Lowen Book

THE COLD WAR ERA AND THE MODERN UNIVERSITY

ith the publication of her book, Creating the Cold War University: The Transformation of Stanford (University of California Press, 1997), Rebecca S. Lowen touched off new controversy around a crucial period in Stanford's history. The book, which started as Lowen's doctoral thesis at Stanford, examines the school's emergence as a national research powerhouse and its role both as a model and as a case study of the mechanisms that drove such transformation.

Stanford Today invited a group of eminent Stanford scholars to discuss the book and its findings. The forum was moderated by David Ritson, emeritus professor in the Physics Department. The panelists included:

RICHARD LYMAN, a historian who first came to Stanford in 1958 as professor of history and became, in turn, vice president, provost, and president from 1970 to 1980. After leaving Stanford, he served as president of the Rockefeller Foundation. He returned to campus in 1988 to head the Institute for International Studies, where he is now a senior research fellow.

BARTON BERNSTEIN, a historian of public policy and Stanford professor since 1965. He is the author of several books, including The Atomic Bomb: The Critical Issues. He was Rebecca Lowen's thesis adviser.

ROBERT ROSENZWEIG, a political scientist who came to Stanford in 1962 and served as university associate dean, vice provost, and vice president. He left Stanford in 1983 to become president of the Association of American Universities until 1993.

Lowen Book (Plain text)

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