Dr. Sidney L. Gulick, Jr., was born August 17, 1902, in Kobe, Japan, where his father, Sidney L. Gulick Sr., was a missionary. He earned his bachelors degree in English at Oberlin in 1923, and returned to Japan thereafter to teach English and piano at Doshisha University in Kyoto. He returned to the United States in 1924, subsequently earning his master's and doctorate degrees at Oberlin and Yale, respectively.

Dr. Gulick joined the SDSU faculty in 1945. He later was named chairman of the English Department, and in 1959 became the first Dean of Arts and Sciences. Gulick was frequently quoted in the national media during the 1950s when, as a member of the National Council of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), he spoke out against the accusations of Communist leanings that became common with the rise of Sen. Joseph McCarthy. Among his many accomplishments, perhaps the most enduring was the preamble to the college's Academic Master Plan, which Gulick authored in 1962 and is still regarded as a classic in its field.

Dr. Gulick retired in 1969 and died on February 7, 1988.

1986 interview with Sidney Gulick, SDSU Professor Emeritus of English, and Dean of Arts & Sciences, 1945-69.

• Part 1

• Part 2

• Part 3

Download the PDF transcript.

In this interview totaling approximately 2 hours, Gulick describes his father, who started the doll exchange between Yokohama and San Diego, as well as how he got into English and was encouraged by English teachers in high school and college. Gulick also discusses his dissertation on Lord Chesterfield and collection of Lord Chesterfield materials, as well as his impressions of the San Diego State campus when he first arrived in 1945.

Interviewed by Lyn Olsson on 4/8/86.

Image credit: Dr. Sidney Gulick in 1958, University Archives Photograph Collection, Special Collections & University Archives.