Guide to Urban Studies at 50 SC1580
Emma Frothingham
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
August 2021
Green Library
557 Escondido Mall
Stanford 94305-6064
specialcollections@stanford.edu
Collection contains one series of oral history interviews
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
Title: Urban Studies at 50
Identifier/Call Number: SC1580
Physical Description:
7 gigabyte(s)
Date: 2020
Conditions Governing Access
Some materials are restricted to users with a Stanford University ID or may be embargoed
until a later date
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Interviews were conducted as part of the Community History Toolkit, an effort by University
Archives and the Stanford Historical Society Oral History Program sponsored by a grant from
the Stanford Associates.
Biographical / Historical
Piloted in the fall of 1969 by a committee of the Associated Students of Stanford
University (ASSU), the Stanford Program on Urban Studies began in an age of experimentation
with student-initiated curriculum. At the time, the program consisted of three courses run
by a single student administrator. In 1985, the program was authorized to grant Bachelor of
Arts degrees; by 2020, the program listed or cross-listed some forty courses and was home to
approximately thirty undergraduate majors and minors. Timed to follow closely on the
program's 50th anniversary, this oral history project uses documentary sources and
interviews with affiliated faculty, program leaders, and students to understand how and why
the Program on Urban Studies was started, and how it has changed over time. The project aims
to produce more than just an institutional history; it hopes to illuminate larger themes in
the history of student activism, and in the politics of urban knowledge.
Preferred Citation
[identification of item], Urban Studies at 50 (SC1580). Department of Special Collections
& University Archives, Stanford Libraries, Stanford, Calif.
Scope and Contents
This collection contains oral history interviews with faculty and students involved with
the creation and early years of the Program on Urban Studies at Stanford. Participants
recall how they got interested in urban studies as a field, their participation in the
administration of the program, and some of the courses in the program.
Conditions Governing Use
While Special Collections is the owner of the physical and digital items, permission to
examine collection materials is not an authorization to publish. These materials are made
available for use in research, teaching, and private study. Any transmission or reproduction
beyond that allowed by fair use requires permission from the owners of rights, heir(s) or
assigns. See: http://library.stanford.edu/spc/using-collections/permission-publish
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Cities and towns -- Study and
teaching
Stanford University. Program on Urban Studies
Camarillo, Al
2020-08-17
Al Camarillo - Recordings
Al Camarillo - Transcript
Creator: Camarillo, Albert M.
Creator: Kahan, Michael B.
Abstract: In this oral history, Al Camarillo,
the Leon Sloss Jr. Memorial Professor Emeritus of History, discusses his involvement in
the Urban Studies Program beginning in the mid- 1970s. Camarillo describes several
courses he has taught in the program, including Stanford's first American urban history
introductory course, a service-learning colloquium entitled Poverty and Homelessness,
and a course delving into the history of Compton, California. He also recounts his role
in shaping the program through the faculty advisory committee as well as the research
projects he undertook as an Urban Studies Faculty Fellow. Woven throughout the oral
history are reflections on the development of urban studies as a field, including
comments on its interdisciplinary nature and on the shifting nature of cities
themselves. Camarillo concludes the oral history with a call for the program and the
university to continue building opportunities for students to engage with communities
off- campus through service-learning courses.
Carson, Clayborne
2020-08-18
Clayborne Carson - Recordings
Clayborne Carson - Transcript
Creator: Carson, Clayborne, 1944-
Creator: Kahan, Michael B.
Abstract: In this oral history, Clayborne
Carson, the Martin Luther King, Jr., Centennial Professor of History, Emeritus, details
his involvement in Stanford's Urban Studies Program during its early years. He recalls
finding community among the faculty committee and discusses his teaching efforts for the
program, including creating a course on the physical development of the city; hosting
overnight field trips to San Francisco to introduce students to the twenty- four hour
nature of urban life; and incorporating an investigation of Palo Alto into his one of
his courses. Carson also shares memories of St. Clair Drake and offers insights into the
program's connections to his own research, situating Martin Luther King, Jr. within the
history of Black American migration to urban regions. Finally, he reflects on Stanford's
shift in focus toward computer science and recounts his own professional trajectory from
computer programming to history.
