Theme: Faculty Governance
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.
Starr McMullen Oral History Interview
Life history interview conducted by Chris Petersen.
September 4, 2015
Starr McMullen (b. 1951) was a member of the OSU Economics faculty from 1980 to her
retirement in 2014, serving as department chair from 2001 to 2005. An award-winning
scholar of transportation economics, McMullen has also served on the Oregon Governor's
Council of Economic Advisors since 2003. McMullen is likewise an accomplished violinist
and fiddler, who won the 2014 National Senior Fiddle Championship at the National
Oldtime Fiddle Contest. Her interview traces her work in economics; her institutional
memories of the Economics department at OSU; her perspective on the struggles that
women continue to face in academia; and her on-going pursuits as a musician.
The OSU Extension Service Centennial Oral History Collection
Sixteen life history interviews conducted by Elizabeth Uhlig.
August 2007 - June 2009
In anticipation of its centennial in 2011, the Oregon State University Extension Service
interviewed several of its emeritus faculty in 2007, 2008, and 2009. These interviews
help to tell the story of Extension in Oregon over a fifty-year period following World
War II, and cover topics including agriculture, 4-H, home economics, energy, community
development, Sea Grant, communications, administration, and support. The interviewees
who are included in the collection that is presented here are: Roberta Anderson, Len
Calvert, Dean Frischknecht, John Hansen, Bob Jacobson, Duane Johnson, Alberta Johnston,
Harold Kerr, Glenn Klein, Linda Modrell, Owen Osborne, Jack Ross, Jane Schroeder,
Walt and Sally Schroeder, Greg Tillson, and Tom Zinn.
Michael Oriard Oral History Interviews
Two life history interviews conducted by Chris Petersen.
March 2015
Michael Oriard (b. 1948) is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus of American Literature
and Culture who worked at OSU from 1976 to his retirement in 2013. Oriard is also
a former professional football player who, after receiving All American honors at
the University of Notre Dame, spent four seasons in the National Football League as
an offensive lineman with the Kansas City Chiefs. As an academic, Oriard's primary
focus has been the cultural history of football, and he is widely recognized as an
expert on the United States' most popular sport. In two interviews, Oriard discusses
his life as a student athlete and professional football player, his growth and productivity
as a scholar, and the fragile status and uncertain future of American football.
Beth Rietveld Oral History Interview
Life history interview conducted by Janice Dilg.
June 11, 2014
Beth Rietveld (b. 1953) served as Director of the OSU Women's Center from 1992-2011
and was an influential agent of change within both the Women's Center and the larger
campus community. A recipient of the National Women's Studies Association's Lifetime
Achievement Award, Rietveld made important contributions to campus dialogues concerning
inclusiveness for the LGBT community, salary equity for women faculty, and work-life
balance issues. Prior to her tenure as head of the Women's Center, Rietveld was,
variously, Assistant Director of Physical Recreation and Assistant Director of Student
Involvement at OSU. Her interview focuses on the arc of her career, the development
of her voice as a womens rights activist, and the changes in campus climate that she
has observed over more than three decades of involvement with OSU.
Cliff Trow Oral History Interview
Life history interview conducted by Janice Dilg.
December 13, 2013
Cliff Trow (b. 1929), a native of Kansas, spent thirty-one years on the OSU History
faculty, receiving the Organization of American Historians' Binkley-Stephenson Award
in 1972. In addition to his academic career, Trow - who has been involved in Democratic
Party politics since the late 1950s - was elected to the state Senate in 1974 and
represented District 18 until his retirement from office in 2003. A champion of education
in Oregon, Trow served on a number of committees, including periods chairing the Senate
Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Education Committee. He was also elected President
Pro Tempore of the Senate for 1981-1983. His interview focuses on his career at OSU
and in politics, and his long and fruitful marriage to Jo Anne Trow, herself a former
member of the OSU President's cabinet and a respected public figure.
Tony Wilcox Oral History Interview
Life history interview conducted by Chris Petersen.
June 23, 2015
Tony Wilcox (b. 1951) was a member of the faculty of the College of Public Health
and Human Sciences from his arrival at OSU in 1987 to his retirement in 2015. Primarily
interested in exercise physiology as a researcher, Wilcox also served as chair of
the Department of Exercise and Sports Science from 1994 to 2011, and as co-director
of the School of Biological and Population Health Sciences from 2011 to 2015. Wilcox
likewise spent more than a dozen years as an OSU Faculty Senator and was President
of the Faculty Senate in 1997. His interview focuses on his work as a researcher and
administrator in exercise science, his life-long passion for running, and his many
contributions to the Faculty Senate and to a wide swath of university committees.