The Skyline College Library is pleased to announce that the papers of Phil Garlington, Skyline College’s first president (1969–1972), are now open for research by appointment.
This small but important collection – discovered by MCPR staff in late 2024 and recently organized and preserved – offers an interesting look at a turbulent period in the history of the San Mateo County Community College District and the broader Bay Area.
Before becoming president of Skyline College, Garlington served as dean at College of San Mateo, where he became involved in one of the district’s most controversial moments of the late 1960s. In late 1968, when the San Francisco State student strike was ongoing, and just following CSM’s student uprising that drew national media attention, Garlington removed Bob Hoover, Director of CSM’s College Readiness Program, from his position (See page 1, Vol. 92, January 10, 1969). The next month, Garlington’s home was firebombed.
Photographs 1 & 2. Damage to the Garlington’s San Mateo home. The Garlingtons examine the damage. January, 1969. Photographer unknown.
On joining Skyline College that fall as Skyline College’s first president, Garlington’s administration confronted many of the same tensions shaping campuses across California and the nation, including continued student protests against the Vietnam War and debates over student rights and conduct related to protesting. As well as photographs of the firebombing, the collection contains reporting by the CSM student newspaper, local and national news coverage including by The New York Times, student conduct policies gathered from other colleges, and more.
The 1968 student demands at CSM also included calls for ethnic studies curriculum, reflecting broader nationwide movements for educational equity and representation. Notably, Garlington is reported to have supported the development of ethnic studies curriculum early in Skyline College’s history. College catalogs from his tenure document some of the college’s earliest Black and Latinx courses in history and literature.
Ben Feldman talks with Kathy Zarur about early college documents related to Ethnic Studies, May 13, 2026. Photo by Jessica Silver-Sharp
Selections from the collection were highlighted at Skyline’s Ethnic Studies Block Party last May. Jessica Silver-Sharp (Library) and Ben Feldman (History) spoke with faculty and students, explaining the significance of the primary source materials, some of which came from the President Garlington collection, to the origins of the college’s Ethnic Studies program,.
Curious to learn more? Faculty and staff are invited to explore this small but important collection by appointment through the Skyline College Library. Questions? Contact Jessica Silver-Sharp, Librarian/Archivist at silversharpj@smccd.edu.
