Affiliation: Ecampus
Kevin Ahern Oral History Interview
Life history interview conducted by Mike Dicianna.
June 29, 2015
Kevin Ahern (b. 1954) is an OSU Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics who is well-known
for his innovative approach to undergraduate instruction. For many years a Senior
Instructor, Ahern pioneered the use of unorthodox techniques - including limericks
and songs, which he calls "Metabolic Melodies" - to help students understand and retain
complex biochemical processes. Ahern was also on the forefront of the use of the internet
to enable scientific education, and has been posting notes and lecture recordings
online since 1995. The Director of Undergraduate Research at OSU, Ahern has also
co-authored multiple textbooks. Included among these are a collection that he wrote
with his wife, OSU Senior Instructor Indira Rajagopal, and made freely available online.
His interview focuses on his personal scientific evolution, his passion for teaching
and advising, and the innovations that he has applied to undergraduate instruction
at Oregon State.
Baseball National Champions, Back-to-Back
Four interviews conducted by Greg Garcia, Chris Petersen, and Mike Dicianna.
October 2015 - July 2016
From 2005 to 2007, the Oregon State University baseball program enjoyed a sustained
run of success that is without parallel in university history. Over the course of
three seasons, the Beavers participated in the College World Series three times, winning
back-to-back national championships in 2006 and 2007. In the process, OSU also achieved
multiple milestones that are unequalled in the history of college baseball: in 2006,
the Beavers won six consecutive elimination games to claim the national championship,
and in 2007 they won four tournament games by six runs or more. This unprecedented
era of championship baseball is the primary subject of a collection of interviews
conducted with four individuals: players Kevin Gunderson and Chris Kunda; broadcaster
Mike Parker; and manager Pat Casey.
Jerimiah Bonifer Oral History Interview
Life history interview conducted by Chris Petersen.
November 22, 2014
Jerimiah Bonifer (b. 1983) is a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla
Indian Reservation, who grew up on the reservation and in nearby Pendleton, Oregon.
From 2009-2014, while living in Pendleton and working full-time, Bonifer attended
OSU through its Extended Campus online degree program, studying Fisheries and Wildlife.
Bonifer completed his undergraduate work in 2014; his participation in commencement
exercises that Spring at Reser Stadium marked his second ever visit to OSU's Corvallis
campus. His interview focuses on his traditional tribal upbringing, his Ecampus experience,
and his professional work in fisheries.
Darlene Russ-Eft Oral History Interview
Life history interview conducted by Chris Petersen.
June 23, 2016
Darlene Russ-Eft (b. 1947) is a faculty member in OSU's College of Education who arrived
at the university in 2001 after spending seventeen years in the private sector. Known
today as a founder of the field of Human Resources Development, Russ-Eft has written
widely on program evaluation and the transfer of training. In 2008, Russ-Eft became
chair of the Adult Education and Higher Education Leadership discipline within the
College of Education and, for many years, she has been actively involved in OSU's
highly regarded doctoral program in Community College Leadership. In her interview,
Russ-Eft shares a series of recollections dating to her years in the private sector,
and provides her institutional memories of the evolution and growth of the College
of Education since the turn of the century.
Lisa Templeton Oral History Interview
Life history interview conducted by Chris Petersen.
August 6, 2015
Lisa Templeton (b. 1967) has been instrumental to online learning at OSU since its
first programmatic inception in 2002, and has served as director of the university's
Extended Campus since 2008. Under Templeton's leadership, OSU Ecampus has emerged
as a national leader in online education to the point where, in 2015, it was ranked
fifth out of three-hundred online bachelor's degree programs, delivering nineteen
undergraduate majors and twenty-two graduate programs to over 4,500 students. Templeton's
interview focuses on the institutional history of distance education at OSU during
the internet age, the inner-workings of OSU Ecampus today, and the environment navigated
by faculty who are teaching and students who are learning online.