Childs, Roy
2020-08-14
Roy Childs - Recordings
Roy Childs - Transcript
Creator: Childs, Roy
Creator: Meurice, Nova
Abstract: In this oral history, Roy Childs
(AM 1971, PhD 1973) recounts his role in launching the Urban Studies program as a
graduate student in sociology at Stanford. Childs discusses early meetings with
administrators; the influence of the Study of Education at Stanford on the program's
legitimacy; and the process of recruiting faculty and adjunct lecturers to begin
offering courses. He shares memories of the community fostered among the student-driven
programs housed in the Old Union basement, including SWOPSI (Stanford Workshops on
Political and Social Issues), his duties as de facto director of the program, and
influential contacts with Ray Bacchetti, Philip Dawson, and St. Clair Drake. Childs also
recalls his own career path, including his transition from a corporate position at
AT&T to graduate study and an eventual faculty position at University of the Pacific
where he established the urban studies program and co-founded the Harold S. Jacoby
Center for Public Service and Civic Leadership. Throughout the interview, Childs weaves
in reflections on the cultural and political shifts that have shaped the trajectory of
the field of urban studies, his experiences as a teacher, and the opportunities for
community engaged learning that urban studies courses offer to students.
Kahan, Michael
2020-08-13
Michael Kahan - Recordings
Michael Kahan - Transcript
Creator: Kahan, Michael B.
Creator: Meurice, Nova
Abstract: In this oral history, Michael
Kahan, the co-director of Stanford's Urban Studies Program, details his involvement in
Urban Studies and changes in the program since his arrival in 2003. Kahan shares insight
into the administrative decisions made during this period, discussing the transition
period after Len Ortolano's departure as faculty director; a critical review of the
program by the Committee on Review of Undergraduate Majors (C-RUM); and subsequent
efforts to reorganize the program during Doug McAdam's directorship, including the
additions of the capstone research project and the internship requirement, which later
broadened into various community-engaged learning experiences. He also recounts the
implementation of concentrations in urban society and social change and urban
sustainability and the program's response to a reduction in funding from the UPS
Endowment Fund for Transportation, Logistics, and Urban Issues. Kahan goes on to discuss
several of the courses he has taught with the program, highlighting the Senior Seminar;
Introduction to Urban Studies; Gentrification; and From Gold Rush to Google Bus: History
of San Francisco. He also details organizing his first community-engaged learning course
in collaboration with East Palo Alto-based filmmaker Michael Levin. Finally, Kahan
reflects on shifts in student interests and demographics in Urban Studies and concludes
with his visions for the future of the program.
Kirst, Michael W.
2020-07-31
Michael Kirst - Recordings
Michael Kirst - Transcript
Creator: Kirst, Michael W.
Creator: Kahan, Michael B.
Abstract: In this oral history, Michael
Kirst, Professor Emeritus of Education (and Business Administration by courtesy),
recounts his role in the early years of Stanford's Urban Studies Program, including his
time as the chair of the Faculty Steering Committee from 1973 to 1974. Kirst discusses
the committee's work to transition the program from its student- organized roots to an
interdisciplinary program with institutional support; the challenge of building an
interdisciplinary program in an era with few models for doing so; student advocacy; and
the search for committed faculty members. He also talks about his own work on urban
issues in the United States Office of Education (now the United States Department of
Education) during President Lyndon B. Johnson's administration, and reflects on urban
studies' shifting relationship with racial equity throughout his career.
Mollenkopf, John
2020-08-06
John Mollenkopf - Recordings
John Mollenkopf - Transcript
Creator: Mollenkopf, John H., 1946-
Creator: Kahan, Michael B.
Abstract: In this oral history, John
Mollenkopf, Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Sociology at the City
University of New York Graduate Center, discusses his time teaching in and serving as
faculty director of Stanford's Urban Studies Program in the 1970s. Mollenkopf recounts
how, while an assistant professor in the Public Management Program at the Graduate
School of Business, he shaped and co-taught the Urban Studies introductory course with
Fred Stout; organized a lecture series entitled "How Great was the Great Society?" that
engaged academics across the political spectrum; and completed his dissertation and
additional research in the records of the Bay Area Council that became the basis for his
book The Contested City. Mollenkopf also offers insights into Stanford's student protest
culture and the culture of academia, particularly during the Nixon administration; San
Francisco politics in the mid-1970s; and his personal political and intellectual
development, including his collaboration on the journal Kapitalistate. He also reflects
on the differences between Stanford and the CUNY system, which he joined in
1981.
Conditions Governing Access
Interview recordings embargoed until 2096.
Ortolano, Leonard
2020-08-05
Len Ortolano - Recordings
Len Ortolano - Transcript
Creator: Ortolano, Leonard
Creator: Kahan, Michael B.
