The University Archives was established at Oregon State University in 1961 as a department of the Library. From the early 1970s until 2000, the Archives was part of the OSU central administration. In 2000, the Archives became a department of the University Libraries and moved into the Valley Library in 2003. The Archives had a short-lived oral history program in 1980 and acquired recordings and transcripts of oral history interviews conducted by Oregon State students and faculty beginning in the 1970s. This and several other oral history projects were undertaken by the Archives beginning in 2004 in an effort to revive the oral history program.
Richard W. Gilkey attended Oregon State College from 1948 to 1953 and earned his BS in Science Education in 1951 and MS in Education in 1953. He was one of the first student photographers to document campus life; many of his photographs were published in the
Robert U. Mace graduated from Oregon State College in 1942 with a degree in Game Management and a minor in Range Management. He served in the Navy in World War II and then began his career with the Oregon State Game Commission as a biologist. He served as Chief of the Big Game Division for 12 years, Chief of the Upland Game Division, and also headed the Wildlife Habitat Program. In 1969, he became Chief of the Wildlife Division and was appointed Depty Director in 1976, a position he held until his retirement in 1981. Mace coined the term "Watchable Wildlife" and championed funding for research and conservation of nongame species.
Jean Starker earned a BS in Home Economics Education from Oregon State College in 1942. She taught for two years after graduation at Blue River High School and then worked for the OSU Extension Service's Clatsop County Office for four years. Jean is the daughter of T.J. Starker, Oregon State forestry alumnus, faculty member, and timberman. She married Kermit Roth in 1948 and is an active Corvallis community volunteer, philanthropist, and Oregon State University supporter. Jean Starker Roth received the E.B. Lemon Distinguished Alumni Award in 2001.
Warren Aney earned a BS in Fish and Game Management in 1958 and an MA in Ecological Statistics in 1971 from Oregon State. He worked for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and as a consultant.
The Oregon State University Alumni Oral History Collection documents an oral history project coordinated by the Oregon State University Archives. The collection includes interviews conducted with three OSU alumni -- Richard Gilkey, Robert Mace, and Jean Starker Roth -- in 2005-2007. The materials consists of digital sound recordings, transcripts, release agreements, and related documentation. Some of the digital sound recordings are available on CD; others will be made available to patrons on CD upon request. The sound files are in *.msv and *.cda formats
The Richard Gilkey and 2005 Jean Starker Roth interviews were conducted by Wade Houck. Warren Aney conducted the 2005 interview of Robert Mace. The 2007 interviews of Jean Starker Roth were conducted by Maia Fischler of LifeWriter Personal Histories.
The interviews of Richard Gilkey address his student years at Oregon State College, his work as a student photographer, and his career as an educator. Gilkey talks in detail about some of the photographs he took as well as the technical details of taking photographs and making photographic prints. The collection includes digital sound files of the interviews and a transcript.
Robert Mace was interviewed on October 25, 2005. Mace describes his work in game management from the late 1940s until the early 1980s for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, especially his work with bighorn sheep and in developing the Watchable Wildlife program. The collection includes sound recordings on CD of the interviews, a summary of the interview, and photographs of Mace at his home in Central Point, Oregon.
The interviews of Jean Starker Roth were conducted in 2005 and 2007 and address a wide range of topics including her childhood in Corvallis and her relationship with her father, T.J. Starker; her student years at Oregon State; her work in Blue River, Oregon, and Clatsop County after graduation; life on the homefront during World War II; her husband, children, and grandchildren; her real estate and business ventures; and her many volunteer and philanthropic activities in Corvallis and at Oregon State University. The 2007 interviews formed the basis of
Collection is open for research.
Oregon State University Alumni Oral History Collection (OH 13), Oregon State University Archives, Corvallis, Oregon.
Additions to the collection are expected.
Oral histories of other Oregon State alumni are included with other
oral history collections in the Archives' holdings. The
The Richard W. Gilkey Photographs (P 252) consist of images taken by Gilkey during his student years that were donated to the Archives in 2005.
Jean Starker Roth's memoir,