Deverell named CCH chair, Haynes Fellow

“We had hard times here. ’Course it’ll be all different out there—plenty work, an’ ever’thing nice an’ green, an’ little white houses an’ oranges growin’ aroun’.”

Pa Joad’s words refer to California in John Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes of Wrath. It tells the story of the Joad family, which loses its farm in 1930s Oklahoma, then heads west to the promised land of California in the hope of finding a better life. It is a story that still resonates today, says Caltech associate professor of history William Deverell, who has been elected chair of the California Council for the Humanities (CCH).

As chair, Deverell will be working to ensure the success of a new three-year program the council will launch this June. “California Stories” is an initiative to refresh the story of California with the stories of today’s citizens and to strengthen the sense of community across the state. The first project, “Reading The Grapes of Wrath,” will encourage Californians to read the Pulitzer Prize–winning novel.

The CCH hopes its initiative will create opportunities for people to read and discuss the book, and to consider its parallels with the contemporary California experience. The resulting conversations and reminiscences will ideally lead to increased understanding, tolerance, and community bonds among Californians.

“I’m particularly excited about the opportunities provided by this unprecedented statewide effort,” says Deverell. “The story of the Joad family still resonates powerfully in a state where 50 percent of the residents are immigrants. Through this project, we will be giving Californians a chance to reflect on their own family experiences, the dreams and disappointments shared by immigrants then and now, and a chance to consider the place of their own stories in the larger story of California.”

It will be a busy year for Deverell. This month he was also named the 2002–03 Haynes Fellow by the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation, a leading supporter of social science research in Los Angeles. In that capacity, Deverell will help guide the Haynes Foundation and keep its trustees “attuned to developments in the social sciences research community,” says foundation president Donn Miller.

“Dr. Deverell’s research continues to enhance our understanding of the events and relationships that have helped to shape California,” Miller says. “We are delighted to welcome him to the foundation.”

Says Deverell, “I’m deeply honored by the appointment. The Haynes Foundation is an extraordinary regional institution with a rich and important history. I look forward to the challenges of this position with great personal and professional excitement.”

Founded in 1926, the Haynes Foundation supports social science research on policy issues in Southern California. The California Council for the Humanities, established in 1975, is a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities and an independent, nonprofit funder and creator of programs that seek to enrich California’s cultural and community life.
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