Abstract: In this oral history, Leonard
Ortolano, the UPS Foundation Professor of Civil Engineering in Urban and Regional
Planning, Emeritus, discusses his directorship of the Urban Studies Program from 1980 to
2003. Ortolano details his responsibilities and some of the decisions he made as
director, including the recruitment of adjunct lecturers; the institution of a
student-organized career seminar to supplement the program's advising; and the
stewardship of the UPS Foundation grant. He explains the interaction between the School
of Engineering and Urban Studies, the impact of changes in the architecture program on
Urban Studies, and the circumstances that led to the program's attainment of
degree-granting status in 1985. He reflects on leading the program through various
budget crises and administrative challenges and his dedication to shaping the program to
support student interests. He also recounts other key aspects of his career, including
growing up in Brooklyn, his early work in the Public Health Service, his tenure with the
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and his position and influence as
director of the Haas Center for Public Service.
Stout, Frederic
2020-08-10
Fred Stout - Recordings
Fred Stout - Transcript
Creator: Stout, Frederic, 1943-
Creator: Kahan, Michael B.
Abstract: In this oral history, Fred Stout,
the executive director of Stanford's Urban Studies Program from 1973 to 1977 and
longtime lecturer in the program, recounts his involvement with Urban Studies from its
earliest days through the present. Tasked with developing the student initiated
experiment into a true major, Stout explains his approach to this responsibility,
recalling his collaboration with faculty committee members; the creation of the
program's introductory course and junior seminar; and the year-long review process that
placed the program on firm financial footing. He recalls how the Stanford initiative
compared to urban studies programs at other institutions, which bolstered his commitment
to a curriculum that emphasized "intellectual fundamentals" rather than pre-professional
training. Stout describes organizing community engagement opportunities, such as a
summer program in which students supported efforts to prevent the development of South
Park in San Francisco's South of Market neighborhood. He also details his own volunteer
and advocacy work, including his position as a national staff coordinator for Vietnam
Summer in 1967; community organizing around housing affordability in San Francisco; and
his role as the executive director of the nonprofit Media Alliance. Additionally, Stout
recounts creating his seminal anthology The City Reader; the impact of Lewis Mumford,
Paul Goodman, and others on his thinking; and how the field has changed over the years.
Finally, Stout reflects on his shifting personal politics, his approach to teaching, and
the application of urban studies to students' own communities and senses of
citizenship.
Turner, Paul V.
2020-08-11
Paul Turner - Recordings
Paul Turner - Transcript
Creator: Turner, Paul Venable
Creator: Kahan, Michael B.
Abstract: In this oral history, Paul Turner,
the Wattis Professor of Art, Emeritus, recounts his longtime involvement in the Urban
Studies Program. Turner discusses shaping and co- teaching the program's junior seminar,
eventually titled Utopia and Reality in Modern Urban Planning; early communications
between Urban Studies and the Art Department regarding support for interdepartmental
programs; his role as the university's sole architectural historian and the only trained
architect on the faculty; and the impact of the discontinuation of Stanford's
architectural program on Urban Studies. Turner also reflects on the relationship between
his teaching and his research, including the influence of Urban Studies on his pivotal
work Campus: An American Planning Tradition.
Van der Voort, Henry, III
2020-08-04
Henry Van der Voort III - Recordings
Henry Van der Voort III - Transcript
Creator: Van der
Voort, Henry, III
Creator: Kahan, Michael B.
Abstract: In this oral history, Henry Van der
Voort III, Class of 1970, recounts his time as the Urban Studies Program's first student
director, during which he and graduate student Roy Childs were tasked with building up
the program with little faculty leadership. Van der Voort details the steps they took to
grow Urban Studies, including visiting San Francisco State University and corresponding
with universities across the nation to learn from their programs in urban studies;
convincing faculty members and adjunct lecturers to give courses for the program;
fundraising within Stanford; and establishing a board of both students and faculty. He
also recalls the process of coordinating local internships; interactions with the Office
of the Dean of Undergraduate Studies, and the search for his replacement as director,
which allowed for greater formalization of the program. Van der Voort also shares
memories of the contemporary student culture within the program and at Stanford at
large.
Waters, Louise Bay
2020-08-12
Louise Bay Waters - Recordings
Louise Bay Waters - Transcript
Creator: Waters, Louise Bay
Creator: Meurice, Nova
Abstract: In this oral history, Louise Bay
Waters (BA 1972, MA 1976) discusses her early participation in Urban Studies at
Stanford, including her co-directorship of the program during the 1971-1972 school year.
Waters describes a key project she undertook through Urban Studies in which she
organized and facilitated a curriculum for white students in the local Sequoia Union
High School District to reflect on the process of desegregation occurring in their
schools. She also recounts leading a course entitled What is White for Stanford students
and Stanford's efforts to recruit more Black students during her time on campus. Other
topics include designing her own major; memories of her advisor St. Clair Drake; and the
influence of Urban Studies on her career path in education.