Guide to the University of California, Irvine, School of Humanities records AS.069
Finding aid prepared by Audra Eagle Yun; updated by Sarah Glover, 2019; updated by Gabrielle Wood, 2023.
Special Collections and Archives, University of California, Irvine Libraries
(cc) 2023
The UCI Libraries
P.O. Box 19557
University of California, Irvine
Irvine 92623-9557
spcoll@uci.edu
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections and Archives, University of California, Irvine Libraries
Title: University of California, Irvine, School of Humanities records
Creator:
University of California, Irvine. School of Humanities
Identifier/Call Number: AS.069
Physical Description:
2.2 Linear Feet
(4 document boxes) and 0.5 unprocessed linear feet
Date (inclusive): 1965-2010
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.
Language of Material:
English
.
The collection is open for research.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
| 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 |
Collection Scope and Content Summary
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.
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.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
University of California, Irvine
Humanities -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- California -- Irvine
University of California, Irvine. School of Humanities
University of California, Irvine. School of Humanities
McCulloch, Samuel C. (Samuel Clyde)
box 1, folder 1-3
Faculty meeting minutes 1973-1978
box 1, folder 4-7
Humanities Cabinet minutes 1965-1969
box 2, folder 1-3, box 1, folder 8-10
Humanities Executive Committee minutes 1969-1974
box Accn2023.005 001, box Accn2023.005 002
Unprocessed addition 2023 1997-2012
This addition to the University of California, Irvine, School of Humanities records contains media clippings from the UCI
Film and Video center, which was an event series that screened new, independent, experimental and groundbreaking films and
videos on campus. The mission of the center was to organize screening of films to fulfill three functions : community outreach,
humanities and IDP-based course support, enrichment of film culture for UCI community. During its time, the center hosted
many free screenings, film festivals, as well as professor and/or director guided viewings and discussions. This addition
contains newsletters, schedules, articles, promotion, and correspondence relating to these events.