Welcome to the Bill Lane Center for the American West
Dedicated to advancing scholarly and public understanding of the past, present, and future of western North America, the Center supports research, teaching, and reporting about western land and life
What is the Bill Lane Center?
Learn more about the founding of the Bill Lane Center, Stanford University's academic hub for regional study of western land and life.
What is the West?
Our definition of the American West is expansive and takes into account the many dimensions of the region, from those rooted in geography to those rooted in the cultural and literary imagination.
Attention recent grads: We're hiring!
The Bill Lane Center for the American West is seeking a recent graduate to join its team as a full-time program associate supporting the Center’s undergraduate programs and many events throughout the year.
Photo courtesy of Brandon Kapelow
The Lane Center selects Brandon Kapelow as its 2024 Western Media Fellow
Our newest Media Fellow will pursue a project illuminating why western regions have the country's highest suicide rates. And our 2023 Media Fellow publishes new work revealing the identities of 20 California farmers who get more Colorado River water than entire states.
The Bill Lane Center and colleagues release joint survey findings on transgender legislation and policies
A new report examines the attitudes and opinions of Arizona, California and Texas residents regarding restrictive legislation and policies related to the transgender population. The report finds that residents of blue California, red Texas and purple Arizona generally do not support more rights for transgender people.
2023 interns embark on summer adventures
Our 2023 intern cohort has launched. Nineteen "West" interns and seven Shultz Fellows make up this summer's talented and passionate group of students dedicated to supporting a thriving American West.
Stanford to the Sea 2023
On Saturday, May 20, the Bill Lane Center hosted its annual 22-mile trek from Stanford to the Sea. Traditionally, the route winds from its starting point at Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve through Wunderlich County Park, continues along Bear Gulch Road and the Skyline Trail before catching the Purisima trail downhill to shuttles for San Gregorio State Beach.
Photo by Phanatic via Flickr
Ninth Annual Eccles Family Rural West Conference
This year, our Rural West Conference takes up the theme of “Human and Ecosystem Health in the Rural West." On April 1, we'll be in Fort Collins, Colorado, to address the challenges of rural policy, health, and environment with top academics, practitioners, and policymakers.
