Guide to the Samuel L. Ginn Papers M1936
Brian Bethel
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
2018
Green Library
557 Escondido Mall
Stanford 94305-6064
specialcollections@stanford.edu
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
Title: Samuel L. Ginn papers
creator:
Ginn, Samuel L.
Identifier/Call Number: M1936
Physical Description:
15 Linear Feet
(29 boxes)
Date (inclusive): circa 1960-2010
Abstract: The papers of Samuel L. Ginn include materials generally related to telecommunications and wireless cellular technology and
business.
Biographical / Historical
Samuel L. Ginn is a retired business executive who worked in the telecommunications industry for over 40 years, with an emphasis
on wireless technology and mobile communications. He is known for his role in expanding the market for wireless telecommunications
and laying the foundation for the nation’s largest cellular phone business, Verizon Wireless.
Samuel Lou Ginn was born in Anniston, Alabama on April 3rd, 1937. He attended Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama, graduating
from the College of Engineering in 1959. After serving in the Army Signal Corps, Ginn began working at the American Telephone
& Telegraph Company (AT&T) as a student engineer in Cincinnati in 1960, eventually becoming Vice President of Network Operations
in 1977. During the divestiture of the Bell System, Samuel Ginn joined Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Company in Los Angeles
as Vice President in 1978. When Pacific Telesis (commonly abbreviated to “PacTel”) was created in 1983 as one of the seven
Regional Bell Operating Companies after Bell System’s divestiture, Ginn joined as Vice Chairman. In 1988, Ginn became President
and Chief Operating Officer of the Pacific Telesis Group, a position he would hold until 1994.
In 1994, PacTel’s Cellular Division was spun off into the wireless telephone service provider AirTouch Communications. Ginn
served as AirTouch’s CEO and Chairman of the Board until 1999, when the company was merged with Vodafone to become AirTouch
Vodafone, and later Verizon Wireless, going on to become the largest wireless telecommunications provider in the United States.
Ginn retired in 2000 and thereafter served as an advisor to telecommunications companies and board member for companies such
as Chevron, Hewlett-Packard, and Safeway, as well as institutions such as the Hoover Institute and the Yosemite Fund.
Additionally, Samuel Ginn served on Auburn University’s board of trustees from 2005-2013. He was inducted into Alabama’s Engineering
Hall of Fame in 1992 and the Wireless History Foundation’s Wireless Hall of Fame in 2014. Ginn’s $25 million donation to Auburn’s
College of Engineering funded a wireless engineering degree and led the college to be renamed the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering.
Scope and Contents
The Samuel L. Ginn papers consist of memoranda, meeting minutes, annual reports, speeches, presentations, articles, planners,
and directories generally pertaining to telecommunications and wireless cellular technology and business. The majority of
the material comes from Pacific Telesis (commonly abbreviated to “PacTel”) and AirTouch Communications, both telecommunications
companies of which Sam Ginn was CEO during the 1980s and 1990s.
There are a number of articles and memoranda related to the 1994 founding of AirTouch Communications from PacTel’s cellular
division, as well as the 1999 merger of Vodafone Group and AirTouch Communications. Ginn’s time as CEO of PacTel and AirTouch
is documented through numerous speeches, notes, emails and letters, as well as a number of planners and directories, the latter
of which provide extensive photographic documentation of PacTel and AirTouch’s executive management group. There are also
a number of employee newsletters and general employee publications from AirTouch. There are general articles and clippings
about the history of the telecommunications industry, and interviews, drafts, and notes for “Anytime, Anywhere: Entrepreneurship
and the Creation of a Wireless World” by Louis Galambos and Eric John Abrahamson, a 2002 history of the wireless communication
industry that features Ginn as its protagonist.
Finally, a hard drive included with the collection is closed until processed, and a set of documents concerning company payroll
are restricted until 2075.
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.
Conditions Governing Access
Open for research. Note that material must be requested at least 36 hours in advance of intended use. Born-digital material
is closed until processed. Restricted material in Series 11 is closed until 2075.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Samuel L. Ginn; 2013 and 2017. Accession MSS 2013-010 and 2018-011.
