| Chapter 1: | From “The Valleyof Heart’s Delight” to “Silicon Valley” |
|
|
This is a limited free preview of this book. Please buy full access.
The university’s founder, Leland Stanford, had stipulated that the lands could not be sold, and could only be used for educational purposes. The first plans for expansion envisioned Palo Alto, and the university, as a satellite of the city of San Francisco to the north, with a system of highways and roads that would connect the campus to the downtown area of the city. Were this plan to be followed, Stanford’s environs would be strongly rooted in suburban living, and the emphasis would be on the growth of high-income housing neighborhoods that would increase the value of university lands.
The university, along with Terman, staunchly rejected the plan, criticizing it for regarding Stanford’s lands as a potential subdivision rather than for enhancing the university’s educational mission. Terman argued that Stanford would be better served if the lands could be put to commercial and industrial use rather than for creating residential housing. Terman wanted Palo Alto to be the center of an indigenous industry (Findlay, 1992; O’Mara, 2004).
When the park was built, the distance between the park and Stanford classrooms could be traversed on foot. Leases were granted to companies that would enhance association with Stanford faculty and students. It was not atypical for faculty to be hired as consultants of companies and for students to be hired as employees. When Varian Associates moved into the Stanford Industrial Park area, the motivation was expressed as follows: “This move would bring the company closer to old friends, ease ongoing collaborations, and improve access to graduate students in physics and engineering” (Lu-ger & Golstein, 1991, p. 125). Sylvania set up a facility in the park and became the first participant in the Honors Cooperative Program. GE moved west in 1954, with some urging from Terman himself.