The Oregon State University Sesquicentennial Oral History Project

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Brent Lawrence Oral History Interview. December 28, 2015

Brent Lawrence Oral History Interview

Life history interview conducted by Chris Petersen.

December 28, 2015

Location:  Valley Library, Oregon State University.

Brent Lawrence (b. 1958) attended OSU from 1977-1980, during which time he served as the first chairperson of the Minority Affairs program at the Memorial Union. Not long after completing his bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Lawrence also came out to his family, revealing his identity as a gay man. After obtaining an MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management, Lawrence embarked upon a successful career as a project manager and independent consultant, working in fields as varied as software development, team building, and psychometrics. For seven years, Lawrence lived and worked in New Zealand, during which time he and his partner obtained dual citizenship. In his interview, Lawrence traces his path through academia and the business world, commenting in particular on his experiences as a gay man, and on the crucial role that his multicultural perspective has played over the course of his life.