Theme: International Studies
George Abed Oral History Interview
Life history interview conducted by Janice Dilg.
December 16, 2014
George Abed (b. 1938), a native of Jordan, attended Oregon State from 1958-1962, graduating
with a degree in General Social Science. During his undergraduate years, Abed was
heavily involved with campus life and especially with student government, ultimately
serving as the school's first foreign-born student body president. After completing
a Ph.D. in Economics, Abed went on to a lengthy and multifaceted career in international
development and public policy, including more than two decades spent working for the
International Monetary Fund. The founder and former director of the Palestine Welfare
Association, Abed is also a former head of the Palestine Monetary Authority, which
he oversaw for two years at the invitation of Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the
State of Palestine. Abed's interview focuses on his Oregon State years, his career
in public policy, and his association with development efforts all across the Middle
East.
Sami Al-AbdRabbuh Oral History Interview
Life history interview conducted by Chris Petersen.
September 13, 2016
Sami Al-AbdRabbuh (b. 1987) is a Ph.D. student in OSU's Industrial Engineering program
who completed his master's degree within the program in 2015. The CEO of a small
start-up company, Al-AbdRabbuh has also been active in both student government and
state politics, running as the Progressive Party candidate for state representative
during the 2016 election cycle. Al-AbdRabbuh was born in the United States and raised
in Saudi Arabia, and in his interview he provides perspective on the Muslim and Muslim
American experience in both the U.S. and the Middle East. His academic and entrepreneurial
pursuits as well as his community service projects are likewise included as secondary
topics.
Mike Beilstein Oral History Interview
Life history interview conducted by Chris Petersen.
July 7, 2016
Mike Beilstein (b. 1951) is an OSU alum who was a member of the university's first
undergraduate cohort in Biochemistry & Biophysics, completing his degree in 1973.
After a two-year stint in the Peace Corps and two additional years of work and political
engagement in the Washington, D.C. area, Beilstein returned to Corvallis and spent
the next two decades researching selenium deficiency in the laboratory of Philip Whanger,
an OSU professor of Agricultural Chemistry. In the early 1990s, Beilstein also returned
to political activism, helping to lead a successful living wage campaign and ultimately
serving for six terms as a member of the Corvallis city council. Retired from OSU
in 2007, Beilstein is heavily involved with a number of environmental and social justice
groups including, for a number of years, an annual trip to Cuba in protest of the
United States trade and travel ban. His interview details his OSU student experience
in the early 1970s; the influential two years that he spent as a Peace Corps volunteer
in Lesotho; his research career at Oregon State; and his years of political activism
and public service.
John Bliss Oral History Interview
Life history interview conducted by Mike Dicianna.
August 21, 2015
John Bliss (b. 1951) was the first Starker Chair in Private and Family Forestry, occupying
this position within the OSU College of Forestry from its inception in 1998 to his
move into administration in 2012. A leading researcher on private forest policy and
forest-based rural development, Bliss has conducted influential work on the socioeconomic
impact of the forestry industry, paying particular attention to the roles played by
small woodland foresters. From 2012 to his retirement in 2016, Bliss served as Associate
Dean for Graduate and International Programs within the College of Forestry and, in
this capacity, contributed significantly to the increasing internationalization of
the college. His interview traces the progression of his academic career; his close
involvement with research and experiential learning opportunities both globally and
in Oregon's rural communities; and the advancement of the OSU College of Forestry
during his years of association.
Knute Buehler Oral History Interviews
Two life history interviews conducted by Janice Dilg.
August 2014 - August 2015
Knute Buehler (b. 1964), a native of Roseburg, Oregon, attended Oregon State University
from 1982 to 1986, where he played on the baseball team and graduated with a B.S.
in Microbiology. Following the completion of his studies at OSU, Buehler was selected
as a Rhodes Scholar, the first in OSU history. He completed his Oxford M.A. in Politics
and Economics and went on to earn to earn an M.D. from Johns Hopkins University. Buehler
now practices as an orthopedic surgeon in Bend, Oregon, and is active in both statewide
and national politics. Over two interviews, Buehler discusses on his life at OSU,
his experiences at Oxford, his medical training and career, and his interest in politics.
Ted Cox Oral History Interview
Life history interview conducted by Tiah Edmunson-Morton.
June 7, 2016
Ted Cox (b. 1947) is the owner and founder of the Old World Deli, a Corvallis institution
that has been located in the south end of the city's downtown district since 1977.
In addition, Cox is a former Peace Corps volunteer who spent two years teaching in
Sierra Leone and another two years as the national track and field coach in present-day
Belize. He is likewise an OSU alum, having completed his master's degree in Physical
Education in 1975, a time period during which he also served as the first women's
volleyball coach at Oregon State during the Title IX era. Through his work at the
Old World Deli, Cox became a pioneering figure in the local homebrewing scene, selling
equipment, providing instruction, and building community. His interview traces his
upbringing in California and his experiences as a Peace Corps volunteer; his experiences
as a student and coach at OSU; the early years of the Old World Deli and homebrewing
in Corvallis; and the history of brewing in the city, dating back to the mid-1800s.
