Affiliation: Graduate School
Emery Castle Oral History Interviews
Three life history interviews conducted by Chris Petersen.
October 14 - 15, 2014
Emery Castle (b. 1923), a widely respected agricultural economist, made a significant
impact on Oregon State University over four decades of service. At various points
the chair of the Agricultural Economics department, the Dean of the Graduate School,
and the head of the University Graduate Faculty of Economics, Castle was also one
of three co-chairs of the Commission on University Goals, a group that played an important
role in shaping the strategic agenda of the university in the early 1970s. A major
contributor to conversations on natural resources and the rural economy, Castle also
led a Washington, D.C.-based public policy think tank, Resources for the Future, from
1976-1986, before returning to Corvallis for the final seven years of his career.
In three interviews, Castle discusses his education and service during World War II;
his scholarly achievements in agricultural economics and rural studies; and his diversity
of experiences as an administrator in Corvallis and elsewhere.
Jack Higginbotham Oral History Interview
Life history interview conducted by Chris Petersen.
November 3, 2015
Jack Higginbotham (b. 1958) has been a member of OSU's Nuclear Engineering faculty
since arriving in Corvallis in 1987, and has led the Oregon Space Grant program since
2002. During his years at Oregon State, Higginbotham has also served as Senior Reactor
Operator and Senior Health Physicist at the OSU Radiation Center; chair of the Radiation
Health Physics program; Associate Dean of the Graduate School; and President of the
Faculty Senate. In a wide-ranging interview, Higginbotham discusses his education
and academic work in nuclear science and engineering; his institutional memories of
Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Science at OSU; and the activities of Oregon Space
Grant during his years of association.
The Lives of International Students
Three life history interviews conducted by Chris Petersen.
March 3 - 6, 2015
In 2015, Oregon State University served as a home away from home for over 4,000 international
students hailing from 107 different countries. Over the course of three interviews
conducted in March 2015, the experiences and perspectives of four current OSU international
students were recorded, with particular emphasis paid to changing perspectives on
U.S. culture, contrasting systems of education around the world, and the major social
and cultural adjustments required of international students studying at Oregon State.
The international students who shared their stories are Jenny Urbina, a Ph.D. candidate
from Colombia; Kong Zheng Yeang, an undergraduate from Malaysia; Andrea Jara, also
a Ph.D. student from Colombia; and Chidi Okonkwo, a master's candidate from Nigeria.
Brenda McComb Oral History Interview
Life history interview conducted by Chris Petersen and Kalia Flocker.
February 24, 2015
Brenda McComb was born William McComb in 1952. Over two stints at OSU, McComb worked
as a member of the faculty in the Department of Forest Sciences and Department of
Fisheries and Wildlife, as Dean of the Graduate School, as Vice Provost for Academic
Affairs, and as a member of the OSU Board of Trustees. In addition, McComb has been
central to the development of a support network for transgender individuals both on
campus and throughout the mid-Willamette Valley. Her interview focuses largely on
the story of her own gender journey, including discussion of the personal and professional
impacts of her gender transition from male to female. The session also touches upon
her work in academia as a faculty member, an administrator and an advocate.
Keith Nishida Oral History Interview
Life history interview conducted by Chris Petersen.
May 20, 2014
At the time of his interview, Keith Nishida was a Ph.D. candidate and Graduate Teaching
Assistant in the OSU School of Design and Human Environment. In 2012 he challenged
a group of his students to collaborate and create a fashion magazine for their final
class project. This assignment quickly bloomed into a continuing creative endeavor,
called DAMchic magazine, that is now its own student-run organization. In its short history, DAMchic has attracted a wide audience - one issue of the online publication has logged over
500,000 views - and broad student support within the School of Design and Human Environment.
In his interview, Nishida reflects upon his personal experiences in the world of fashion
and at OSU, as well as the history and aspirations of DAMchic magazine.