James Hansen: With 2nd volume, historian thinks he's finished his history of CSU
Former Colorado State University professor James Hansen never set out to write the definitive history of CSU; but 30 years and two books later, he thinks he's finished.
"The fun of something like this is that you keep educating yourself," Hansen said. "The other thing is (discovering) how good your colleagues are. One of the real pleasures of doing this is ... coming to understand their greatness."
Hansen is a history professor emeritus at CSU, where he worked from 1966 until retiring in 2002. He recently completed his second volume of CSU's history, "Democracy's University: A History of Colorado State University, 1970-2003.''
Hansen said he got started on his first volume of CSU history because he was trying to get funding as a relatively new professional historian. But as he got started, he realized the university lacked a comprehensive central repository of documents. That led to the creation of the university archives.
And as he researched and wrote the first book, Hansen also helped create the university's highly respected public history master's degree program, which trains students to become archivists and museum managers.
When his first book, "Democracy's College in the Centennial State," was complete, Hansen said that he was surprised to learn it became a desk reference for students, faculty and the community. That helped color his approach to the second book, in which he said he tried to provide a social context for the events happening at the university.
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"The fun of something like this is that you keep educating yourself," Hansen said. "The other thing is (discovering) how good your colleagues are. One of the real pleasures of doing this is ... coming to understand their greatness."
Hansen is a history professor emeritus at CSU, where he worked from 1966 until retiring in 2002. He recently completed his second volume of CSU's history, "Democracy's University: A History of Colorado State University, 1970-2003.''
Hansen said he got started on his first volume of CSU history because he was trying to get funding as a relatively new professional historian. But as he got started, he realized the university lacked a comprehensive central repository of documents. That led to the creation of the university archives.
And as he researched and wrote the first book, Hansen also helped create the university's highly respected public history master's degree program, which trains students to become archivists and museum managers.
When his first book, "Democracy's College in the Centennial State," was complete, Hansen said that he was surprised to learn it became a desk reference for students, faculty and the community. That helped color his approach to the second book, in which he said he tried to provide a social context for the events happening at the university.