Gary R. Kates (born November 9, 1952) is an American historian who specializes in the

European Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment or the Enlightenment; german: Aufklärung, "Enlightenment"; it, L'Illuminismo, "Enlightenment"; pl, Oświecenie, "Enlightenment"; pt, Iluminismo, "Enlightenment"; es, La Ilustración, "Enlightenment" was an intel ...

and the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

. He is the H. Russell Smith Foundation Professor of History at

Pomona College Pomona College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It was established in 1887 by a group of Congregationalists who wanted to recreate a "college of the New England type" in Southern California. In 1925, it became ...

Claremont, California Claremont () is a suburban city on the eastern edge of Los Angeles County, California, United States, east of downtown Los Angeles. It is in the Pomona Valley, at the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. As of the 2010 census it had a popul ...

. He previously served as the dean of the college from 2001 to 2009.

Early life and education

Kates grew up in Los Angeles. In high school, he says he was social and musical but not particularly into academics. He enrolled at

Pitzer College Pitzer College is a private liberal arts college in Claremont, California. One of the Claremont Colleges, the college has a curricular emphasis on the social sciences, behavioral sciences, international programs, and media studies. Pitzer is k ...

in 1970 as part of the college's first class to include men. He initially intended to become a

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

or a

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

, but was influenced by professors to pursue history. His interest in academic administration was sparked by a first-year seminar on the politics of the college he took, taught by then-president Bob Atwell. After he graduated in 1974, he began postgraduate studies at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

, and received his doctorate in history in 1978.

Career

In 1980, Kates became a professor of history at Trinity University in Texas, where he taught for 20 years. He published a book on the

Chevalier d'Éon Charles-Geneviève-Louis-Auguste-André-Timothée d'Éon de Beaumont or Charlotte-Geneviève-Louise-Augusta-Andréa-Timothéa d'Éon de Beaumont (5 October 172821 May 1810), usually known as the Chevalier d'Éon or the Chevalière d'Éon ( is t ...

, an 18th-century French diplomat who grew up as a man but subsequently lived as a woman, and became Trinity's interim dean of arts and humanities. In 2001, he came to

, a neighbor of Pitzer and fellow member of the

Claremont Colleges The Claremont Colleges (known colloquially as the 7Cs) are a consortium of seven private institutions of higher education located in Claremont, California, United States. They comprise five undergraduate colleges (the 5Cs)—Pomona College, Scr ...

, to serve as dean of the college. During his tenure, he focused on improving the relationship between the consortium's members and on growing Pomona's tenured faculty, adding more than 25 tenure track lines. He taught one course per semester, an atypical practice for the position. When he stepped down as dean in 2009, headhunters approached him seeking to make him a college president, but he turned them down, preferring to return to teaching history at Pomona full-time. He regularly teaches a first-year critical inquiry seminar on the

. He asks students in his courses to use his first name.

Recognition

In 1999, Kates received the

American Historical Association The American Historical Association (AHA) is the oldest professional association of historians in the United States and the largest such organization in the world. Founded in 1884, the AHA works to protect academic freedom, develop professional s ...

's Nancy Lyman Roelker Mentorship Award.

Works

* * * *

Personal life

Kates and his wife, Lynne, married in 1978 and live in Claremont. They have two children. He is close friends with environmental analyst Char Miller.

References

External links

Pomona College faculty page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kates, Gary R Pitzer College alumni Pomona College faculty Historians of the French Revolution Historians of Europe Living people 1952 births University of Chicago alumni American academic administrators Historians from California