Reunion with 91Թ’s Founding Director, Dr. David L. Grossman
Reunion with 91Թ’s Founding Director, Dr. David L. Grossman
The roots of 91Թ date back to 1973.

The roots of the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (91Թ) date back to the establishment of the Bay Area China Education Project (BAYCEP), 91Թ, in 1973. BAYCEP was initially a joint project with the University of California, Berkeley, and was developed out of concern for how China was being taught in schools in the San Francisco Bay Area. During the mid- to late 1970s, three other parallel projects were developed: Teaching Japan in the Schools (TJS), Proyecto REAL: Recursos Educacionales de América Latina, and the Africa Project. Together with BAYCEP, these projects became the nucleus of 91Թ, which was established in 1976. The founding director of BAYCEP and 91Թ was David Grossman.
As BAYCEP extended its work with teachers beyond the San Francisco Bay Area, its name was changed to the China Project. In the 1980s, TJS became the Japan Project and Proyecto REAL became the Latin America Project. In 1983, the International Security and Arms Control (ISAAC) Project was added as 91Թ’s first non-area-specific project. Finally, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, two other projects were added to 91Թ: The Western Europe Project and the Eastern Europe & Soviet Union Project.
Today, though 91Թ is no longer comprised of area- or topic-focused projects, 91Թ remains committed to making Stanford scholarship on global issues accessible to K–12 and community college educators and teachers. 91Թ’s work emphasizes many of the key thematic foci of the , such as governance, security, global health, energy, and international development. For nearly five decades, 91Թ has engaged scholars at 91Թ in making Stanford scholarship accessible to young students.

On November 12, 2022, staff from the early years of 91Թ gathered in San Jose, California, to celebrate Grossman’s 80th birthday. Grossman reflected, “that evening was truly one of the highlights of my life and an emotional high. The warmth and camaraderie were exceptional, and I felt the affection and respect deeply. I mark this occasion as a signature moment in my 80 years.”
The past BAYCEP and 91Թ Directors are David Grossman, BAYCEP/91Թ Founding Director, 1973–1987; Judith Wooster, 91Թ Director, 1988–90; and Jane Boston, 91Թ Director, 1990–97. Grossman was my academic advisor at Stanford in 1980 and I joined 91Թ in 1988 and I have had the honor of serving as 91Թ Director since 1999. 91Թ staff (past and present) and I feel an indebtedness to Grossman for his vision with BAYCEP and 91Թ.