Olin, Spencer C.

Spencer C. Olin was a founding faculty member of the University of California, Irvine. During his service, Olin served as the chair of the Department of History, chair of the Academic Senate, dean of Humanities, and the acting executive vice chancellor. In 2004-2005 Professor Olin was appointed the Edward A. Dickson Emeritus Professor which allowed him to serve as the adviser to the UCI Historical Records Project; co-curator of the UCI Libraries' exhibit "Under Construction Indefinitely"; and organizer of the 40th Anniversary Symposium, Desiging UCI.

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. As of 2007, Olin is retired and lives in Irvine with his wife, Rita Olin, who retired from UCI as a financial analyst.

Historical Background

Spencer C. Olin was a founding faculty member of the University of California, Irvine. During his service, Olin served as the chair of the Department of History, chair of the Academic Senate, dean of Humanities, and the acting executive vice chancellor. In 2004-2005 Professor Olin was appointed the Edward A. Dickson Emeritus Professor which allowed him to serve as the adviser to the UCI Historical Records Project; co-curator of the UCI Libraries' exhibit "Under Construction Indefinitely"; and organizer of the 40th Anniversary Symposium, Desiging UCI.

Biography

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.