August and Mollie Strand Oral History Interview, ca. 1975

INTERVIEWER: When did you and Dr. Strand come to Oregon State College?

AUGUST STRAND: October, 1, 1942. The war was on at that time.

MOLLIE STRAND: It was a bad time to make a move.

IN: How did you happen to come to Oregon State? Did they come to Montana to ask you to be president?

AS: They asked me.

IN: What was your reaction?

AS: I was surprised. I didn't know exactly what to do at first because we'd lived a long time in Montana. Although I'd only been president for five years we'd both grown up in Montana.

IN: What did you think when you came to Corvallis?

AS: It was very much like the town we left, Bozeman. Corvallis is a lot bigger now but Corvallis and Bozeman were about the same size in 1942. The two towns were so much alike that the Chamber of Commerce number in Bozeman was I think 00:01:00365 and then Corvallis was I think 356. That was when they only had three digits in a telephone number.

MS: I didn't find that they were similar except that they were both state college towns. I thought that Corvallis was very much behind.

IN: In what ways?

MS: Well, in a business-like way, for instance. You didn't have to go out of town in Bozeman to shop. Here the pattern was to go to Eugene and Portland or Salem to do most of it, clothing and furnishings and things of that sort. I didn't like it is that respect. I never have taken roots here and I've lived 00:02:00here 30 years. I still want to go to Montana.

IN: So then you came out to Oregon and you took the office of president from Dr. Gilfillan, right?

AS: Yes, he was acting.

IN: What do you recall about the day that you arrived in Corvallis?

AS: I remember it was the 15th of October, in 1942.

IN: Did you come by train?

AS: No, we drove.

IN: And you brought you children with you?

AS: Yes, two of them. One was in Annapolis.

IN: Where did you live when you came?

AS: On the campus. There was a president's house on the campus when we came.

IN: How long did you live there?

AS: Until 1948 when the place was getting surrounded by building under construction. It was located where the new Mechanical Engineering building is now.

IN: And then did you live here?

AS: No, we lived up on 30th.

IN: Dr. Strand, when you came Dr. Gilfillan was acting president and there had been a lot of problems because there was no head administration, so to speak. Do you remember anything about your early struggles?

AS: Some of it I don't like to remember. I remember a lot of it. There was a great struggle over science and business when I first came here. The business 00:04:00school had been taken away from Oregon State and the school of science had been taken away from the university at Eugene. Those first years we were here were concerned in curricular debates about how things should be and the Board of Higher Education gave Oregon State a new School of Business and Technology.

IN: When you were the president there was a lot of momentous changes at Oregon State. One concern was the lack of liberal studies programs, like what you were 00:05:00first talking about with the business leaving and no liberal arts.

AS: Lots of people don't count science as liberal arts and of course it is.

IN: Did you think these were valuable additions that were needed?

AS: I thought the institution needed a curriculum in that field, especially when they were preparing teachers they certainly needed liberal studies.

IN: You saw 20 years of students come and go at the university, what were your feelings about the students over the years? I know that one time you said that you thought the students were conformists and you wished they would rebel a 00:06:00little more.

AS: Yes, I made a speech about that down in Eugene.

MS: It was a crazy thing to say.

AS: I didn't ask for a big rebellion, I was just in favor of a snail rebellion. But you don't produce rebellions by just talking about them. In the first place the war was on when we came. In the early 50's there was the G.I. Bill. The students were serious. They were serious because a great many of them were married and their wives were serious about their husbands getting through and getting a start in life. In general the 50's were rather quiet- the quiet 00:07:00generation. I wasn't here as president in the 60's and that's when the fireworks went off.

IN: Were you glad you weren't here?

AS: I was just as glad I wasn't.

MS: But yet you wanted a rebellion.

IN: Until he found out what one was like. Mrs. Strand, you have been involved in a lot of activities in Corvallis. Can you tell me what are some of the things you have done?

MS: At that time there was an interesting organization known as Associated Women Students. I worked with them and with Mortar Board. It was always enjoyable. I 00:08:00was an adviser. Not that they actually needed one. But they were very interesting young women, I felt. They were very nice to me and I had very nice trips with them to the coast, most of the time. I can't remember now, there were so many other things. I enjoyed the women here very much because I got to know them. As far as I was concerned I felt they were very well-behaved and could be called ladies and gentlemen.

IN: It was said about you that you were very hospitable and a delightful personality. Did you have dinners for his colleagues at school and such?

MS: The president's house was used quite a bit. Not as much as I would have liked were it not wartime. It was a three-story house with four bedrooms and a bath on the third floor, and of course coming at wartime that was used as an excuse for no help, which really was an excuse unjustifiably. Help could have been found if they had wanted to. And there was no reason why they couldn't have 00:10:00just as much help for the president's house as maintaining some other buildings. If they wanted to use the president's house then it was supposed to be as a place of learning also- whatever it was they wanted to learn. As I said, I enjoyed it very much. It wasn't easy a lot of times.

