orange County -- 20th century.
Offprints -- 20th century.
Lecture notes -- 20th century.
Historians.
College teachers.