Norman K. Wessells : An Oral History
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Norman K. Wessells, who joined the faculty of the Stanford Department of Biological Sciences in 1962 and served as the dean of the School of Humanities and Sciences from 1981 to 1988, reflects on his research and teaching contributions and his various administrative leadership roles. Wessells describe his life before coming to Stanford, including his childhood in New Jersey, his undergraduate and graduate education in embryology at Yale, and his experience as an officer in the US Navy’s Service Corps. He discusses coming to Stanford as a post-doc to work with Clifford Grobstein and provides a sense of how the field of biology was changing in the 1960s with the impact of new discoveries and the emergence of developmental biology. Wessells provides an overview of his research agenda, including his work on nerve cells and forming axons and the extra cellular matrix (ECM), and describes some of the curricular changes he instituted. Turning to his administrative positions, he reflects on how the School of Humanities and Sciences (H&S) operated under Halsey Royden, the dean from 1973 to 1981, and describes some of the initiatives during his own tenure, including the move of the Stanford Department of Computer Science from H&S to the School of Engineering. Other topics include Hopkins Marine Station and the Monterey Bay Aquarium, affirmative action in faculty hiring, the role of the dean’s office in tenure cases, faculty retirement age issues, and his move to the University of Oregon in 1988.
- Summary
- Part 1 [00:00:00 - 00:46:28] Childhood and school days in New Jersey • Father and mother’s work • Art lessons and facility for drawing • Undergraduate years at Yale • Role of reading in family, including special library room • Inspirational math and science teachers in high school • Memories of World War II, including victory gardens • Yale and its homogenous student body • Exposure to activism against McCarthy hearings while at Yale • Naval ROTC • Interest in embryology • Scholarship to attend Woods Hole Marine Biology Laboratory for a summer • Comparative Anatomy class at Yale • Military service in the Navy Service Corps on oil tankers and refrigerator ships • Decision to attend graduate school • Foreign language preparation, including proficiency exam given by Alexander Petrunkevitch • Reflections on Yale Department of Zoology and working with John P. Trinkaus • Dissertation work on process of cell differentiation in era before emergence of developmental biologyPart 2 [00:00:00 – 00:45:23] Teaching in graduate school • Post-doctoral fellowship from the American Cancer Society to study at Stanford with Clifford Grobstein • Invitation from Victor Twitty to join Stanford faculty, especially to teach Comparative Anatomy course • Reputation of Stanford’s Department of Biological Sciences in the 1960s and faculty colleagues • Memories of the Rockefeller Fish Collection and the disappearance of systematic biology from university departments • Donald Kennedy’s recruitment to Stanford • Lack of female faculty in department in 1960s • Departmental culture • Shift from teaching Comparative Anatomy to Vertebrate Biology • Teaching a developmental biology course and interest from across campus • Impact of having the Stanford School of Medicine located on the main Stanford campus and his med school collaborators • Undergraduate students as teaching assistants and working with them on Vertebrates: A Laboratory Text • Thoughts on teaching and writing recommendation letters for pre-med students • Movement away from grade distribution guidelines toward grade inflation, including impact of the Vietnam War draft • Anti-Vietnam War era at Stanford • Receiving the Walter J. Gores Award for Excellence in Teaching Part 3 [00:00:00 – 00:19:08] Research in embryology and developmental biology • Obtaining electron microscopes for the Herrin Labs • Early work on nerve cells and forming axons • Description of the Wessells Lab and thoughts on funding for graduate students • Extra cellular material (ECM) work with Mert Bernfield • Writing textbooks and publications Part 4 [00:00:00 – 00:56:15] Citation from the Walter J. Gores Award • Responsibilities as chairman of Biological Sciences and as acting director of Hopkins Marine Station • H&S Appointments and Promotions Committee • Taking on administrative leadership roles • Role as H&S associate dean • Working with Halsey Royden, dean of H&S from 1973 to 1981 • Responsibilities as dean of H&S • Impact of changes in technology on office staff • Working with associate deans: Bill Chace, David Kennedy, Gordon Bower, Wally Falcon, Carolyn