Program Recordings
Many of the Society's past programs are now available as podcasts or videos via Stanford Digital Repository and YouTube. They address important topics including Stanford’s relationship with the Silicon Valley, the Stanford peace movement, the Stanford Prison Experiment, and the history of women at Stanford. Program recordings will be made available continuously. Our programs are mainly funded by membership dues. As you enjoy the recordings, we hope you would consider becoming a member or making a donation to support our programming.
*You may also access a collection of audio-recordings of past SHS programs via Apple Podcast.
February 16, 2022 | Video
Fifty years ago on January 1, 1972, Coach John Ralston, Stanford head football coach from 1963-1971, led the football team to their second Rose Bowl win against the fourth-ranked Michigan Wolverines. This followed the extraordinary 1970 season which included a Pac-8 championship and a Rose Bowl victory over the first-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes on January 1, 1971. Much has been made of Ralston’s legendary leadership abilities which gave him the confidence to recruit, hire and mentor people who could become more successful than he was. Indeed his positive approach to life and empathetic...
January 20, 2022
Presenter: Al Camarillo, the Leon Sloss Jr. Memorial Professor and Professor of American History, Emeritus, Stanford University
The establishment of the Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity (CCSRE) at Stanford in 1996 ushered in what our presenter Professor Al Camarillo refers to as “Ethnic Studies 2.0.” As the founding director of CCSRE and one of the founding scholars of Mexican American history and Chicano studies, Professor Camarillo shares a series of “origin stories” about the formation of CCSRE and the history of ethnic studies at Stanford and beyond. These origin...
The establishment of the Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity (CCSRE) at Stanford in 1996 ushered in what our presenter Professor Al Camarillo refers to as “Ethnic Studies 2.0.” As the founding director of CCSRE and one of the founding scholars of Mexican American history and Chicano studies, Professor Camarillo shares a series of “origin stories” about the formation of CCSRE and the history of ethnic studies at Stanford and beyond. These origin...
November 10, 2021 | Video
Presenter: David Lenox, Stanford University Architect
Stanford University was one of the few fortunate universities to have a master plan conceived by Frederick Law Olmsted prior to any building development. That brilliant framework plan continues to serve as the foundation for planning the Stanford campus in a cohesive and orderly manner. In this presentation, David "Dave" Lenox highlights the key precepts of the original campus plan, leads us on a journey to demonstrate how projects built in the recent decade uphold the original planning tenets, and also illustrates the guiding principles...
Stanford University was one of the few fortunate universities to have a master plan conceived by Frederick Law Olmsted prior to any building development. That brilliant framework plan continues to serve as the foundation for planning the Stanford campus in a cohesive and orderly manner. In this presentation, David "Dave" Lenox highlights the key precepts of the original campus plan, leads us on a journey to demonstrate how projects built in the recent decade uphold the original planning tenets, and also illustrates the guiding principles...
October 5, 2021 | Video
Presenter: Katherine Wright, Interpretive Specialist, San Mateo County Parks
The legendary Emanuel B. “Sam” McDonald (1884–1957), a grandson of formerly enslaved persons, joined the Stanford Farm in 1903 as a teamster hauling gravel. Through hard work and abundant leadership and interpersonal skills, he was hired in 1908 as custodian—later superintendent—of the university’s athletic buildings and grounds. During 46 years at the helm, he gained special recognition for his skill building running tracks. Sam befriended countless athletes and other students during his long career, financially...
The legendary Emanuel B. “Sam” McDonald (1884–1957), a grandson of formerly enslaved persons, joined the Stanford Farm in 1903 as a teamster hauling gravel. Through hard work and abundant leadership and interpersonal skills, he was hired in 1908 as custodian—later superintendent—of the university’s athletic buildings and grounds. During 46 years at the helm, he gained special recognition for his skill building running tracks. Sam befriended countless athletes and other students during his long career, financially...
June 23, 2021 | Video
On June 20, 1941, in conjunction with the fiftieth anniversary of Stanford University, Hoover Tower was dedicated as the new home for the expansive special collections of the Hoover Library. Organized by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives, the Stanford Historical Society sponsors this online discussion of Hoover Tower and its continuing significance. In the conversation, Stanford University director of architecture Sapna Marfatia, University of Cincinnati architecture professor Jeffrey Tilman and Hoover Institution Library & Archives director Eric Wakin discuss Hoover Tower’s...
May 25, 2021 | Video
This is an interview of Leslie Kim, a 2021 recipient of the Karen Bartholomew Award for Exceptional Service to the Stanford Historical Society, conducted by Charles Junkerman.
May 14, 2021 | Video
An interview with the 2021 recipient Stanford Historical Society's Susan W. Schofield Oral History Award.
May 13, 2021 | Video
The Stanford Historical Society tackles a difficult but appropriate question that many institutions (universities, city governments, and school districts) are facing: Why and how should the names of buildings, centers, streets and monuments be removed and, if so, what names should replace them? Rather than cancelling history, the question forces us to look more carefully into our past. In this panel discussion, law professor Bernadette Meyler, who chaired the University’s Advisory Committee on Renaming Jordan Hall and Removing the Statue of Louis Agassiz, shares how the process has worked...
May 13, 2021 | Video
At the Stanford Historical Society's 45th Annual Members' Meeting, President Geoff Cox presents an annual report, board member Jennifer Cauble shares new logo designs, and Vice President Charles Junkerman announces the recipients of the Karen Bartholomew Award for Exceptional Service and the Susan W. Schofield Oral History Award, two of the awards given by the society annually.
April 6, 2021 | Video
In April 1971, a seemingly innocuous ad appeared in the classifieds of the Palo Alto Times: Male college students needed for psychological study of prison life. $15 per day for 1-2 weeks. In no time, more than 70 students volunteered, and 24 were chosen. Thus began the Stanford Prison Experiment (SPE), conducted inside Jordan Hall on the Stanford campus. Originally scheduled to last two weeks, it was ended early over concerns regarding the behavior of both “prisoners” and “guards.” Still today, the SPE spikes enormous interest. Movies and documentaries have been made, books published, and...
January 26, 2021 | Video
Speaker: Elena Danielson, Hoover Institution Archivist, Emerita
While very aware of the obstacles she faced as a woman, Lou Henry succeeded in four careers beyond that of “First Lady”: writer, geologist, architect, and philanthropist. She adroitly used her management skills to promote and expand the Girl Scouts, a non-controversial fit as "First Lady" but with a lasting national impact on the welfare of women.
While very aware of the obstacles she faced as a woman, Lou Henry succeeded in four careers beyond that of “First Lady”: writer, geologist, architect, and philanthropist. She adroitly used her management skills to promote and expand the Girl Scouts, a non-controversial fit as "First Lady" but with a lasting national impact on the welfare of women.
December 1, 2020 | Video
The historical juncture of the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the women’s suffrage amendment, the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and the turbulent presidential election calls for a thoughtful exploration of the suffrage campaign and its relationship to other social justice movements in U.S. history. Recent scholarship highlights the ways that race and class influenced the fight for, and the effects of, enfranchisement. This panel, moderated by Stanford history professor Estelle B. Freedman, explores the contours and the complexity of the woman suffrage campaign...
