University of California, Irvine, School of Social Sciences records, 1972-2012

Collection context

Summary

Creators:
University of California, Irvine. School of Social Sciences
Abstract:
This collection comprises the administrative records of the UC Irvine School of Social Sciences. The majority of the records come from the dean's office, specifically from the tenures of dean William Schonfeld, 1982-2002, and dean Barbara Dosher, 2002-2013. The records include correspondence sent and received by dean Schonfeld, dean Dosher, and other administrators; documentation on the departments, programs, and centers within the school, including information about the faculty, undergraduate and graduate programs, committees, scholarships and fellowships, and teaching; documentation on how the school worked with other campus units within UC Irvine, such as the Executive Vice-Provost's Office and academic units; administrative files of the school; and photographs.
Extent:
49 Linear Feet (48 records cartons, 2 document boxes, and 1 floppy disk)
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

University of California, Irvine, School of Social Sciences records. AS-074. 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:

This collection comprises the records of the UC Irvine School of Social Sciences. The majority of the records come from the dean's Office, specifically from the tenures of dean William Schonfeld, 1982-2002, and dean Barbara Dosher, 2002-2013. The records include correspondence sent and received by dean Schonfeld, dean Dosher, and other administrators; documentation on the departments, programs, and centers within the school, including information about the faculty, undergraduate and graduate programs, committees, scholarships and fellowships, and teaching; documentation on how the school worked with other campus units within UC Irvine, such as the Executive Vice-Provost's Office and academic units; administrative files of the school; and photographs.

Biographical / historical:

The School of Social Sciences began as the Division of Social Sciences when the University of California, Irvine (UCI) was founded in 1965. Its first dean, James G. March, was appointed in 1964. He created an interdisciplinary program free of individual departments, enabling faculty to pursue scholarly interests beyond the constraints of departmental borders. Dean March referred to his program as the "New Social Science," a mathematically oriented discipline that involved systematic observation, interpretation, and quantitative analysis of human behavior. While many students worked toward a degree in social science, they also had the option of majoring in traditional social science disciplines: anthropology, economics, geography, political science, psychology, and sociology. The innovative structure of the school set it apart from other programs. It attracted many notable scholars, many of whom became members of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Among these were David Easton, Harry Eckstein, R. Duncan Luce, William Schonfeld, and A. Kimball Romney. While dean March favored a non-departmental structure for the school, dean William Schonfeld, who took office in 1982, found that the lack of departments was not practical for the growing school. The success of the early non-departmental structure of the school is attributed to its relatively small size and to the fact that the separate social science disciplines were passing through a revolutionary period during which their traditional boundaries and methodologies were being challenged. Increasing enrollments and other considerations prompted dean Schonfeld to establish traditional departments for the school. As of 2019, the School of Social Sciences was home to eight departments, including Anthropology, Cognitive Science, Chicano and Latino Studies, Economics, Global and International Sciences, Language Science, Logic and the Philosophy of Science, Political Science, and Sociology.

Date Event
1964
James G. March is appointed Dean of Social Sciences.
1965
University of California, Irvine opens.
1968
Division of Social Sciences becomes School of Social Sciences.
1969
A. Kimball Romney is appointed as Dean of Social Sciences.
1970
Farm School, an independent alternative pre-school and elementary school, is founded on campus by members of the Social Sciences faculty.
1971
Lewis A. (Creel) Froman is appointed Dean of Social Sciences.
1974
Christian Werner is appointed Dean of Social Sciences.
1979
Linton Freeman is appointed Dean of Social Sciences.
1982
William R. Schonfeld is appointed Dean of Social Sciences and begins process of establishing departments in the school.
1988
Irvine Research Unit in Mathematical Behavioral Sciences is established.
1989
First academic departments are formed.
1990
UCI Focused Research Program is started; its name is later changed to Center for Study of Democracy.
1992
Institute for Mathematical Behavioral Sciences replaces Irvine Research Unit in Mathematical Behavioral Sciences.
1994
Department of Linguistics moves from School of Humanities to School of Social Sciences.
1995
National Science Foundation selects UCI to establish the Graduate Research Traineeship on Democratization and Democratic Politics.
2000
Department of Logic and Philosophy of Science is established.
2001
Department of Political Science is ranked 29th by U.S. News and World Report.
2002
Dean William Schonfeld receives Lauds and Laurels Extraordinarius Award.
Barbara Dosher is appointed Dean of Social Sciences.
2003
Professor Kristen Monroe establishes Center for the Scientific Study of Ethics and Morality.
2007
Farm School becomes a 501c3 corporation and moves from the UCI campus to Aliso Viejo.
Chicano / Latino Studies program becomes a department of the School of Social Sciences.
2013
William M. "Bill" Maurer is appointed Dean of the School of Social Sciences.
Acquisition information:
Transferred from the UC Irvine School of Social Sciences, 2001, 2009, and 2019.
Processing information:

Processed by Laura Uglean Jackson, 2016 and Sarah Glover, 2019.

Arrangement:
  1. Chron files, Schonfeld, 1984-1999.
  2. Department files, 1973-2003.
  3. Campus units, 1975-2002.
  4. Administrative files, 1972-2002.
  5. Photographs, undated and 2000.
  6. Addition 2019, 1978-2012.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

This collection is open for research. Access to original born digital material is restricted; researchers may request viewing copies.

Terms of access:

Property rights reside with the University of California. For permission to reproduce or to publish, please contact the University Archivist.

Preferred citation:

University of California, Irvine, School of Social Sciences records. AS-074. 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.

Location of this collection:
Special Collections and Archives
The UCI Libraries, P.O. Box 19557
Irvine, CA 92623-9557, US
Contact:
(949) 824-3947