The Oregon State University Sesquicentennial Oral History Project

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Sue Borden Oral History Interview. July 28, 2015

Sue Borden Oral History Interview

Life history interview conducted by Chris Petersen.

July 28, 2015

Location:  Borden residence, Corvallis, Oregon.

Sue Borden (b. 1939) is an Oregon State alum who completed her master's degree in Mathematics in 1962 and who also worked as an early computer programmer for what was then the Department of Oceanography. In 1988 Borden was hired to lead the SMILE (Science and Math Investigative Learning Experiences) Program at OSU, an initiative seeking to promote interest in the STEM fields and enrollment in college among Oregon's minority and under-served youth. By the time of Borden's retirement from OSU in 1999, the program had been implemented in ten communities across the state and was acknowledged by the Clinton administration with a Presidential award. Borden's interview focuses on her own academic and career path as a woman in the sciences, her active involvement in local music organizations, and the history of the SMILE Program during her years as director.