Preferred Citation
[identification of item], Samuel L. Ginn papers (M1936). Department of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford
University Libraries, Stanford, California.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Telecommunication
Silicon Valley
Wireless communications
Ginn, Samuel L.
box 4, folder 1
Ernst & Young Presentation to AirTouch
1999-06-28
box 5, folder 6
Presentation - "AirTouch Communications Around the World"
1998
box 6, folder 1
Vodafone Draft Registration Statement
1999
box 7, folder 1-2
AirTouch Promotional Materials
box 8, folder 1-4
AirTouch Employee Communications
box 9, folder 3
AirTouch Project Overlap
1998-08-27
box 9, folder 4
AirTouch Board Meeting
1998-12-10
box 9, folder 5
AirTouch Business Plans
1994-1995
box 9, folder 6
AirTouch Paging 1995-1997 Business Plan
box 9, folder 8
Miscellaneous AirTouch Employee Publications
box 10, folder 7
AirTouch Promotional Materials
box 12, folder 1
AirTouch Internal Documents
box 12, folder 2
Vodafone AirTouch Merger Presentation
box 13, folder 2
Samuel Ginn AirTouch ID and Pin
box 13, folder 5
AirTouch Organizational Charts
box 15, folder 4-5
AirTouch Cellular Business Plan
1995
box 15, folder 7
AirTouch Employee Publications
box 17, folder 5
AirTouch Stock Trading History
box 17, folder 8
Vodafone AirTouch Annual Report
1999
box 19, folder 5
Proposed Compensation and Retention Programs
box 19, folder 8
"AirTouch Chronology, 1984 - Date"
box 21, folder 4
Vodafone AirTouch Ephemera
box 22, folder 1-2
AirTouch Articles and Presentations
box 25, folder 1
AirTouch 1998-1999 Business Plan
box 25, folder 4
Vodafone AirTouch Board Meeting
1999-11-08
box 25, folder 6-7
Vodafone AirTouch Annual Reports
1999-2002
box 26, folder 3
Vodafone Directories and Organization Charts
box 26, folder 4
Vodafone AirTouch Remuneration Committee
2000-03-14
box 26, folder 5
Vodafone AirTouch Remuneration Committee
2000-04-27
box 26, folder 6
Vodafone AirTouch Remuneration Committee
2000-05-23
box 26, folder 7
AirTouch Travel Documents
box 26, folder 8
Vodafone AirTouch Remuneration Committee
2000-04-03
box 26, folder 9
Vodafone AirTouch Memoranda
box 27, folder 2
Vodafone/AirTouch Merger Documents
box 27, folder 3
Vodafone AirTouch Long Range Plan Documents
2000
box 27, folder 4
AirTouch Executive Management Directory
box 27, folder 6
AirTouch Promotional Materials
box 28, folder 5
AirTouch Internet Technology Tutorial
Series 2. Pacific Telesis
box 2, folder 3
Pacific Telesis Separation Study
box 2, folder 7
"New Telesis" Memorandum
1992-06-02
box 2, folder 8
Pacific Telesis Executive Management Group Photographs
1992-06-02
box 3, folder 4
Pacific Telephone China Proposal
1983
box 3, folder 5
Pacific Telesis Project Topaz Board Presentation
1992-08-31
box 3, folder 6
Pacific Telesis EVA Feasibility Study
1993-03-23
box 3, folder 7
Pacific Telesis "Regulated Business in Transition"
box 3, folder 8
Pacific Telesis Photos and Founding Documents
box 3, folder 9
Pacific Telesis Executive Hierarchy
box 13, folder 7
Miscellaneous Pacific Telesis and AT&T Publications
box 13, folder 8
Pacific Telesis Wireless Technologies Reference Package
box 13, folder 9
Pacific Telesis Board Documents
1993
box 13, folder 10
Pacific Telesis Annual Reports
1982-1986
box 14, folder 1
Pacific Telesis Annual Reports
1987-1993
box 14, folder 5-6
Pacific Telesis Meetings and Presentations
1987
box 17, folder 3-4
Pacific Telesis "Spin Off" Materials
box 18, folder 6
Pacific Bell Clippings and Advertisements
box 19, folder 3
Pacific Telesis Group Photo
box 22, folder 3
"S.L. Ginn" Pacific Telesis Wallet
box 22, folder 7
Samuel Ginn and Pacific Telesis Ephemera
box 29, object 1
"PacTel Reveals AirTouch New Name" Videocassette
box 29, object 3
"Herb Greenberg Talks/AirTouch Sign" Videocassette
box 29, object 5
"AirTouch President's Club" Videocassette
Series 3. Photographs and Writing featuring Samuel Ginn
box 1, folder 1-3
"Anytime, Anywhere" Book Materials
box 2, folder 1
Samuel Ginn Biographical Information