Karim Hamdy Oral History Interview
Life history interview conducted by Chris Petersen.
October 10, 2014
Karim Hamdy (b. 1952), a native of Tunisia, has been associated with OSU since 1981,
first as a doctoral candidate in Civil Engineering, and later as an instructor of
both French and Arabic. A student activist who helped to form multiple groups representing
and supporting North African students at OSU, Hamdy later co-founded the university's
Tunisia Study Abroad program. He has also taught Arabic classes at Oregon State since
their first formation in 2002. His interview focuses on his upbringing in Tunisia,
his experiences studying and working at OSU, and the evolution of the university's
Arabic language courses and the Tunisia Study Abroad program.
Charlotte Headrick Oral History Interview
Life history interview conducted by Mike Dicianna.
April 7, 2015
Charlotte Headrick (b. 1948) is a professor of Theater Arts who, in 1982, became the
first woman hired to the drama faculty at OSU since the 1930s. A scholar of the Irish
theater and female playwrights, Headrick has directed in the vicinity of one-hundred
theater pieces and readings during her tenure at Oregon State. An award-winning teacher,
Headrick has also served as guest director at a variety of other colleges and universities,
and has traveled to Turkey and Ireland to stage plays and research dramatic history.
Her interview focuses on her deep family roots and upbringing in the American South,
her institutional memories of the theater program at OSU, and her academic interests
in Irish drama.
Ken Hedberg Oral History Interviews
Four life history interviews conducted by Chris Petersen.
September - October 2011
Ken Hedberg (b. 1920) has a personal connection to OSU that spans parts of nine decades.
Born in Portland and raised primarily in southern Oregon, Hedberg attended Oregon
State College from 1939-1942, graduating with a degree in Chemistry. Following a
stint working for Shell Development Company during World War II, Hedberg continued
his education at the California Institute of Technology, completing his Ph.D. in 1948
and developing a friendship with Linus Pauling that would last until Pauling's death
in 1994. Hedberg returned to his alma mater in 1956, accepting a position in the OSC
Chemistry department and remaining on faculty until retiring in 1987. Recognized
internationally as an expert on the determination of molecular structures through
the use of electron diffraction, Hedberg has continued to work and publish in the
years since his formal retirement, solving the structures of numerous compounds using
an apparatus that he designed and built in the mid-1950s. Over four interviews Hedberg
shares his memories of campus life in the years prior to World War II; discusses the
environment at Caltech during its "golden age"; provides insight into the life, work
and personality of Linus Pauling; and reflects on more than half a century of Chemistry
at OSU.
Aki Hill Oral History Interview
Life history interview conducted by Chris Petersen.
April 14, 2015
Aki Hill (b. 1940) is the winningest women's basketball coach in OSU history, compiling
a career record of 274-206. A native of Japan who counted legendary UCLA coach John
Wooden as among her mentors, Hill took over the Oregon State program during its third
year in existence and spent the next seventeen years as head coach. During that timespan,
OSU competed in the post-season eight times and won the National Women's Invitational
Tournament on two occasions. In her interview, Hill details her introduction to and
early love for basketball, the important role that John Wooden played in her advancement
as a coach, and the years that she spent building the women's basketball program at
OSU.
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.
Chris Johns Oral History Interview
Life history interview conducted by Janice Dilg.
December 15, 2014
Chris Johns (b. 1951), a native of Central Point, Oregon, attended OSU from 1970-1974,
studying Agriculture before changing his major to Technical Journalism. A photojournalist
for the OSU student newspaper, Johns went on to become a lauded photographer for several
newspapers and magazines, and was named National Newspaper Photographer of the Year
in 1979. In 1988 Johns began a formal association with National Geographic magazine, where he was hired as a staff photographer, and spent the next two years
living and working in Africa. In the late 1990s, Johns joined the magazine's editorial
staff and, in 2005, he was named Editor in Chief, the ninth such person to hold this
position since the founding of National Geographic in 1888. His interview focuses on the roots of his love for photojournalism and
the arc of his career as a photographer, writer and editor.
Zhian Kamvar Oral History Interview
Life history interview conducted by Mike Dicianna.
June 19, 2015
Zhian Kamvar (b. 1984) is a Ph.D. student in Botany and Plant Pathology who is conducting
research on plant pathogen bioinformatics. Kamvar is also the co-founder and a co-host
of Inspiration Dissemination, a student radio talk show broadcast weekly on KBVR-FM. Created in 2012 to provide
a forum for OSU graduate students to discuss their research, and meant to inspire
undergraduates to consider further education as graduate students, the show was honored
with the Most Innovative Radio Program Award at the 2014 Intercollegiate Broadcasting
System Conference. In his interview, Kamvar reflects on his own educational path up
to his current life as a doctoral student, discusses the history and progression of
Inspiration Dissemination, and shares his perspective on graduate student culture at Oregon State.
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.
Janet Nishihara Oral History Interview
Life history interview conducted by Chris Petersen.
