The Harry Freund Collection consists of theses, dissertations, publications, and other related research materials generated by chemistry professor Harry Freund and his graduate students at Oregon State University.
Biographical / Historical Notes
Born to Frederick Harry Freund and Maude Hannah Macdonald Freund on November 21, 1917, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Harry Frederick spent his childhood and young adulthood in New York City, living on Staten Island near where his father worked as an accountant in an oil refinery. After graduating from Curtis High School – the first public high school established on Staten Island – he attended City College of New York, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in 1940. He continued his academic pursuits at the University of Michigan, where he earned a Master of Science in 1941, and a Ph.D in 1945.
In 1945, Freund married Ruth Elizabeth Kemnitz of Ann Arbor, Michigan. They moved to Corvallis in 1947, when Dr. Freund accepted a position in the Chemistry Department of Oregon State College. They had three sons: Robert, Bruce and William.
Freund, who served as Acting Chair of the Chemistry Department during David Shoemaker’s sabbatical (1978-1979), was a central figure in a proposal to transform and modernize the Chemistry Department. After the University unsuccessfully applied for a National Science Foundation grant in the late 1960s, the Chemistry Department – led by Elliot Marvell, Theran Parsons, Harry Freund, and Alvin Scot – successfully reworked the proposal and was subsequently awarded $600,000 in 1970. The renovation of Gilbert Hall, and construction of the contiguous laboratory wing (Gilbert Addition), took place primarily during Freund’s chairship.
An avid skier and member of Santiam Pass Ski Patrol, Freund also enjoyed tennis and was instrumental in the development of covered tennis courts in Corvallis through formation of the Timberhill Racquet Club.
Dr. Freund died August 13, 2007 in Corvallis, Oregon. Ruth passed away just three months later.
Author: Rachel Lilley