Lougee, and Jim Ross • H&S administrator Arnice Streit • Development and fundraising in H&S • Dean’s minimal role in curriculum development • Faculty recruitment and retention, including story of bringing Steven Chu and Douglas Osheroff to Stanford • Affirmative action hiring process at Stanford • Tenure process and controversies, including the Estelle Freedman case Part 5 [00:00:00 – 00:32:42] Estelle Freedman tenure case, continued • Evaluating borderline tenure cases • Working with departments as dean of H&S • Move of Department of Computer Science from H&S to School of Engineering • Failed attempt to encourage growth of physical anthropology in Department of Anthropology • Improving Studio Art facilities • Computer Music, John Chowning, and Calvin Quate’s role as advocate for the field • Creative Writing Program and interactions with Wallace Stegner • Thoughts on interdisciplinary programs, including Human Biology and Comparative Literature Part 6 [00:00:00 – 00:45:42] Working with university provosts • Faculty retirement age issues • National Faculty Salary Survey • Jasper Ridge and Searsville Lake and decision to close to the public • Computers for faculty in the humanities • Hopkins Marine Station and Monterey Bay Aquarium • Yale Council • Move to University of Oregon as vice president for academic affairs and provost • Public universities vs. private universities • Family connections to Stanford • Fishing
Description
| Type of resource | sound recording-nonmusical, text, still image |
|---|---|
| Extent | 6 audio files; 1 text file; 1 photograph |
| Place | Stanford (Calif.) |
| Publisher | Stanford Historical Society |
| Date created | September 25, 2018 |
| Language | English |
| Digital origin | born digital |
Creators/Contributors
| Interviewee | Wessells, Norman K. | |
|---|---|---|
| Creator | Wessells, Norman K. | |
| Interviewer | Marine-Street, Natalie J. | |
| Publisher | Stanford Historical Society |
Subjects
| Subject | Wessells, Norman K. |
|---|---|
| Subject | Stanford University. Department of Biology |
| Subject | Stanford University. School of Humanities and Sciences |
| Subject | Affirmative action programs in education |
| Genre | Interview |
Bibliographic information
| Biographical Profile | After undergraduate and graduate study at Yale, Norman Wessells served as an American Cancer Society post-doctoral fellow with Clifford Grobstein at Stanford from 1960 to 1961. His faculty positions at Stanford began in 1962 and ended with emeritus status in 1988. Wessells taught the core pre-medical courses of Vertebrate Biology and Developmental Biology every year, and helped literally thousands of undergraduates enter the medical profession. He was awarded the third Walter J. Gores Award for Excellence in Teaching. The Wessells Lab had many graduate PhD students, post-doctoral fellows, visiting sabbatical scientists, and Undergraduate Honors students over the years doing research on developmental biology of skin, lungs, pancreas, and other organs; cell biology involving the cytoskeleton; growth factors; cell locomotion’ and other phenomena. Over a hundred research papers, including one with over 1300 citations in the 1970s, and some eleven books came out of the lab. Wessells had a number of administrative roles at Stanford, including work as department head, associate dean, and dean of Humanities and Sciences. He chaired many Faculty Senate, university, and H&S committees, including search committees for the provost and the H&S dean. He chaired and wrote the guidelines for faculty consulting and moonlighting; and he authored the first guides to departments for applying principles of affirmative action in hiring, reappointing, promoting, and tenuring. Wessells helped Jasper Ridge become a biological preserve and worked to ensure the perpetuity of Studio Art, Computer Music, and Creative Writing while dean. |
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| Transcript |
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| Finding Aid | |
| Location | https://purl.stanford.edu/kk937bd8270 |
| Location | SC0932 |
| Repository | Stanford University. Libraries. Department of Special Collections and University Archives |
Access conditions
- Use and reproduction
- The materials are open for research use and may be used freely for non-commercial purposes with an attribution. For commercial permission requests, please contact the Stanford University Archives (universityarchives@stanford.edu).
- Copyright
- Copyright © The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. All rights reserved.
Collection
Stanford Historical Society Oral History Program interviews, 1999-2022
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