September 2, 2015
Janet Nishihara (b. 1956) first came into contact with OSU as an undergraduate, majoring
in English Education and completing her degree in 1978. She returned to Oregon State
in 1980 as a master's degree student in the College Student Services Administration
program, a time period during which she also became involved with the Educational
Opportunities Program (EOP) at OSU. For more than three decades following, Nishihara
has played a central role in a wide variety of student support and diversity development
initiatives on campus. In 2009, after many years on staff, Nishihara was promoted
to director of EOP, the mission of which is to provide support for the personal and
academic development of traditionally underrepresented students at OSU. In her interview,
Nishihara reflects on her upbringing as a third generation Japanese-American raised
in rural eastern Oregon; discusses her multifaceted experiences as a student and faculty
member at OSU; and shares her perspective on diversity advancement at the university
from the mid-1970s to present day.
David Noakes Oral History Interview
Life history interview conducted by Chris Petersen.
June 4, 2015
David Noakes (b. 1947) is a professor of Fisheries and Wildlife at OSU as well as
director and senior scientist at the Oregon Hatchery Research Center (OHRC). Noakes
came to Oregon State in 2005 after a long and distinguished career at the University
of Guelph in Ontario, Canada, where he developed an international reputation as a
scholar of fish behavior, evolution and genetics. Under Noakes' leadership, the OHRC
engages with researchers from around the world as well as local groups in exploring
the relationship between hatchery raised fish, wild fish, and the environment. Noakes'
interview focuses on his upbringing and education in Canada, his academic work in
fish behavior, and the on-going work of the OHRC.
George Poinar Oral History Interview
Life history interview conducted by Chris Petersen.
October 23, 2014
George Poinar (b. 1936) is a Courtesy Faculty member in the OSU Department of Entomology
who has lived in Corvallis since retiring from the University of California, Berkeley
in 1995. Poinar is internationally known for his groundbreaking research in Paleoentomology.
In the mid-1970s, Poinar and his wife, Roberta, created an entirely new field of study
when they began actively collecting, analyzing and describing long-extinct insect
and animal specimens that had been trapped for millennia in fossilized amber. Poinar's
work inspired author Michael Crichton to write his best-selling novel, Jurassic Park, and indeed, many of Poinar's scientific discoveries - ranging from extinct flowers
to giant fleas to a theory that parasites may have killed off the dinosaurs - have
made headlines of their own. In his interview, Poinar discusses the path that he
followed through academia, the many travels that he has taken in pursuit of scientific
discovery, and the details of his pioneering work with ancient amber.
Ed Ray Oral History Interviews
Four life history interviews conducted by Chris Petersen.
June - August 2015
Ed Ray (b. 1944), the fourteenth President of Oregon State University, has overseen
both historic growth on campus and a major recalibration of university ambitions.
Trained as an economist, Ray spent thirty-three years at Ohio State University, where
he served as chair of the Economics department before moving into central administration,
first as Chief Information Officer and later as Provost. Ray came to OSU in 2003
and set in motion a strategic planning process that realigned university structures
and goals. He also launched OSU's first comprehensive capital campaign, The Campaign
for OSU, which raised $1.142 billion and resulted in a busy period of campus construction
as well as the endowment of seventy-nine faculty positions and the creation of over
600 scholarship and fellowship funds. Over four interviews, Ray reflects on his upbringing
and education; discusses his roots as a scholar and an administrator; and shares his
perspective on a wide array of initiatives that have moved forward during his tenure
as OSU President.
John Selker Oral History Interview
Life history interview conducted by Chris Petersen.
August 25, 2015
John Selker (b. 1960) is a Distinguished Professor of Biological and Ecological Engineering
whose research has specialized in water resources engineering with a particular focus
on developing low-cost technical solutions to agricultural and environmental challenges
faced by the developing world. A veteran traveler who spent his initial years after
college leading cook stove programs in Africa and Asia, Selker is also a driving force
behind the Trans-African Hydro and Meteorological Observatory project, an initiative
that is using a collection of small weather stations to provide more accurate meteorological
information to the continent's agriculturalists. Selker's interview focuses on his
formative experiences traveling and working in Africa; his institutional memories
of agricultural engineering at OSU; and his continuing efforts to improve quality
of life for some of the planet's most vulnerable populations.
Mas Subramanian Oral History Interview
Life history interview conducted by Chris Petersen.
September 30, 2015
Mas Subramanian (b. 1953) joined the OSU Chemistry faculty in 2006, following a prolific
twenty-two year research career at DuPont, a time period during which he published
more than 200 papers and secured some 50 patents. A leader in the field of solid state
chemistry, and a heavily cited expert on a class of minerals called pyrochlores, Subramanian
is perhaps best known for his laboratory's discovery of a new form of blue pigment.
First synthesized accidentally in 2009, this new type of colorant possesses highly
advantageous environmental properties and can also be structurally manipulated to
create nearly every color in the spectrum. Subramanian's interview traces his upbringing
and education in India; his work habits and hugely productive tenure at DuPont; his
institutional memories of Chemistry at OSU; the import of his serendipitous pigment
discovery and his thoughts on the role that chance has often played in the history
of scientific advancement.
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.