Laura Cleaveland Oral History Interview

In this interview, Laura Cleaveland discusses her career in home economics and her involvement with Oregon State University. She talks about attending Iowa State College and receiving her bachelor’s degree in home economics education in 1930, noting the low cost of out-of-state tuition in the late 1920s compared to what students pay today. Cleaveland then reflects on how lucky she was to get a job in her field right out of college during the Great Depression. She spent the next ten years employed as a high school instructor teaching food, clothing, and homemaking classes. She then came to Oregon State University to get her master’s degree while working in the Memorial Union. She received her master’s degree in innovation management in 1942.

With her master’s degree in hand, Cleaveland left for a job in food services at the University of Idaho, which she held from 1942 to 1946. In 1946 she returned to Corvallis to work as an assistant professor teaching a “Purchasing for Institutions” course and as a food services manager for the newly-built Quonset hut cafeteria. In 1962, she became the manager of the residence hall food services and retained that position until her retirement. She took a sabbatical in 1965 to visit other universities across the country and learn about their food services programs. Reflecting on this period, she lists a few of the ways she has seen the home economics field change since she first started teaching. The interview concludes with Cleaveland offering general advice on how to become successful in any field.