box 9, folder 2
Misc. Writing about Samuel Ginn
box 9, folder 7
"Anytime, Anywhere" - Early Copy
box 12, folder 6
"Visit PTK Office" Photographs
1986
box 17, folder 1-2
Samuel Ginn Retirement Responses
1999
box 18, folder 5
Samuel Ginn Historical Documents
box 19, folder 6-7
Samuel Ginn "Older Photos"
box 22, folder 8
Articles about Samuel Ginn
box 22, folder 9
Samuel Ginn Writing and Interviews
box 25, folder 2-3
"Anytime, Anywhere" Page Proofs
box 26, folder 1
Sam Ginn Miscellaneous Notes
box 5, folder 1
Correspondence and Memoranda
1994-1997
box 4, folder 5
Correspondence and Memoranda
1997-1998
box 4, folder 2-3
Correspondence and Memoranda
1998
box 4, folder 4
Correspondence and Memoranda
1999-2000
box 5, folder 5
Correspondence and Memoranda
2000-2001
box 5, folder 3-4
Correspondence and Memoranda
2001
box 21, folder 2-3
Samuel Ginn Correspondence
box 23, folder 1
Samuel Ginn Correspondence
box 2, folder 2
"Anytime, Anywhere" Book Correspondence and Materials
box 17, folder 6
Miscellaneous Letters and Clippings
Series 5. Presentations/Speeches
box 1, folder 5-6
Samuel Ginn Speeches
1994-2004
box 2, folder 5
Remarks by Samuel Ginn
1988-06-16
box 6, folder 7
Samuel Ginn Miscellaneous Notes
box 9, folder 10
Samuel Ginn Miscellaneous Personal Notes
box 10, folder 3-4
Samuel Ginn Speeches and Presentations
box 14, folder 2-3
Samuel Ginn Speeches and Presentations
1982-1990
box 14, folder 7
"Wireless Communications: How Will It Affect Your Life" Presentation
box 18, folder 4
Speech and Presentation Notes
box 27, folder 5
"Global Policy for Wireless Telecommunications" Transcript
box 27, folder 7
Samuel Ginn Performance Evaluation Presentation
Mar. 1999
box 28, folder 4
Sam Ginn MIT Speech
1999-11-15
box 29, object 2
"A Tribute to Sam Ginn" Videocassette
box 29, object 6
"Sam Ginn American Enterprise Institute" Cassette Tape
1994-07-07
box 29, object 8-9
"Sam Ginn Speech to the Commonwealth Club" Cassette Tape
1992-02-21
box 29, object 10
"Sam Ginn Pacific Telephone" Cassette Tape
Series 6. Industry Publications
box 1, folder 4
"The Failure of Antitrust and Regulation..." by Paul MacAvoy
box 9, folder 9
"Strategic Value of Satellites" Publication
box 10, folder 1-2
Miscellaneous Industry Publications
box 11, folder 3
AT&T - "Notes on the Network"
1980
box 12, folder 3
Comcast/AT&T Merger Proposal
box 13, folder 3
"Background on Bell Atlantic Negotiations"
1998
box 13, folder 6
Miscellaneous News Clippings
box 14, folder 4
IEEE Magazine on Divestiture
Dec. 1993
box 15, folder 1
Department of Justice Geodesic Network Report
1987
box 17, folder 6
Wireless/Cellular History
box 17, folder 5
"Fortune" Magazine
1999-06-21
box 22, folder 5
New York Times Business Day
2004-07-23
box 27, folder 8
Fortune 500 Forum Materials
box 29, object 11
"Mobile Communications" Cassette Tape
box 29, object 4
"Mac Neil/Lehre News Hour" Videocassette
box 29, object 7
"Taking Pride in Nevada" Cassette Tape
Series 7. Planners and Directories
box 10, folder 6
Pacific Telesis Directories
1983-1994
box 2, folder 9
AT&T Directors and Officers Booklet
1992-06-02
box 10, folder 5
AirTouch Directories
1994-1998
box 11, folder 2
AirTouch Directories
1998-2000
box 6, folder 4
AirTouch Directory
2001-2002
box 19, folder 2
Pacific Telesis Executive Photo Directory
box 13, folder 1
AirTouch Executive Management Directory
box 17, folder 8
AirTouch Executive Management Directory
box 11, folder 1
Miscellaneous Directories
Series 8. Travel Materials
box 10, folder 8
Sounding Board Conference Photographs
1994
box 6, folder 2-3
Travel Materials
1998-1999
Series 9. Other Activities
box 17, folder 3-4
FirstNet 1Q 2013 Status
2013-04-15
box 22, folder 4
"Telephone Pioneers of America" Medal
box 27, folder 1
George W. Bush Fundraiser
1999
Series 10. Born Digital Materials (CLOSED)
Conditions Governing Access
Born-digital material is closed until processed.
Box 24
Series 11. Restricted Materials (CLOSED)
Conditions Governing Access
Material in this series is cloased until 2075.
