Archives West Finding Aid

Van de Wetering, former professor in the Geology, History, and Philosophy, begins by talking about her education prior to coming to The University of Montana-Missoula. She explains how her Jewish connections helped to get her a job at the University and the subsequent problem of being moved from department to department at the beginning of her career. She discusses the politics that existed in academic departments during the 1960s and 1970s. She explains the creation of the Women’s Studies program and how she was able to pick students who would become Rhodes Scholars.

John Van de Wetering, who taught history at The University of Montana from approximately 1959 to 1976, discusses his educational background; personalities and factionalism within the History Department; University administration (Panzer); serving on and being president of the Faculty Senate; the introduction of a Ph.D. program in history; his colleague K. Ross Toole; his leadership in the Montana Committee for the Humanities and the Northwest Inter-Institutional Council on Study Abroad; and how he has spent his time after leaving the University including his terms as president of several universities.

A two-part interview. In part one, Stearns describes her experience as an undergraduate and graduate student at The University of Montana, focusing on the History, English and Education Departments. She describes her work as Head of the UM Alumni Office and as Vice President of the University. In part two, Stearns explains her work as the Monatna Commissioner for Higher Education, working as a liaison between University President Dennison (and other chief executives in the Montana University System), the Board of Regents, and the State Legislature. Stearns also discusses general university trends and the 2004 audit of UM’s Athletic Department

Oelz, Mansfield Library Director of Public Services, began his career at the University of Montana in the 1970s. He was partially in charge of getting the library moved to its present location and describes that process. He discusses the services offered by the library, the role of departmental libraries, and how funding is raised for the library. Oelz describes how technology has and will continue to impact the role of libraries worldwide.

Dr. Meyer Chessin discusses his childhood and the arc of his career as Professor of Botany at the University of Montana, Missoula, from 1949 to 1990. He tells of growing up in the Bronx with his Russian Jewish immigrant family; his schooling in the Bronx, UCLA, UC Berkeley, and Ohio State during the Depression and WWII; early employment as a plant quarantine border inspector in California, a machine welder producing Liberty ships, and a radio repairman in Berlin immediately following WWII; his social involvement and activism at U of M regarding the environment (herbicides, air and water pollution), Vietnam, and atomic testing; political meetings run by English Department faculty and attended by professors such as Leslie Fiedler, Mel Wren, ‘Smoky’ Joe Kramer, and Burt Pfeiffer; the expectation that professors at U of M would be service-oriented; the experience of being Jewish in Montana; some of the research projects going on in the Botany Department in his early days at the University; and general changes at the University over time in terms of size, funding structures, relative levels of collegiality, and emphasis on service for students and faculty.

Reinhardt came to The University of Montana to teach Mathematics in 1957. He became Dean of Arts and Sciences in 1983 and served until 1988. He discusses his educational background; collegiality among professors across the campus; the changing nature of student goals and the role of a liberal arts education in society; his relationship with mathematics professors in the Math Department, as well as other personnel and administration at the university; the role of the chairman in the Math Department and issues that they dealt with; the increasing trend of departments acquiring Ph.D. programs; his motivations for moving into an administrative role (changing nature of statistics as a field of inquiry); and his experiences with various university

Sullivan, former Dean of the Law School, gives a brief history of the University of Montana Law School and its role in Montana. He offers an overview of his personal and educational background, which included teaching at Notre Dame. Sullivan discusses University President Carl McFarland and his role at the University of Montana. Sullivan recalls being hired as dean in 1955 and describes not only how he got the position, but the impacts he had on the law school. He discusses the last year of his career and how the Law School at the University of Montana is one of the top in the nation for hands-on training.

Medora, former professor for the School of Pharmacy with specialization in Pharmacognosy, discusses his educational background and the development of his career at the University of Montana as a Professor in the School of Pharmacy. He includes a brief history of the discipline of pharmacy in the United States and also in India, his home country. He speaks about his personal accomplishments and those of his department and also the challenges faced in the development of the pharmacy program as it presently exists.

Habbe, former academic Vice President of the University of Montana, discusses administrative work; conditions at the University when he first arrived and throughout his time; issues in higher education nation-wide and specific to UM Missoula; administration and faculty issues and compromises; budget issues in the 1970s; and University Presidents Bowers, Bucklew, Koch, and Dennison.

After he served in the Korean War, Cox and his family moved to Jordan, Montana where he taught English for a semester. After continuing his graduate education at Montana State University, the family went to Ryegate, Montana. After finishing his PhD, Cox began his career at The University of Montana-Missoula in 1964 in the science department, eventually becoming a professor of chemistry in the botany department. Cox recalls his time on the Faculty Senate, the Pantzer and Dennison presidencies, the erosion of faculty congeniality, and changes to the student body.

Goetz discusses his experiences as a student at the University of Montana School of Forestry and later as full-time manager of the Lubrecht Experimental Forest, including not-forestry-related events that took place there, like the Round River Program. He describes how the School of Forestry, as well as forestry as a profession, has changed over the years. He recalls history of Lubrecht (how it was forested, and how it came to belong to The University of Montana) as well as his own personal history as a soldier in Vietnam, an employee of the Northern Pacific Railway Company in Seeley Lake, and how he became associated with the University.

Gianchetta discusses his career at the University of Montana from the time he was hired in 1969 as an instructor to the present as Dean of the Business School. He recollects his time as UM’s head tennis coach in the 1980s. Dr. Gianchetta explains School of Business changes, including the building of the Gallagher Business building. Finally he talks about his success as Dean and the many programs he encouraged and his success with hiring outstanding faculty members.

