Descriptive Summary
Administrative Information
Biography
Scope and Content
Indexing Terms
Descriptive Summary
Title: Donald C. Stone, Jr. Papers,
Date (inclusive): 1971-1983
Accession number: GTU 2001-8-03
Creator:
Stone, Donald C., Jr.
Extent:
4 boxes,
4 linear ft.
Repository: The Graduate Theological Union
Abstract: The papers document Donald C. Stone's work with Ornstein and Swencionis on the
est Outcome Project, and the development of his doctoral research, including his various publications on the human potential
movement, up to the completion of his doctoral dissertation.
Shelf location: 5/D/4-5
Language:
English.
Administrative Information
Access
Collection is open for research. Series IV, Interview #38 is restricted to the year 2035.
Publication Rights
Copyright has not been assigned to The Graduate Theological Union. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts
must be submitted in writing to the Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of The Graduate Theological Union
as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must
also be obtained by the reader.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Donald C. Stone, Jr. Papers, GTU 2001-8-03, The Graduate Theological Union Archives, Berkeley, CA.
Acquisition Information
Gift of Donald C. Stone, Jr.
Biography
Donald C. Stone, Jr., while a graduate student at the University of California at Berkeley, 1972-1981, was a teaching assistant for sociologist, Robert Bellah. Stone also worked with psychologist, Robert Ornstein, and psycho-physiologist, Charles Swencionis, at the University of California San Francisco Medical School, on their
est Outcome Study.
They were interested in demonstrating statistically a relationship between the graduates of Erhard Seminars Training [
est] and their physical and mental well-being.
Stone writes, "I had the good fortune to be at the center of conceptualizing and carrying out the
est Outcome Study which gave me the opportunity to investigate the experience of
est graduates with not only the
est training but also with religious, quasi-religious, and other human potential movement trainingsAnd having gained the confidence
of Werner Erhard [founder of
est] that I was a competent survey researcher and could be trusted to oversee an objective studyI was given unusual access as
an unpaid volunteer to the
est organization and to a random sample of
est graduates who I interviewed in depth, 2-4 hours.[Werner] really wanted to know what happened to
est graduates during and after the training, both good and bad outcomes, and I was delighted to carry out my mandate to be scrupulously
objectiveWhen the
est Outcome survey was complete, I then turned to my own
research and in-depth interviews of
est graduates." [See Box 2, Folder 37, for Stone's autobiographical account.]
Scope and Content
The papers document Stone's work with Ornstein and Swencionis on the
est Outcome Project,
and the development of his doctoral research, including his various publications on the
human potential movement, up to the completion of his doctoral dissertation.
They include, correspondence, annotated manuscripts and transcripts of interviews,
handwritten and typed research notes, notebooks, questionnaires, agendas and minutes of
meetings, drafts of manuscripts, reports, surveys, printouts, published materials,
clippings, audiovisual materials including data tapes and audiocassettes of lectures and panels, flyers and other ephemera.
Of note is Stone's set of interviews of
est graduates, which were coded to secure confidentiality, materials on Erhard Seminars Training at its beginnings, including
rare audiocassette recordings of Werner Erhard, and Stone's notes and annotations throughout
his papers.
Arrangement
The collection is organized into eight series: Doctoral Dissertation; Correspondence; Methodology and Planning; Interviews;
Writings and Publications; Erhard Seminars Training; Related Research; and Related Resources.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this
collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Erhard, Werner, 1936-
Est, an Education Corporation--History--Sources
People's Temple--History--Sources