Margaret Finke Oral History Interview

In this interview, Margaret Fincke describes her job as a home economics professor and researcher at Oregon State University. Fincke begins by discussing how she initiated the Foods and Nutrition Program at OSU. She finished her graduate work in 1935, at a time when government funding for teaching and research was very limited. She describes how she went about conducting research on a tight budget, noting that for one of her first research projects, on the availability of calcium from spinach compared to other greens, she had to experiment on staff members since funds to compensate human test subjects were not available. Fincke then talks about her experiences as a university student. She completed her undergraduate work at Mt. Holyoke College with a major in chemistry and a minor in zoology and physiology, and then she travelled for a while before working toward her graduate degrees. She received her master’s degree as well as a doctorate from Columbia University and followed the head of Columbia’s chemistry department to OSU. She expected to stay at OSU for only two years, but ended up staying for the remainder of her career.

Finke served as Dean of Home Economics at OSU from 1964 to 1965. She describes her accomplishments and goals as dean and how the general curriculum changed as the first baby-boomers started to arrive in the early-to-mid 1960s. She took a sabbatical to Thailand and then at the Children’s Hospital in Cincinnati where she researched instances of phenylketonuria in infants. After her retirement she worked in Israel for a period of time. Fincke speaks highly of Dean Ava Milam and the dean’s philosophy on home economics. She also mentions how she, Betty Hawthorne and Clara Storvick enjoyed going mountain climbing together. The interview concludes with Fincke sharing how rewarding it feels to see the accomplishments of OSU graduates.