IN: As a very involved citizen and as a mother, you must have had some feelings about the students over the years. What do you think about the students today?

MS: Well, I don't think I can pass judgement on the students today because I rarely see them.

IN: How about during the years?

MS: Oh, I enjoyed it. Especially when we lived on the campus. There were several 00:11:00when they were passing by who drop in just for a moment. It never was at the point that you ran out of conversation or they stayed too long. You know sometimes you have callers and they don't know when to leave and it's hard to keep up trying to make conversation, especially with strangers. I found that there was a nice comradery and they'd drop in for a little while and take off again. So I never had the feeling that I'd wish they wouldn't come because I enjoyed them very much. And I said they never ever stayed and sometimes we had groups there and a lot of times the students would help.

IN: Did you ever go to any activities on campus?

MS: Oh, lots. And I found the students good hosts, both men and women in their respective homes. I never had the feeling that it was a part of the job I had to do- it was a pleasure.

IN: You retired in I961. When you left office, what were your feelings about the progress the school had made while you were there? In the studies, the addition of liberal arts, becoming a university, etc.

AS: I thought we had made some progress. It was a lot different from when we came here. The name was even changed. By time I had retired it became Oregon 00:13:00State University. Up until 1953 it was still Oregon Agricultural College. It was called Oregon State, but officially it was Oregon State Agricultural College. I was glad that was corrected because it was just as much of a university as I saw it was organized, because it had the schools needed to make up a university. Although we were criticized because we didn't have a College of Liberal Arts, which was true.

IN: Do you remember any other changes that were made during your presidency?

AS: Well of course the big changes were in the physical plant and the campus 00:14:00because when we came it was the end of a depression. During ten years very little was dome in the way of repairs and additions to buildings. In stringent times one part of the budget which would be easy to cut would be building repairs. They must have cut that a good many times because the buildings were in very bad condition. After the war was over a large amount of money went into building repairs that isn't seen going through the campus. You don't see now the 00:15:00several million dollars that went into the steam tunnels led in from tie heating plant to the different parts of the campus. You can't see it but there was a lot of money that went into that to get it in operating condition. I think one thing I was gratified about and gratified by was the new faculty organization that had come about. There was no faculty organization when we came here. There was an administrative council made up of deans and directors. Those were all administrators. It wasn't until about 1945-46 that there was a faculty organization and a faculty senate elected by the faculty that I think was one of 00:16:00the best accomplishments during my administration.

IN: Were there any changes that weren't made that you would have liked to seen made?

AS: Oh there's too many to mention.

IN: How do you feel about the university today? Do you feel it is a contributing school of higher education?

AS: Oh yes but I am astounded at some of the new problems that have come up and I'm glad I didn't have to face some of them myself.

IN: How about you, Mrs. Strand. How do you feel about Oregon State as a university of higher education?

MS: I really am not in a position I presume to evaluate that. I did audit a 00:17:00course one time which was very enjoyable. But I couldn't pass judgement unless I had known about several courses- unless I had made some sort of a study as comparing what work was offered and maybe I might think of the proper thing to say. I do recall that they demanded a lot of the president's house when we came here. It wasn't that it was new, it was on the campus. But the seemed to think 00:18:00that it belonged to any organization that wanted it. I remember one time a faculty woman came who was on some organization and she said, "Well, we want to have a tea her at 8:00 in the evening." 'Well, at my house you don't have a tea at 8:00 in the evening,' I said. "Well what should we call it," she said. I said I didn't know, but I would call it a soiree". "A soiree what is that?" And I said that well, it was an evening affair.

And then another time a faculty member came and said their group was meeting around December or something and they wanted to come over to the president's 00:19:00house. They were going to inspect some of the buildings. And I said who are they? "Well, Just 'they'," she said, and thought they ought to have this privilege. If she was a person I had known before she would have known that I would have said who are you to think you can invade my house? It is my house primarily. I wouldn't have lived there- there were four bedrooms on third floor. And of course as I said they used the excuse it was wartime and no help. And I was supposed to be the housemaid, or whatever you'd call it-- a custodian, I guess, and the hostess at the same time, you can't do that. There were times I 00:20:00felt like going to the custodial department and saying that I'll take the examination and get my rating if I have to be the custodian of the president's house, and get paid for it. But I didn't- I wish I had.

AS: As I remember that old house on campus I was glad I got out of it before we got burned up. It was sure a firetrap.

IN: Can you remember if there was any really rewarding thing while you were president- a memory that you have?

AS: Oh, I think there was a rewarding thing with the faculty people that you 00:21:00came to know and the students. There were a lot of worthwhile students and you still see them. This was probably the most rewarding thing. Since I didn't do any teaching the relationships I've known have been different that student-teacher. Sometimes I think I know the students who got into trouble more than the other students.

IN: Thank you very much Dr. and Mrs. Strand for your time in answering my questions.