The Oregon State University Sesquicentennial Oral History Project

Sort Interviews by Affiliation or Theme

Theme: Speech Communications

Baseball National Champions, Back-to-Back - October 2015 - July 2016

Baseball National Champions, Back-to-Back

Four interviews conducted by Greg Garcia, Chris Petersen, and Mike Dicianna.
October 2015 - July 2016
From 2005 to 2007, the Oregon State University baseball program enjoyed a sustained run of success that is without parallel in university history. Over the course of three seasons, the Beavers participated in the College World Series three times, winning back-to-back national championships in 2006 and 2007. In the process, OSU also achieved multiple milestones that are unequalled in the history of college baseball: in 2006, the Beavers won six consecutive elimination games to claim the national championship, and in 2007 they won four tournament games by six runs or more. This unprecedented era of championship baseball is the primary subject of a collection of interviews conducted with four individuals: players Kevin Gunderson and Chris Kunda; broadcaster Mike Parker; and manager Pat Casey.

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Susan Castillo Oral History Interview - June 17, 2014

Susan Castillo Oral History Interview

Life history interview conducted by Janice Dilg.
June 17, 2014
Susan Castillo (b. 1951) graduated from OSU in 1981, having returned to school at the urging of OSU's Affirmative Action Director, Pearl Spears Gray, for whom Castillo worked as a secretary. A Communications major, Castillo found employment as a news reporter with KVAL-TV Eugene, and her coverage of the Oregon legislature sparked her interest in running for office. In 1997 Castillo was elected to the state Senate, and in the process became the first Hispanic woman to occupy an office in the state's legislature. From 2003-2012, she also served as Superintendent of Public Instruction in the Oregon Department of Education, where she advocated for students of color and low-income families, among many other initiatives. Her interview focuses on her student experience at OSU and the arc of her career in journalism and politics.

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Natalie Dollar Oral History Interview - August 5, 2015

Natalie Dollar Oral History Interview

Life history interview conducted by Janice Dilg.
August 5, 2015
Natalie Dollar (b. 1963) has been a member of the OSU Speech Communications department since 1993, and a member of the faculty at OSU-Cascades since 2002. Now the Associate Dean of Arts and Sciences at the Bend campus, Dollar has focused her scholarly research on cultures that choose to reside outside of the mainstream, a program of work that has led to study of houseless youths in the Seattle area as well as fans of the Grateful Dead music group. Her interview focuses on her southern roots and the impact that her upbringing made on her as an academic and as a person; her research on alternative cultures; and her long experience as a faculty member and administrator at the Cascades branch campus.

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Loretta Smith Oral History Interview - January 21, 2015

Loretta Smith Oral History Interview

Life history interview conducted by Janice Dilg.
January 21, 2015
Loretta Smith (b. 1966) graduated from OSU in 1987. A Broadcast Communications major, Smith was involved with KBVR television and radio during her student years, and also developed close ties to the university's Educational Opportunities Program. Following the completion of her degree, Smith spent twenty-one years working in the office of Oregon Congressman Ron Wyden, first as a receptionist and later as a community liasion and staff manager. In 2010 Smith successfully ran for election to the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners, a position to which she was re-elected in 2014. In her interview, Smith discusses her college experience at OSU, her political education as a member of Wyden's staff, and her own career as a public servant.

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Dick Weinman Oral History Interviews - October 2014 - January 2015

Dick Weinman Oral History Interviews

Two life history interviews conducted by Janice Dilg.
October 2014 - January 2015
Dick Weinman (b. 1933) was a Speech professor at Oregon State from 1967 to his retirement in 1998, and also the on-air voice of Oregon Public Broadcasting's Morning Edition for nearly twenty-five years. During his career at OSU, Weinman played a fundamental role in the creation and growth of KBVR-TV as well as the Broadcast Media Communications program, which he led until its dissolution in 1992. An influential and innovative teacher, Weinman also spearheaded a number of workshops and campus events meant to improve the quality of education for the university's aspiring broadcasters. Among many topics discussed over two interviews, Weinman reflects on his life in broadcasting; his involvement with a wide array of documentary films and campus events; the evolution of KBVR-TV; and the creation of the New Media Studies program.

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