The Oregon State University Sesquicentennial Oral History Project

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Paula Hammond Oral History Interview. December 4, 2013

Paula Hammond Oral History Interview

Life history interview conducted by Chris Petersen.

December 4, 2013

Location:  Valley Library, Oregon State University.

Paula Hammond (b. 1956), a native of Klamath Falls, attended Oregon State University from 1974-1978, during which time she was one of eight undergraduate women in the university's Civil Engineering program. Following graduation, Hammond began a thirty-year career with the Washington Department of Transportation (WSDOT), first as a field engineer and later in administrative roles of increasing responsibility. In 2007 she was appointed Secretary of Transportation for Washington state, a position that she held for six years until her retirement from WSDOT in 2013. Her interview focuses on her undergraduate experience at OSU as one of a handful of women in engineering, her career at WSDOT and her thoughts on the future of transportation.