Community & Responsibility: Stanford Stories of the Past and Meaning for the Present

Throughout time, the key moments recounted in history textbooks—and the stories left off the page—are determined by the dominant culture of that time.

In 2022, what are the stories we will tell that shape Stanford’s history? Join us on April 20 for a virtual live session that will uncover Stanford stories. From the relationship with Chinese workers to the renaming of Jordan Hall, we will review the importance of history to our story as well as how our personal stories shape history. Our discussion will be led by Stanford history professor Gordon Chang, university archaeologist Laura Jones, and university archivist Josh Schneider. The session will also include opening remarks from Matthew Tiews, associate vice president for campus engagement, and closing remarks from Bernadine Chuck Fong, acting president of Foothill College and director of leadership initiatives and special projects at the Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Education.

Presenters:

Matthew Tiews is associate vice president for campus engagement at Stanford University. In this newly created position, Matthew is responsible for activating the campus community as a vital part of the vision and mission of the university. As a first priority, he is leading the process of developing a vision for the White Plaza area as a new Town Center for Stanford.

Josh Schneider is university archivist at Stanford, where he partners with community members to preserve and make accessible materials in all formats documenting university administration, teaching, and research, as well as campus and student life—with an aim of ensuring that Stanford's historical legacy reflects the diversity of the communities served.

Gordon Chang is a professor of history at Stanford University and the Olive H. Palmer Professor of Humanities. He is currently serving the University as the Senior Associate Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education and is the Stanford Alumni Association Fellow in Undergraduate Education. He is the former director of the Center for East Asian Studies and of the Asian American Studies Program. He teaches courses in American history, trans-Pacific history, U.S–China relations, and Asian American history.

Laura Jones is the university archaeologist and Executive Director of Heritage Services for Stanford University. Laura leads a team of archaeologists and historians specializing in California heritage, focused on Stanford’s lands (including Hopkins Marine Station and Stanford in Redwood City). She enjoys a long-term, multi-generational collaboration with the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe involving historical and archaeological research in the precolonial and colonial eras. 

Bernadine Chuck Fong is currently acting president of Foothill College, a position from which she retired in 2006. She also directs several leadership initiatives for the Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Education (VPGE) and the Stanford Institute for Higher Education Research (SIHER) and leads VPGE’s Preparing Future Professors shadowing program for PhD students and postdocs. She has served on the Board of Trustees of Stanford University and was vice chair of the University’s Board of Trustees Minority Alumni Relations Task Force.