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Olin (Spencer C.) papers
MS.F.024
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections and Archives, University of California, Irvine Libraries
Title: Spencer C. Olin papers
Creator:
Olin, Spencer C.
Identifier/Call Number: MS.F.024
Physical Description:
3.8 Linear Feet
(5 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1944-2006
Date (bulk): 1966-2006
Abstract: This collection comprises the extant professional papers of Spencer C. Olin, founding faculty member, administrator, and professor
emeritus of history at the University of California, Irvine (UCI). His papers contain research files related to his book
Major Problems in California History, teaching materials for two undergraduate courses titled "California in Modern America" and "Utopian Experiments in American
History," research files documenting Orange County, and research files documenting the history of UCI. The papers include
photographs, clippings, journal articles, correspondence, and notes. The addition to this collection includes materials such
as course syllabuse, lecture notes, and reference articles relating to research on the history of California and the American
West, Orange County Great Park, "The Nature of Historical Inquiry", and "Postsuburban Analysis of Metropolitan Regions".
Language of Material:
English
.
The collection is open for research. One file of restricted personnel information has been separated and will be open for
research in 2073. Acession 2023-003 is minimally processed, but is open for research.
Property rights reside with the University of California. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and
their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or to publish, please contact the Head of Special Collections and Archives.
Spencer C. Olin papers. MS-F024. 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.
Gift of Spencer C. Olin, 2006. Gift of Spencer C. Olin, 2022.
Processed by Audrey Pearson, 2007. Updated by Gabrielle Wood, 2023.
Spencer Olin is a founding faculty member of the University of California, Irvine (UCI), Department of History and has been
a prominent professor and administrator throughout UCI's history. A native Californian, Olin received a B.A. from Pomona College
(1958) and an M.A. and Ph.D. from Claremont Graduate University (1961, 1965). His focus has been on modern American history,
particularly California and the West. Over the years, Olin also served UCI in many administrative capacities, including acting
vice chancellor for Student Affairs (1965-1966), chair of the Department of History (1977-1982), chair of the Academic Senate
(1986-1988), director of the Humanities Core Course (1989-1991), dean of the School of Humanities (1992-1996), and acting
Executive Vice Chancellor (1994). In recognition of his dedication and academic excellence, Olin has been the recipient of
numerous awards, including the Daniel G. Aldrich, Jr. Distinguished Service Award (1991), the Historical Society of Southern
California's Martin Ridge Retrospective Award (2001), the UCI Alumni Association Extraordinarius Award (2006), and the UCI
Medal (1998), the highest campus honor.
Olin is the author or co-author of six books relating to American history and has published numerous articles, essays, and
book reviews in publications such as
The Journal of American History,
Western Historical Quarterly,
Pacific Historical Review,
California History, and
Radical History. He was a co-curator of the 2006 UCI Library exhibit
Under Construction Indefinitely: Forty Years of Designing UCI, during the campus's fortieth anniversary celebration. As of 2007, Olin is retired and lives in Irvine with his wife, Rita
Olin, who retired from UCI as a financial analyst.
| 1937 February 13 | Born in Los Angeles, California |
| 1958 | Received B.A. from Pomona College |
| 1961 | Received M.A. from Claremont Graduate University |
| 1965 | Received Ph.D. from Claremont Graduate University |
| 1964-1965 | Instructor in history, Pomona College |
| 1965 | Joined UCI's faculty as assistant professor of history |
| 1965 September - June 1966 | Acting vice chancellor for Student Affairs |
| 1968 | California's Prodigal Sons: Hiram Johnson and the Progressives |
| 1969-1978 | Associate professor of history, UCI |
| 1971-1972 | Visiting lecturer in history, University of Stirling, Scotland |
| 1972 | Racism in California: A Reader in the History of Oppression |
| 1977 - 1982 | Chair of the Department of History |
| 1979 | Why War? Ideology, Theory, and History |
| 1981 | California Politics, 1846-1920: The Emerging Corporate State |
| 1982-1997 | Professor of history, UCI |
| 1983-1989 | Member and vice president of the board of directors for the Irvine Campus Housing Authority |
| 1986 - 1988 | Chair of the Irvine Division of the Academic Senate |
| 1989 - 1992 | Director of the Humanities Core Course, UCI |
| 1989 - 1991 | With Sandra Campbell, co-chair of the UCI Campus Campaign |
| 1991 | Postsuburban California: The Transformation of Orange County Since World War II |
| 1991 | Received First Annual Daniel G. Aldrich, Jr. Distinguished Service Award |
| 1992 | Acting dean of the School of Humanities |
| 1992 - 1996 | Dean of the School of Humanities |
| 1994 | Acting Executive Vice Chancellor |
| 1997 | Major Problems in California History: Documents and Essays |
| 1997 | Professor emeritus of history, UC Irvine |
| 1998 | Awarded the UCI Medal |
| 2001 - 2002 | Acting director of the Center for Global Peace and Conflict Studies |
| 2001 | California's Prodigal Sons |
| 2004-2006 | Appointed Edward A. Dickson Emeritus Professor, in honor of the longest-serving regent in University of California history, to work with the University Archivist on UCI's Fortieth Anniversary Historical Records Project |
| 2006 | Received UCI Alumni Association Extraordinarius Award |
Collection Scope and Content Summary
This collection comprises the extant professional papers of Spencer C. Olin, founding faculty member, administrator, and professor
emeritus of history at the University of California, Irvine (UCI). His papers contain research files related to his book
Major Problems in California History, teaching materials for two undergraduate courses titled "California in Modern America" and "Utopian Experiments in American
History," research files documenting Orange County, and research files documenting the history of UCI. The papers include
photographs, clippings, journal articles, correspondence, and notes. The addition to this collection includes materials such
as course syllabuse, lecture notes, and reference articles relating to research on the history of California and the American
West, Orange County Great Park, "The Nature of Historical Inquiry", and "Postsuburban Analysis of Metropolitan Regions".
This collection is arranged in 4 series:
- Series 1. University of California, Irvine files, 1979-2006. 0.5 linear feet
- Series 2. Research files, 1950-2004. 2.5 linear feet
- Series 3. Teaching materials, 1970-1985. 0.2 linear feet
- Series 4. Writings, 1966-1997. 0.2 linear feet
Acession 2023-003, a minimally processed addition to the collection is listed at the end.
Publications authored by Olin were removed and catalogued separately in Special Collections. Several widely available journals
were removed and discarded.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Clippings -- 20th century.
Utopias -- United States
Letters -- California -- Orange County -- 20th century.
Photographic prints -- California -- Orange County -- 20th century.
California -- History -- Sources
Lecture notes -- 20th century.
Offprints -- 20th century.
Historians.
College teachers.
University of California, Irvine -- Faculty -- Archives
University of California, Irvine -- Archives
Olin, Spencer C. -- Archives