University Advancement Videotapes, 1983-2006

The University Advancement Videotapes document Oregon State University promotional activities from the early 1980s to the mid-2000s. Consisting primarily of VHS, Betacam and DVCam tapes, the collection also includes smaller numbers of Type C open-reel tapes as well as Umatic, Betacam large format and DVCPro cassettes.The collection has been physically arranged such that like materials are housed together, but intellectually arranged to reflect three types of activity.

Series 1 consists of draft and finalized versions of a wide array of promotional, recruiting and public service materials created or commissioned by Oregon State University. Prominent within this series are a number of advertising projects developed by the Portland-based firm, Cappelli, Miles, Woltz and Kelly. The series includes several iterations of multiple advertisements that reflect the testing and editing process used to arrive at a final product. Included among the campaigns are projects highlighting the achievements of prominent OSU alumni and faculty including Terry Baker, Douglas Engelbart, A.C. Green, Harley Jessup, Warren Kronstad, Jane Lubchenco, Bruce Mate, Linus Pauling and Annette Rossignol. Advertisements focusing more generally on the benefits of an OSU education are included as well, as are productions that detail the impact of specific OSU colleges or programs, including the College of Business, the College of Engineering, MECOP (Multiple Engineering Cooperative Program) and the Office of Indian Education. Materials promoting OSU athletics and OSU Statewide round out the series.

Series 2 is comprised of raw footage compilations used to support the production of multiple promotional items, including a few described in Series 1. The sets of items organized into Series 2 were labeled sequentially by their creators and this arrangement has been maintained. In addition to footage of campus and its inhabitants, the series also features shots of the Oregon countryside, a College of Business-sponsored trip to London, and OSU's sports teams in action.

Series 3 holds an assemblage of recordings that were not directly used by the university for promotional purposes. The materials arranged into this series include news packages related to OSU events or people, outside productions that also contain an OSU tie, and unedited footage of campus meetings or events.