News

Stanford Historical Society welcomes five new board members

Erik W. Charles, Bernadine Chuck Fong, Bertrand Patenaude, Francisco O. Ramirez, and Shayla Smith will begin their first term on July 1st, 2026.

The Story Keepers

Fifty years since the Stanford Historical Society was founded, there’s still plenty to uncover.

Chronicles of Stanford Architecture Launches Anniversary Programs

On November 16, 2025, the Stanford Historical Society (SHS) hosted a sold-out program, Chronicles of Stanford Architecture, in celebration of its 50th anniversary.

Stanford Historical Society kicks off 50th anniversary programs with “Chronicles of Stanford Architecture”

The sold-out event explored Stanford’s architectural journey—from its historical sandstone arcades to the cutting-edge design of the CoDa building—as the Stanford Historical Society begins its 50th Anniversary celebrations.

Stanford Historical Society celebrates 50th anniversary

The Stanford Historical Society (SHS) kicked off their 50th anniversary year with a backyard celebration of the past, as well as a glance toward the future.

From KZSU to FM synthesis: Oral History Program summer interns dive deep into Stanford Stories

Summer interns prepared interview materials for deposit into the University Archives, conducted interviews with alumni and curated the SHS and University Archives collections for the 50 Stanford Stories for 50 Years project.

Connecting the Past, Present, and Future: Stanford Historical Society’s 50th Anniversary Year

A year-long series of activities provides opportunities for the Stanford community and our neighbors to engage with Stanford's rich history.

Stanford Historical Society elects five new board members

Dave Daly, Imelda Diego DuBose, Richard Fikes, Gina Hernandez-Clarke and Rich Jaroslovsky will begin their first term on July 1st.

SHS Oral History Program announces the release of the JSK Voices Oral History Project

The JSK Voices Oral History Project highlights the experiences of professional journalists who spent time in residence at Stanford as John S. Knight Journalism Fellows.

Stanford Historical Society presents 2025 Bartholomew and Schofield awards

Professor David Freyberg and the Stanford Asian Pacific American Alumni Club (SAPAAC) were honored as the recipients of the annual awards at the members’ meeting on May 28.

Illuminating Stanford’s feminist and queer history

Partly supported by the Stanford Historical Society, Hana/Connor Yankowitz, class of 2023, worked to expand access to materials involved in the evolution of feminist programs.

Oct. 25 | Voices from the Stanford Disability Community: Lived Experience and Advocacy

Oral History Program interns reflect on summer work

Ellie Luchini, Shuvi Jha, and Tobi Bankole discuss their experience in conducting interviews, editing transcripts, and processing and managing oral history collections.

Stanford Historical Society presents 2024 Bartholomew, Schofield, and Beyers awards

Michele Marincovich, Alison Carpenter Davis, Abigail Kahn, and Mahina Kaomea were honored as the recipients of the SHS annual awards at the members’ meeting on May 1.

Stanford Historical Society elects four new board members

Jeffrey Fenton, Adrian Miller, Stephen Peeps, and Sunny Scott will begin their first term on July 1.

A Sterling legacy: Stanford’s postwar rise to prominence

How does a university become a leading, world-class research institution? A new book shows how Stanford’s fifth president, Wallace Sterling, transformed Stanford University into an internationally recognized place for learning, research, and innovation.

Stanford Historical Society co-publishes new book on Wallace Sterling

The book is a thoroughly researched and lavishly illustrated account of Stanford’s transformational rise as a research university during the presidency of J. E. Wallace Sterling.

Stanford Historical Society Summer Interns

Makeda Barr-Brown recalls the contributions of the 2023 summer interns and shares their reflections.

Guest Blogger: Summer Intern Jordan Pollock

Jordan Pollock describes her summer internship with the Oral History Program and reflects on the lessons from oral histories.

Guest Blogger: Summer Intern Arynn Carty

While reflecting on her summer internship with the Oral History Program, Arynn Carty discusses how oral history is like opening a cupboard.

Stanford Historical Society presents 2023 Bartholomew and Schofield awards

Andy DiPaolo, Jan Thomson, and Eric Knight were honored as the recipients of the Stanford Historical Society's annual awards at the SHS annual members’ meeting.

Teaching Stanford’s history

A new spring quarter course examined Stanford’s past, including the people, personalities, and politics that have made the university what it is today.