: McGiffert discusses his experiences, 1966 through mid-90s, as a University of Montana-Missoula School of Journalism professor and with his colleagues, including K. Ross Toole, Nathan Blumberg, Carol Van Valkenburg and Jerry Brown. He mentions the student takeover of the ROTC building during the 1960s and more recent controversy regarding the University President.

Henningsen, former professor for the School of Business, explains his history and experiences at the University of Montana as a student and teacher; growth and expansion of the School of Business; New Zealand and Pakistan teaching experiences; retiree luncheons; participation in the Faculty Benefits Committee; and the beginnings of the Missoula Federal Credit Union.

Koch took over as President of the The University of Montana-Missoula in 1986. He discusses fiscal and enrollment issues, trimming some departments and starting a bus tour to promote the University. He describes establishing the President’s Lecture Series and history professor Richard Drake’s efforts to locate interesting speakers. Koch shares his viewpoint on grading, undergraduate curriculum, the construction of Washington-Grizzly Stadium, racism, and his presidential duties. He left the University of Montana in 1990 to take over the presidency at Old Dominion University.

Curry discusses his experiences as the Director of the University’s Student Health Center. He explains his career development, his contributions as a student physician, his work as an instructor for the sports medicine program, common student health issues, and the growth of the student health center staff and services.

Merrell Clubb came to The University of Montana-Missoula in 1954 to teach English. He became Chair of the Department (succeeding H. G. Merriam) in 1968 and served for seventeen years. Clubb discusses serving in the Navy during WWII; attending graduate school at Yale and the University of Michigan; teaching at the University of Kansas, University of Oregon, and University of Houston; his Fulbright Fellowship in Cairo; teaching and living in Italy, Burma, and Columbia; other U of M English and creative writing professors including Leslie Fiedler and Richard Hugo; visiting writers such as William Faulkner; rifts in the English Department; his basic philosophy as chair of the department; and his post-retirement activities, which include hunting and publishing books.

Roy offers a lively discussion of his experiences and participation in the Social Work Department and in the development of the Environmental studies program at The University of Montana-Missoula. He begins with a recap of his educational background and then discusses his experiences working as a Professor in the University’s Social Work Program and as Director of the Environmental Studies Program. He recalls the scandal that occurred with Mort Arkava, the former chair of the Social Work Program. He also mentions activism on campus, his path to the Environmental Studies Program, the near collapse and recovery of the Environmental Studies Program, as well as the camaraderie of the faculty, staff and students within the department.

Powell discusses his educational background, and how he came to be a German professor. He recalls being hired at The University of Montana-Missoula in 1955, other faculty in the Foreign Language department at the time, the changes he witnessed in the department and the University during his tenure as a professor and after retirement. He includes the Foreign Language program’s development of the Study-Abroad program and additions of more languages. He describes changes in the campus, faculty relationships, and in the town of Missoula. He emphasizes the change in faculty relationships that have accompanied the growth of the University.

Browder, retired professor and chair of the Sociology Department at UM arrive in Missoula in 1947 after teaching at the University of Florida. Browder discusses the early days of the Department of Sociology, the population of the student body after World War II, and research interests within the department. Browder also discusses the hippie generation on campus, student uprisings, and how the University of Montana was somewhat shielded from extreme uprisings going on around the country in the mid-twentieth century. He describes his tenure on the Bolle Committee and Sociology Department changes including curriculums and classes taught over the years.

Mullin, retired Special Collections Librarian, describes changes in the procedure and format of cataloging in the general library collection from the 1970s to present and in purchasing and making choices for Special Collections/Rare Books of the Mansfield Library at The University of Montana from the 1980s to 2005.

President Dennison discusses his educational background at The University of Montana-Missoula and the University of Washington and his teaching career as a history professor. He recounts how he became an academic administrator and how he became The University of Montana’s President. Dennison recalls changes on The University of Montana campus, both among students and faculty between his time here as a student in the 1960s and his career here as President. He discusses his strategy at growing the University both financially and academically. He explains funding and where University funding is headed in the future. Finally he offers his thoughts on the controversy over UM’s involvement with the Coca-Cola Company. In the second interview Dennison discusses the creation of the Department of Native American Studies and the Department of Media Arts, as well as restructuring in other departments, new majors and minors, and reviving programs such as the Pharmacy program. Dennison also discusses the difficult aspects of being a university president such as budget reductions and making faculty appointments. Finally he discusses environmental programs on campus and his goals for the university.

: Lott, retired professor of Mathematics Education, former president of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and former Director of the Center for Teaching Excellence, came to The University of Montana-Missoula in 1974. He discusses his educational background; the New Math movement; the development of the Math Department program; collegiality and personalities (especially Gloria Hewitt and Howard Reinhardt) in the Math Department; the development of the Math Ph.D. program; grants administered by Lott and other members of the Math Department, including the EMME Program, IMPACT Program, and SIMMS Project; the particular challenges of creating a mathematics curriculum for Montana; university administration; the relationship between math and technology; and how to define and develop mathematical literacy throughout the state’s population.

Karlin arrived at The University of Montana-Missoula to teach American diplomatic and constitutional history for one year, and stayed for his entire career. Karlin discusses campus politics during the 1940s, large survey classes, and history department faculty, including Burly Miller, Paul Phillips, Earl Bennett, and Bob Turner. Karlin describes a contentious atmosphere in the history department during his tenure. He also gives his opinions on University Presidents such as Jimmy McCain, Bob Pantzer, and George Dennison. He recalls the publication of his book on Joseph Dixon, the workings of Montana politics, athletics and academics.

Lott, former professor, describes her background, education, and how she ended up coming to Montana and teaching in the Curriculum and Instruction section of the School of Education at The University of Montana-Missoula. She describes the program in detail, including class descriptions, offering the masters program online to reach a wider student base, and the School of Education difficulties with getting the necessary funding and credibility.