Home — 1930 -- 1939 — 1931 – From Broadway to the barn: Paul Robeson on campus

The arts have enjoyed a vital and dynamic presence on the Stanford campus since the University was founded, together with the Stanford Museum, over a century ago. Chronicled here is the history of that presence ─ a compelling story of permanent change and growth. At the same time, the assembled information and documents bring to light an underlying commitment to an education in and through the arts that has guided and informed the institution’s evolution throughout. Tradition and transformation go hand in hand.

Visitors to this site will find answers to a variety of questions:
What kinds of activities developed and increased as the various units and groups connected to the arts came into being and continued to evolve? How have those activities shifted their focus, and sometimes even their departmental affiliation, from one part of the university to another? When were the campus arts facilities constructed and how have they been used? Who have been the key personalities and groups involved?

What have been the landmark achievements? What are the broader themes and tendencies that are common to the myriad pursuits, constituting a Stanford tradition?

The Stanford Arts Initiative, which began in 2006, has energized the arts on campus in transformative ways: new buildings for the arts are being constructed, faculty positions and student stipends added, and curricular reforms enacted.

The Initiative formed part of the five-year campaign called The Stanford Challenge, a cross-disciplinary vision for the 21st century. The Initiative’s momentum is being sustained across campus, in particular through the work of the Stanford Arts Institute. By promoting collaboration and further integrating the arts into the fabric of university life, the university will continue to establish new connections among arts disciplines at the same time as it blurs the boundaries between the curricular and the extracurricular.

Discover here an enduring legacy in higher education: a mix of idealism and pragmatism, theory and practice, knowledge and invention, community service and individual discovery, excellence and innovation.

Denning Family Director of the Stanford Arts Institute

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The Arts Timeline was funded, created, and produced by the Stanford Arts Institute. Additional funding was generously provided by The Ben and A. Jess Shenson Funds at Stanford University.

Timeline team: Kathryn Dickason, Toni Gauthier, Stephen Hinton, Ashley Kennedy, Heidi Lee, Stav Ziv

We are grateful to the Special Collections and University Archives Department of Stanford University Libraries for permission to reproduce images from various collections, in particular the Historical Photograph Collection.

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4 years ago Catergory: 1930 -- 1939, Music, Student Activity

MAR 2, 1931 From Broadway to the barn: Paul Robeson on campus

With the support of the ASSU, the illustrious singer, actor, and Civil Rights activist Paul Robeson gave his first concert at Stanford University in 1931. (Unbelievably, the student tickets were offered for $1.) Robeson returned to the campus as part of another ASSU concert series on December 1, 1941. In the 1941 ASSU report, the student manager exclaimed that “our star artist was of course Paul Robeson, and his tremendous popularity is unquestionable; we even had 100 seats on the stage for his concert. One unique feature of Robeson’s concert was his singing ‘Ballad for Americans’ with the University Choir; this proved to be a great hit with the entire audience.” Robeson’s appearances at Stanford testify to students’ invested interest in the arts and their open-mindedness before the Civil Rights era.

Featured image: cover of Paul Robeson program, part of the ASSU concert series, 1931

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