Stanford Historical Society elects five board members

Drew Bent, Larry Horton, and Steve Staiger will begin their first term on July 1st. Nate Boswell and Jeannie Crumly Cole will continue their board service in a second term.

Academic freedom’s origin story

The history of academic freedom—a concept that can be traced back to a scandal at Stanford at the turn of the last century—can help us understand the debates today.

Hennessy, Etchemendy look back on 16 years of leadership at Stanford

The Stanford Historical Society hosted an event for former President John Hennessy and former Provost John Etchemendy to reflect on the challenges, strategies, and fond memories.

Stanford Oral History Program Summer Interns

Makeda Barr-Brown describes the student interns' contributions to the historical record of the Stanford Libraries and shares their reflections and the lessons learned.

SHS presents annual awards for historical writing, oral history, and volunteer service

At the Stanford Historical Society Annual Meeting on May 17th, 2022, SHS Co-Vice President Charles Junkerman presented the society’s annual awards.

Stanford Historical Society President's 2021-2022 Annual Report

SHS president Geoff Cox highlights the accomplishments by the society and the “new normal” in terms of sponsoring both campus-based and online programming.

SHS and University Archives host History In Community conference and workshops

The conference included the Community History Roundtable: Gathering, Preserving, and Telling the Untold Stories; the Architectural Preservation Workshops; and online workshops.

Stanford Historical Society members elect board slate

SHS members elected Kristen Domingo, Jean McCown, and Karen Springen, all with strong experience at Stanford.

Guest Blogger: Summer Intern Eli Waldman

I was able to document and archive monumental parts of Stanford history during the Vietnam War Era and the COVID-19 pandemic without ever having been on campus.

Guest Blogger: Summer Intern Sol Martinez

Perhaps the greatest discovery made during the internship was that of John J. Johnson’s unpublished manuscript titled Foreign Images of the U.S.: 1860-1992: A Cartoon History.

Internships for Hands-On History

A silver lining of the pandemic was the ability to engage a whole cohort of interns, spread across the country, in the effort of documenting the many aspects of Stanford history.

A Lost Commencement Speech Found...and a New Digital Exhibit on John W. Gardner

This new Spotlight exhibit makes available digitized materials that highlight Gardner’s life and his lasting impact on higher education, public service, and Stanford University.

SHS to debut new visual symbol inspired by heraldry, university tradition

The triple redwood frond represents the organization, transmission, and generation of knowledge that takes place in Stanford’s classroom and labs.

Stanford Historical Society elects new board members

Bernadine Chuck Fong, Margo Horn, Bev Kiltz, Katie Shoven, and Robert "Bob" Siegel were elected to their first three-year term on May 13.

Sandstone & Tile available for full-text search now

The availability for full-text search via Searchworks provides an eye-opening experience for history lovers to explore in depth the content of this important collection.

Stanford Historical Society and Stanford Libraries launch Hope, Resilience, and Change series

The exhibit aims to explore the spirit of hope and resilience displayed by Stanford students, faculty, and leaders when faced by hardships and crises in history.

Stanford Historical Society elects new board members

Isabel Alvarez-Valdez, Nate Boswell, Jeannie Crumly Cole, and Pat Lopes Harris bring considerable expertise in financial management, student engagement, and communication.

Stanford Historical Society presents Beyers Writing Prize and Schofield Oral History Award

Molly Culhane wrote about social regulation and institutional change at Stanford in relation to a dispute in 1964-1965; Betsy Fryberger conducted interviews in the history of arts.

Stanford University COVID-19 Oral History Project

The sense that we are experiencing a major historical event is truly and intensely palpable, and there are many stories that we need to share with future generations.

Guest Blogger: Summer Intern Zoe Wallace

I also now know the significance of oral history. I think most of the time we take stories for granted until they’re no longer available.

Stanford’s Oral History Program celebrates its 500th interview

The 500th interview features Kathy Ku, who retired in 2018 after serving nearly four decades in Stanford's Office of Technology Licensing.

Susan W. Schofield receives inaugural oral history award

Schofield has conducted many interviews and edited many more oral history transcripts, while also shepherding the conceptualization and development of new oral history projects.

Stanford Historical Society plans railroad sesquicentennial events

To the Stanford Historical Society, the 150th anniversary of the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad sounds like a good reason to pause, reflect and celebrate.