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Oregon State University
Special Collections and Archives
Research Center

Robert W. MacVicar Papers, 1942-1995View associated digital content.

Predominant Dates: 1969-1991
The MacVicar Papers document the activities of Robert MacVicar, who served as President of OSU from 1970 to 1984. The collection primarily focuses upon MacVicar's work and personal life outside of OSU, including his scientific research and administrative activities at Southern Illinois University, and his involvement various projects concerning economic development in the Pacific Northwest and agricultural concerns in Africa and Latin America.
ID: MSS MacVicar
Extent: 2.1 cubic feet
More Extent Information
Scope and Content Notes
Biographical / Historical Notes
Statement on Access: The collection is open for research.
Arrangement
Preferred Citation: Robert W. MacVicar Papers (MSS MacVicar), Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Oregon State University Libraries.
Acquisition Note: Collection materials were transferred to the University Archives in multiple accessions between 1994-2001.
Languages of Materials
Other

Container List

Series 1: Correspondence, 1981-1991 Add to Shelf
Series 1 consists of correspondence with school mates and colleagues at other higher education institutions as well as letters of congratulations upon MacVicar's retirement in 1984.  The correspondence also documents MacVicar's receipt of various awards, his speaking engagements, international projects for which he served as a consultant, and the economic and political state of higher education in Oregon.
Box-Folder 1.1: Correspondence, 1981-1982 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.2: Correspondence, 1982 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.3: Correspondence, 1983 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.4: Correspondence, 1984, 1986, 1991, undated Add to Shelf
Series 2: Publications and Speech, 1942-1995 Add to Shelf
Series 2 holds a collection of scientific reprints of publications authored or co-authored by MacVicar, as well as three membership directories for organizations to which MacVicar belonged. Also included is an article fragment and a set of speech notes, both created by MacVicar.
Box-Folder 1.5: Scientific Article Reprints, 1942-1948 Add to Shelf
Folder includes scientific publications authored or co-authored by MacVicar including: "Nicotinic Acid in Foods," 1942; "Boron Supply and Boron Content of Potatoes," 1946; "A Further Investigation of the Replacement of Boron by Indoleacetic Acid," 1946; "The Relation of Boron to Certain Plant Oxidases," 1947; and "Studies on Nitrogen Metabolism in Tomato with Use of Isotopically Labeled Ammonium Sulfite," 1948. Folder also includes a bibliography of MacVicar's scientific publications authored from 1939-1948.
Box-Folder 1.6: Article: "Renewal in Societies and Men", 1962 Add to Shelf
Article fragment authored by MacVicar and published in the Southern Illinois University annual report.
Box-Folder 1.7: Membership Directory: American Board of Clinical Chemistry, 1995 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.8: Membership Directory: American Board of Nutrition, 1994 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.9: Membership Directory: The American Oxonian, (List of Americans awarded the Rhodes Scholarship), 1992 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.10: Speech: Eulogy for James Jensen, 1993 Add to Shelf
Folder contains MacVicar's notes for a eulogy that he delivered following the death of former OSU President, James Jensen.
Series 3: Southern Illinois University, 1969-1992 Add to Shelf
Materials relating to the two years that MacVicar spent as Chancellor at Southern Illinois University have been organized into series 3.  Of particular note are the internal memoranda reporting on student unrest at SIU and the Big Muddy Gazette underground newspaper, which targets MacVicar and other campus leaders for their leadership during the Vietnam War era.
Box-Folder 1.11: Reports on Student Unrest, 1969 Add to Shelf
Folder includes internal reports on suspicions of radical activities on the SIU campus including two meetings of Students for a Democratic Society.
Box-Folder 3.1: Big Muddy Gazette underground student newspaper, April 9, 1969 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.12: SIU Obelisk yearbook, 1969 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.13: SIU Obelisk centennial publication, 1969 Add to Shelf
Commemorative special edition of the Obelisk annual focusing on the history of SIU and marking the university's centenary.
Box-Folder 1.14: SIU Obelisk yearbook, 1970 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.15: Membership Directory: Emeritus Association, (Southern Illinois University), 1992 Add to Shelf
Series 4: Projects, 1975-1991 Add to Shelf
Series 4 is itself subdivided into five subseries devoted to specific projects with which MacVicar was involved. Sub-series 1 focuses on MacVicar's association with NorthWestNet, a regional network of supercomputers for use by universities and their research partners throughout the Pacific Northwest. Sub-series 2 contains reports on agricultural planning and development in Peru, as authored by Peru's Ministry of Agriculture and Food, and the United States Agency for International Development. Sub-series 3 concerns efforts to expand Pharmacy education in the West, as led by the Northwest Academic Planning Forum (which MacVicar chaired from 1985-1987) and the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education. Sub-series 4 chronicles the effort to secure funding to locate and build a superconducting super collider research facility in Oregon. Sub-series 5 consists of a collection of smaller projects with which MacVicar was associated, including overseas trips to Africa and Latin America, as well as more local work with the Benton County Library and a group promoting United Nations Day.
