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Projects

Oral History Committee

Mission

Oral history is the recording of historical information obtained through an interview that preserves a person’s eyewitness account of a past experience. Oral histories humanize our recorded history.

Goals

Recent efforts have focused on several areas:

  • Early academic mission of the University with a particular focus on environmental programs and the Liberal Education Seminars
  • The physical development of the campus including the Cofrin Arboretum
  • Remembrances of UWGB’s early days understanding the urgency of capturing these voices due to ages of individuals
  • Interviewing individuals involved with all aspects of the University’s history (both early and recent times) when opportunities arise

The Committee recently started to have written transcripts completed for audio interviews to increase accessibility and research value of the interviews. Our goal is to have transcripts completed for the majority of interviews by the end of 2013. Funds from Chancellor Harden and University Advancement have made this possible. After they have been completed, the audio recordings and transcripts for all interviews will be made available in University Archives.

Get Involved

The Oral History Committee is now a small committee that relies on individuals to volunteer their time to work on specific projects. Are you interested in being part of this effort?

Here are some ways you can become involved:

  • Join our committee. We meet monthly. We are looking for individuals who are interested in setting up and conducting interviews and assisting with other Committee projects.
  • Consider conducting some interviews on an as needed basis. Qualifications: someone who enjoys time in the Archives preparing for interviews and someone who loves listening to others reminisce about the past.
  • Say yes if we ask you to be interviewed. Or, contact us if you would like to be interviewed. Or, suggest a topic the Committee could explore.
  • Consider donating to the Retiree Association Oral History Project – financial donations are used for transcription services.

Please contact Committee Chair, Jane Rank, if you are interested in any of these opportunities.

Committee members

Jane Rank, Chair rankj@uwgb.edu

Roger Vanderperren

Virginia Dell

Clifford Abbott

Joan Thron

Deb Anderson, University Archivist, ex officio