In 1965, founding dean of the School Social Sciences Jim March envisioned a school that was “conspicuously experimental and innovative.” March and his young faculty embarked on a bold experiment in the interdisciplinary social sciences at UCI. Investigations in new computing technology, collaboration, mathematical modeling, and learning-by-doing turned the School of Social Sciences into a laboratory and testing ground for new, interdisciplinary academic models. March’s stewardship during his tenure as dean positioned UCI on the cutting edge of late mid-century social science, a legacy the school has carried forward into the 21st century. Join scholars both international and local at a conference celebrating the history of the UC Irvine School of Social Sciences on the occasion of UCI’s 50th anniversary. March himself will return to UCI to offer recollections and insights on the School of Social Sciences’ first 5 years, when he was dean. Invited speakers will consider the institutional history of the social sciences at Irvine within the context of March’s legacy and the school's trajectory for the future.

Panelists include:

• James G. March, Professor Emeritus, Stanford University
• Mie Augier, Senior Consulting Researcher, Center for Sustainable Development and Global Competitiveness, Stanford University
• Donncha Kavanagh, Professor of Information and Organization, University College Dublin
• John Van Maanen, Erwin H. Schell Professor of Management and Professor of Organization Studies, Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (UCI Ph.D. '72)
• Lynn Mather, SUNY Distinguished Service Professor, SUNY Buffalo Law School (UCI Ph.D. ’75)
• Marc J. Ventresca, Strategy and Innovation Faculty, Wolfson College, University of Oxford
• Anna Kryczka, Ph.D. Candidate in Visual Studies, UCI
• Robert Kett, Ph.D. Candidate in Anthropology, UCI
• Christine Beckman, Associate Professor, Organization and Management and Department of Sociology, Chancellor’s Fellow, UCI
• Martha S. Feldman, Johnson Chair for Civic Governance and Public Management and Professor of Social Ecology (Department of Planning, Policy and Design), Business, Political Science and Sociology, UCI
• Matt Huffman, Chair, Department of Sociology, UCI

Schedule:

• 12:00-12:30 p.m. Welcoming Remarks and Lunch
• 1:00-2:30 p.m. Panel 1: James G. March: Organization Man
• 2:30-3:00 p.m. Break
• 3:00-4:30 p.m. Panel 2: 50 years of Experimentation in the Social Sciences at UCI
• 4:30-5:00 p.m. Remarks by James G. March, first Dean of the School of Social Sciences at UCI, Professor Emeritus, Stanford University
• 5:00 p.m. Toast and Reception