Diane Leith Nicholson was a student at Oregon State University (OSU) from 1970 to 1974, graduating with an undergraduate degree in history in 1974. Nicholson may have been on the Archives staff during her years as an OSU student and/or during the summer of 1975. Nicholson enrolled at Texas Tech University after graduating from OSU and completed a Master’s degree in Museum Science in 1976. She joined the National Park Service at Harpers Ferry Center in West Virginia that year and assumed her first permanent position at the Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site as a museum technician in 1979. In 1980, Nicholson began working as a museum curator at the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Three years later Nicholson became the regional curator at the Western Regional Office of the National Park Service, working in that position until 1991, at which time she returned to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Nicholson began a second tour-of-duty as Regional Curator for the Pacific West Region of the National Park Service in 2007. During her 35-year career with the National Park Service, Nicholson was instrumental in development of the Park Service's museum program. A memorial stated: "Her passion for her work and fierce commitment to furthering the protection of museum collections and mentoring many in the museum field were renowned."
Nicholson was born on November 27, 1951, in San Francisco, California. She died suddenly while leaving work on January 3, 2012.
The Diane Nicholson Photographs consist of photographs taken by Nicholson in the mid-1970s. The photographs include snapshots of a birthday party in the Archives for University Archivist, Sally Wilson, on July 31, 1975 depicting Wilson, other Archives' staff; and other Oregon State University employees, including Allan Mathany, Dick Greenwood, and Gene Todd. Sarah J. (Sally) Wilson was the University Archivist from 1969 until 1978. The collection also includes images of campus buildings and views. Of special note are two photographs of the Martin Kukucin sculpture on campus.
The collection includes two film formats -- 126 color film negatives and 110 film color slides, formats that were used in popular instamatic cameras during the 1960s and 1970s. A print of one of the negatives is also part of the collection.
Collection is open for research.
This collection is arranged in two series: I. Sally Wilson Birthday Party, 1975 and II. Campus Buildings and Views, 1974.
The collection includes items numbered P153:01-P153:08 and P153:13-P153:33; items with numbers P153:09-P153:12 are not part of the collection.
Diane Nicholson Photographs (P 153), Oregon State University Special Collections & Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.
The photographs were received by the University Archives in the mid-1970s.
The Special Collections & Archives Research Center holdings include numerous collections with photographs of campus buildings and views. Additional images of University Archives staff are available in the University Archives Photograph Collection (P 169).
Series I consists of photographs taken at Sally Wilson's birthday party in the Archives on July 31, 1975. The images include Sally Wilson, University Archivist; other Archives staff; and employees of other Oregon State University administrative units.
Series II consists images of buildings and views on the Oregon State University. The series includes two images of the Martin Kukucin sculpture near the Library.
This sculpture depicts Martin Kukucin (1860-1928), a Slovak writer, physician, and humanitarian. It was sculpted by Ivan Mestrovic (1883-1962), a Croatian artist, in 1959. The sculpture in on loan to Oregon State University from Dr. and Mrs. Julius Rudinski, Oregon State University faculty.