Collection Guide
Collection Title:
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Sterling (J. E. Wallace), President of Stanford University,
Papers
SC0216
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Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
Title: J. E. Wallace Sterling, president of Stanford University, papers
creator:
Sterling, J. E. Wallace (John Ewart Wallace)
Identifier/Call Number: SC0216
Physical Description:
300 Linear Feet
Date (inclusive): 1913-1969
Date (bulk): bulk
Abstract: Papers primarily represent Sterling's
years as President of Stanford University and include correspondence, memoranda, proposals,
speeches, minutes, reports, budgets, clippings, and legal papers.
Collection is open for research; materials must be requested at least 24 hours in advance
of intended use.
All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from, or otherwise use collection materials must
be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford
University Libraries, Stanford, California 94304-6064. Consent is given on behalf of Special
Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply
permission from the copyright owner. Such permission must be obtained from the copyright
owner, heir(s) or assigns. See:
http://library.stanford.edu/depts/spc/pubserv/permissions.html.
Restrictions also apply to digital representations of the original materials. Use of
digital files is restricted to research and educational purposes.
[Identification of item], J. E. Wallace Sterling, President of Stanford University, Papers
(SC0216). Department of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford University
Libraries, Stanford, Calif.
J.E. Wallace Sterling, president of Stanford University from 1949-1968, earned his A.B. in
history at the University of Toronto in 1927; he taught at the University of Alberta while
pursuing graduate work there from 1928-1930. He came to Stanford in 1930 to pursue his
doctorate, which he received in 1938. While at Stanford, he was also a research assistant in
the Hoover Library and taught in the History Department. From 1938 to 1948 Sterling taught
at the California Institute of Technology, where he was elected chairman of the faculty in
1944. He had been Director of the Huntington Library and Art Gallery for five months when he
accepted the presidency of Stanford University. During Sterling's 19 years as president,
Stanford's endowment nearly doubled, the faculty increased by 170 percent, graduate programs
were improved, major building plans were completed, the Medical School was moved to campus
from San Francisco, and the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center was built. After his
retirement in 1968, Sterling was named University Chancellor. He died on July 1, 1985.
Scope and Content of Collection
These records primarily represent Sterling's years as President of Stanford University and
include correspondence, memoranda, proposals, speeches, minutes, reports, budgets,
clippings, and legal papers. Some files predate his term as president. There is a separate
series pertaining to the Hoover Institution, 1948-68. Collection also includes Sterling's
class notes, lectures, manuscripts, and professional correspondence, 1925-1949.
Materials are arranged as received.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Universities and colleges -- Administration.
Sterling, J. E. Wallace (John Ewart Wallace)
Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and
Peace