Affiliation: University Honors College
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.
Jodie Davaz Oral History Interviews
Two life history interviews conducted by Chris Petersen.
May 2014 - May 2015
Jodie Davaz (class of 2015), a Digital Communication Arts major and student in the
University Honors College, spent the 2013-14 academic year as Station Manager at KBVR-FM.
She is also the first editor of Beaver's Digest, successor publication to the Beaver Yearbook. Her first interview is devoted to the inner-workings of OSU's student
radio station, her ambitions for Beaver's Digest and her sense of student culture on campus and within the community as it stood in
2014. Her second interview, recorded almost exactly one year later, focuses on the
first year of Beaver's Digest and Davaz's broader reflections on her rich undergraduate experience.
Joe Hendricks Oral History Interview
Life history interview conducted by Janice Dilg.
August 4, 2014
Joe Hendricks (b. 1943) is an acclaimed gerontologist who chaired the OSU Sociology
department from 1989-1995. On the OSU campus, he is more widely known for having
served as the first Dean of the University Honors College (UHC), which he led from
its formation in 1995 to 2008. As Dean, Hendricks helped to shape the UHC's admissions
standards, grew enrollments, recruited teaching faculty, and carved out physical spaces,
including an honors dorm and two dedicated honors study spaces. Hendricks' interview
focuses on his scholarly achievements in gerontology, and the formation and growth
of the University Honors College at OSU.
Jessina McGregor Oral History Interview
Life history interview conducted by Chris Petersen.
September 4, 2016
Jessina McGregor (b. 1978) is an OSU alumna who graduated in 2001 with honors bachelors
degrees in Microbiology and International Studies. Following her doctoral training
in Epidemiology, McGregor returned to her alma mater in 2006, joining the faculty
of OSU's College of Pharmacy. McGregor was hired as part of an initiative to boost
the research program within the college's Portland branch, and she has been based
at either the OHSU main campus or at the health sciences complex on the South Waterfront
for the whole of her career as an OSU faculty member. Her interview details her undergraduate
years at Oregon State; her research on antibiotic resistance and optimized patient
care; and her perspective on the forward advancement of OSU Pharmacy's aims in Portland,
including the impact that has been made by the construction of the Collaborative Life
Sciences Building.
Paul Risser Oral History Interviews
Two life history interviews conducted by Janice Dilg.
March 24 - 25, 2014
Paul Risser (1939-2014), an internationally renowned botanist, served as President
of Oregon State University from 1996-2002. While President, Risser did much to increase
enrollments and expand the Corvallis campus, while also establishing a branch campus
in Bend, Oregon and boosting the reach of OSU's online course offerings. His interviews
discuss the formation and implementation of his presidential agenda including important
changes in the Colleges of Business and Engineering, and a renewed emphasis on athletics.
He also reflects upon numerous capital projects that came to fruition during his time
in Corvallis as well as the establishment of the Bend campus, the creation of the
University Honors College, and the arrival of the Linus Pauling Institute.
Kevin Stoller Oral History Interview
Life history interview conducted by Mike Dicianna.
September 28, 2015
Kevin Stoller (b. 1976) earned two degrees from OSU, completing a double-major bachelor's
degree in Mathematics and History in 1999, and a master's degree in the History of
Science in 2002. Formerly the forum page editor for The Daily Barometer, Stoller was also a member of the first cohort of the University Honors College (UHC),
which began enrolling students in 1995, Stoller's sophomore year. After a period
of study at Harvard University, Stoller returned to Corvallis in 2009 where he is
now Director of External Relations and Operations for the UHC. His interview focuses
on OSU's campus culture during the mid- and late-1990s; the early years of the UHC;
and the many ways in which the college and university have changed in recent decades.
Mary Yates Oral History Interview
Life history interview conducted by Chris Petersen.
May 15, 2014
Mary (Carlin) Yates (b. 1946), a Portland native, attended Oregon State University
from 1964-1968, majoring in English. In 1980, following a brief teaching career and
graduate work in Asian Studies, Yates entered the diplomatic corps, beginning with
an assignment in South Korea as Public Affairs Officer. Over the course of a career
in public service that ultimately spanned more than thirty years, Yates served as
U.S. ambassador to Ghana and Burundi, as well as National Security Advisor on African
issues to the Obama White House. She likewise occupied posts in the Philippines, France,
Zaire and Sudan. Her interview focuses on her memories of Oregon State, her diplomatic
training, the numerous positions that she occupied within the Foreign Service, and
the details of daily life while living abroad.