Sub-Series 1: Northwest Academic Computing Consortium, Inc. (NorthWestNet), 1985-1991 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.16: Correspondence, 1986-1990 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.17: Committee Meeting Minutes and Agendas, 1987-1991 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.18: Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws, 1987-1990 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.19: Grant Proposals, 1986-1990 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.20: Strategic and Implementation Planning Reports, 1986-1990 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.21: Meeting Participant Lists and other Materials, 1985-1990 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.22: Publications, 1985-1987 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.23: Reports, 1985-1987 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.24: Reports, 1988-1990 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.25: Meeting Agenda Books, 1987-1989 Add to Shelf
Sub-Series 2: Peruvian Agriculture, 1982-1984 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 2.1: Report: "Baseline Study of the Peruvian Agricultural Research, Education and Extension System", 1982 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 2.2: Report: "Agricultural Planning and Institutional Development", 1983 Add to Shelf
Sub-Series 3: Pharmacy Education, 1984-1987 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 2.3: Correspondence and Survey Materials re: Pharmacy Education and Manpower, 1986 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 2.4: Reports, 1984-1987 Add to Shelf
Folder includes three reports: "The Final Report of the Task Force on Pharmacy Education," 1984; "Pharmacy Manpower in the West: An Analysis of Supply and Demand," 1985; and "Pharmacy Education in the West: Report of a Survey," 1987
Box-Folder 2.5: Conference Materials, 1986 Add to Shelf
Sub-Series 4: Superconducting Super Collider, 1985-1987 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 2.6: Marketing Plan and Program Guide, 1985 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 2.7: Correspondence and Meeting Minutes, 1986-1987 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 2.8: Budgetary Information, 1986 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 2.9: Public Hearing Reports on Proposed Oregon Sites at Woodburn, Junction City and Boardman, 1985 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 2.10: Fact Book on Boardman site, 1986 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 2.11: Publications and Newspaper Clippings, 1985-1986 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 2.12: Reports and Proposal Summary, 1986 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 2.13: Final and Status Reports, 1986 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 2.14: Proposed Sites in California, 1985-1986 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 2.15: Proposed Sites in Other States, 1986 Add to Shelf
Sub-Series 5: Assorted Projects, 1977-1991 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 2.16: Architectural Art Steering Committee, Corvallis-Benton County Library, 1990-1991 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 4.1: International Sea Grant Program for Latin America, 1975-1977 Add to Shelf
Folder contains materials documenting a trip taken by MacVicar to Chile in October 1977.
Box-Folder 2.17: Nigeria Trip, 1977 Add to Shelf
Folder documents MacVicar's visit to the University of Benin and his attendance at the university's commencement ceremony, in February-March 1977.
Box-Folder 2.18: Tanzanian Agriculture and Food Supply, 1983-1984 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 2.19: Tax Reform in Oregon, 1991 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 2.20: United Nations Day, 1989-1991 Add to Shelf
Series 5: Awards, Certificates, and Keepsakes, 1968-1988 Add to Shelf
A collection of awards, certificates and keepsakes have been arranged into series 5. The awards and certificates mostly acknowledge MacVicar's contributions to the Medical Service Corps and Oregon State University. The series also includes a photograph and a handful of quotations written in decorative script and saved as keepsakes.
Box-Item 2.21: Assorted Awards and Keepsakes, 1969-1988 Add to Shelf
Folder contains awards and certificates given to Robert MacVicar primarily honoring his contributions to the Medical Service Corps and to OSU. Awards of note include: Legion of Merit, Medical Services Corp, 1969; Honorary Membership, Oregon Veterinary Medical Association, 1984; Distinguished Service Award, Oregon State University, 1988. Folder also includes two humorous awards given to MacVicar in jest by Stub Stewart and Adrienne Gonia Fowler, 1981-1982.
Box-Folder 3.2: Oversized Awards and Certificates, 1965-1983 Add to Shelf
Folder includes the following awards and certificates given to Robert MacVicar: Certificate of Acknowledgement, U.S. Air Force Operation North Star, 1965; Legion of Merit, Medical Service Corps, 1968; Honorary Doctorate, Dankook University (South Korea), 1980 [file also includes MacVicar's commencement address, delivered at the time of his receipt of the honorary degree]; Youth Motivation Task Force Commendation, National Alliance of Business, 1983.
Box-Folder 2.22: Decorative Quotations Saved as Keepsakes, 1980 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 3.3: Oversize Poem: "Living By Grace", undated Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 2.23: Photograph and Decorative Prints, 1964-1973 Add to Shelf
Folder contains a signed portrait photograph of Oklahoma City oil entrepreneur and philanthropist John E. Kilpatrick, 1964; a reproduction of a painting titled "Doorway of Old Kuwait," inscribed by Howard Gollam, 1973; and an etching of the Memorial Union by "Schulmerich," undated.
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