On the record: UCI’s Spencer Olin puts county and campus in historical perspective

As professor emeritus of history at UC Irvine and the 2006 recipient of the campus’s prestigious Extraordinarius Award for his longtime service to the university, Spencer Olin is one of the last people one would expect to watch “The O.C.” ? a hit TV show about vapid, privileged Orange County teens. Olin’s interest in the program, however, is purely academic. He’s curious about how the show portrays Orange County to the rest of the world. Olin describes himself as a “historian of modern America,” and his research has led to greater understanding of both the county and UCI.

Olin began studying Orange County ? and dispelling the misconception of the region as a sleepy suburb of L.A. ? in the mid-1980s.

“A group of us ? historians and sociologists ? decided the complex nature of Orange County was widely misunderstood,” he says. “At the time, bashing the ‘burbs was common. Suburbs were viewed as bastions of parochialism, narrowness and exclusivity. We wanted to probe more deeply into the meaning of Orange County and present a nuanced interpretation of what contemporary suburbs were like.”

Their research led to a book Olin co-authored called “Postsuburban California: The Transformation of Orange County Since World War II,” often cited as a leading example of understanding a major metropolitan region. The O.C., the researchers suggested, was not a bedroom community but an “edge city” that was technologically advanced, economically potent and surprisingly diverse; it didn’t fit the accepted categories of rural, urban or suburban.

“It wasn’t consistent with the idea of sleepy hinterlands, of moms driving SUVs with screaming kids in the back seats. Orange County had cultural vitality,” Olin says.

Consumerism, too, is a “defining characteristic of Orange County.” TV shows like “The O.C.” and “The Real Housewives of Orange County” dwell on the county’s shopping obsession, but they also ignore the families struggling to make ends meet in the area’s low-income neighborhoods, Olin says. Still, he finds the area’s runaway materialism troubling.

“I was at a nice French restaurant in Newport Beach recently, and I saw a table filled with little girls, all with their cell phones,” he says. “It was an 8-year-old’s birthday party. Whatever happened to Chuck E. Cheese?”

Olin’s interest in modern history has proven beneficial to UCI, as he focuses his research on the university itself. Few people know the campus better; he arrived here as a faculty member in 1965 and has held many key academic positions. In his busy postretirement years, he has served as adviser to the UCI Historical Records Project, and he’s delved into the campus’s “underappreciated” architectural history as co-curator of the UCI Libraries’ exhibit, “Under Construction Indefinitely,” and organizer of last fall’s 40th anniversary symposium, “Designing UCI.”

“The history of UCI is important because it’s a central institution in Southern California and a major public research university,” he says.

The university will honor Olin for his contributions when the UCI Alumni Association presents him with the Extraordinarius Award at the Lauds & Laurels ceremony Thurs., April 27, at the Westin South Coast Plaza. In 1998, Olin received the campus’s highest honor, the UCI Medal.

At the invitation of Chancellor Michael Drake, he’s now recording UCI’s oral history -- interviewing people involved in the university such as L.E. Cox, named vice chancellor of business and finance in 1961 and the first employee of UCI.

“I feel fortunate to still have a role around here,” Olin says.

UCI to inaugurate fifth chancellor

Michael V. Drake will be officially inaugurated as UCI’s fifth chancellor at a campus ceremony at 2 p.m. Fri., April 7, at the Bren Events Center. The ceremony will be attended by regents, governmental officials, faculty, staff, students, alumni and community members. Presiding will be Gerald L. Parsky, chair of the UC Board of Regents. UC President Robert C. Dynes will perform the investiture, and U.S. Surgeon General Richard C. Carmona will be keynote speaker.

A special inaugural symposium in Drake’s honor titled “The University and Society in the 21st Century” will take place from 1 to 3 p.m., Thurs., April 6, at the Irvine Barclay Theatre. Both events are free and open to the public.

Community Invited to UCI’s Annual Open House

Medieval knights and musicians, car buffs and clowns, Peter the Anteater, and an occasional wizard ? all will join in the merrymaking at Celebrate UCI, the campus’s 28th annual open house, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sat., April 22.

Festivities include three main events in Aldrich Park ? the Wayzgoose Medieval Faire, Earth Day celebration and a car show ? as well as tram tours of the campus and informational programs for new and prospective students.

A community favorite, the Wayzgoose faire recreates the middle ages. Costumed knights and ladies stroll the park grounds greeting guests, while visitors can enjoy cultural dances, music, magic, food, rides and games.

Events and parking are free. Information: (949) 824-5182.

Astrophysicist to Discuss Dark Matter

The Chancellor’s Distinguished Fellows Series will present a talk by Smithsonian astrophysicist Margaret Geller at 8 p.m. Wed., April 19, in the Social Science Lecture Hall, Room 100. Geller, best known for her 3-D map of the universe, will speak on “Einstein Meets Newton: Mapping Dark Matter in the Universe.” Information: (949) 824-6503 or www.chancellor.uci.edu.