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

canyons and trees

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.

A map of the United States west of the 100th meridian

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. 

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A group of students, faculty and staff stand in front of a coastline

Sophomores tackle coastal resilience in the Bill Lane Center's 2024 SoCo course

During the Lane Center's 2024 Sophomore College course on coastal resilience, students traveled up and down the West Coast, hearing from various stakeholders about how to address the growing threats posed by climate change.

David Kennedy, Stanford historian and co-founder of the Lane Center, brings the American West to life in conversation with Michael Krasny

On Oct. 1, David Kennedy joined Michael Krasny on his podcast "Grey Matter" to discuss the American West. This is the first in a series of four episodes on the West supported by the Bill Lane Center.

Collage of the 2024 summer research assistants faces

Lane Center undergraduates conduct summer research in the arts and sciences to highlight critical issues facing the American West today

During the summer of 2024, in partnership with VPUE, the Lane Center sponsored 21 undergraduate research assistants who worked full-time on projects related to the American West.

Crosses in a cemetery under a sunrise with a small rainbow in the sky

Photo by Brandon Kapelow

In a remote Alaskan city with the nation's highest suicide rates, community-based prevention heals

Brandon Kapelow, our 2024 western media fellow, reports on NPR's Morning Edition about Alaska Native communities who have partnered with researchers to address suicide prevention by building on community strengths, rather than treating individual risks.

collage of 2024 West Interns

Meet our 2024 "West" interns

Every summer, we offer undergraduate internships at organizations throughout the West. These work opportunities allow students to explore careers in natural history, conservation, ecology, land use, museum curation, resource management, water, energy, literature, policy, politics, and more. 


Recent News

President Biden apologizes for the lethal harms caused by Native American boarding schools; avian botulism wreaks havoc in a wildlife refuge in Northern California; a new carbon capture technique, and other environmental news from around the West.
In the second episode of a series of podcasts on the West, Grey Matter host Michael Krasny interviews Felicity Barringer about the environmental journalism magazine she launched for the Bill Lane Center.
During the Lane Center's 2024 Sophomore College course on coastal resilience, students traveled up and down the West Coast, hearing from various stakeholders about how to address the growing threats posed by climate change.

Upcoming Events

November
12
Date
Tue November 12th 2024, 4:00pm - 5:30pm
Speaker: Mark Brilliant
January
14
Date
Tue January 14th 2025, 4:30pm - 6:00pm
Speaker: Sarah Keyes
January
21
Date
Tue January 21st 2025, 6:00pm - 7:30pm