This is a collection of stand-alone interviews pulled together by Archives and Special Collections around the topic of University of Montana history. These interviews were conducted with former students, staff, faculty and administrators of the University of Montana who detail their time and experiences at the institution. These interviews were conducted from 1986 to 2018. The original interviews are held at Archives and Special Collections, Mansfield Library, University of Montana-Missoula.
This collection includes 33 interviews.
-
Adelaine Midgett Interview, February 27, 1986
Adelaine Midgett
Adelaine Stillings Midgett discusses her education in library science (then called library economy) at the University of Montana in Missoula, Montana in the 1930s, and the Great Depression’s effects on her family and schooling. She describes her first library job, while still a student, at ... Read More
-
Albert E. J. Engel Interview, February 28, 1989
Albert E. J. Engel
Albert E. J. Engel recalls his childhood adventures in the Missouri Ozarks, which led to his interest in geology. He acknowledges Arthur Buddington as his greatest influence in the field and describes working with Buddington at Princeton University. Engel discusses working with his geochemist wife, ... Read More
-
Alexander Michael Stepanzoff Interview, January 26, 1989
Alexander Michael Stepanzoff
Alexander Stepanzoff recalls his childhood in Harbin, Manchuria, China, where he learned to play the French horn and wrestled competitively, winning the gold medal in the 1921 Asian Olympics. He talks about being recruited by several U.S. universities and his decision to attend University of ... Read More
-
Arnold Bolle Interview, November 29, 1990
Arnold Bolle
Arnold Bolle describes attending the University of Montana (UM) as a student and his early career as a professor in the School of Forestry. He also shares opinions on education. Bolle describes the requirements for students at UM’s School of Forestry and the role he ... Read More
-
Bernadine Gantert Interview, February 12, 2015
Bernadine Gantert
Bernadine Gantert describes how a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis in the 1970s changed her life and led to her involvement in Alliance for Disability and Students at the University of Montana [ADSUM] and Disability Student Services [DSS] at the University. She talks about the challenges ... Read More
-
Carling I. Malouf and Alice Arline Malouf Interview, July 27, 1988
Carling I. Malouf and Alice Arline Malouf
Carling Malouf reflects on his career as an anthropologist and a professor at the University of Montana. Arline Malouf reflects briefly on her family’s history in Salt Lake City before she married Carling Malouf and moved to Montana. Carling recalls his family’s history in Ogden, ... Read More
-
Charline G. "Sandy" Smith Interview, May 18, 1984
Charline G. Smith
Charline “Sandy” Smith discusses her career at the University of Montana [UM] as a professor of anthropology, genetics, forensics, osteology, and paleopathology. She describes her forensics consulting with law enforcement, working as a nurse for 20 years before returning to school to receive her Ph. ... Read More
-
Claire Rhein and Dale Johnson Interview, October 11, 1991
Claire Rhein and Dale Johnson
Claire Rhein discusses volunteering at the University of Montana's Archives and Special Collections in the Mansfield Library and how she created the oral history program in 1978. Rhein and Dale Johnson describe how Archives and Special Collections increased access to its oral history interviews by ... Read More
-
Coburn "Coby" Johnson Interview, circa 1997
Coburn Johnson
Coburn Johnson recalls pursuing a master’s in library science at the University of Denver, where she discovered her affinity for cataloging. Johnson describes her work as a catalog librarian at the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library at the University of Montana. She points out that ... Read More
-
Dale Johnson Interview, August 19, 2015
Dale Johnson
Dale Johnson, the first archivist of the Mansfield Library's Archives and Special Collections, discusses the history of the Archives, how it was founded, and how it grew over the years. He talks about the various collections he acquired during his tenure and the library deans ... Read More
-
Edward B. Dugan Interview, February 21, 1991
Edward B. Dugan
Edward Dugan discusses the history of the journalism building and department at the University of Montana, Missoula. He describes the importance of advertising in newspapers, the source and process of change within news media, and notable students and colleagues that have graduated from the journalism ... Read More
-
Elizabeth “Betty” Doss (Oleson) Interview, December 20, 1976
Elizabeth Doss (Oleson)
Elizabeth “Betty” Doss (Oleson) discusses her work as a program manager working with health education programs. She describes what the Western Montana Health Education Council is, including the health care-related facilities involved. Doss talks about grant writing, working with the University of Montana, Missoula, and ... Read More
-
Emma Lommasson Interview, August 18, 2014
Emma Lommasson
Emma Lommasson recalls growing up in Sand Coulee, Montana, in the 1920s and ‘30s, and coming to the University of Montana [UM] in Missoula, Montana to study mathematics. She discusses finishing her undergraduate degree and working as a secretary for Professor Nels J. Lennes while ... Read More
-
George M. Dennison Interview, April 29, 2016
George M. Dennison
George Dennison discusses his tenure as president of the University of Montana-Missoula from 1990-2010, analyzing how higher education has changed in Montana during his time. Dennison questions increasing administrative consolidation in the Montana University System, and compares it to his time spent working in the ... Read More
-
H.G. Merriam Interview, August 14, 1963
Harold Guy Merriam
H.G. Merriam, Professor of English at the University of Montana, discusses the history and development of the literary journal, Frontier and Midland, which was originally titled the Montanan and was published by UM students and edited by Merriam and other literary figures from 1920 until ... Read More
-
James G. "Jim" Todd, Jr. Interview, December 1, 1994
James G. Todd
James “Jim” Todd discusses his career as a professor of art at the University of Montana, Missoula. He describes his personal philosophy when it comes to art and talks about what he believes is the best environment for artists within a university system.
-
Jean Dickson Jonkel Reminiscence, circa 2000
Jean Jonkel
In this self-recorded reminiscence, Jean Jonkel, who graduated from the University of Montana [UM] in 1940, recounts her experiences at the University and the professors she enjoyed such as J.P. Rowe, “Psych” Smith, and J. Earl “Burly” Miller. She recalls funny stories about dogs sleeping ... Read More
-
John G. "Jack" Watkins Interview, September 20, 2004
John G. Watkins
John “Jack” Watkins discusses his childhood interest in music and astronomy. He describes his educational background, including his experiences in high school, at the University of Idaho and College of Idaho, and his graduate work at Columbia University. Watkins discusses treating World War Two veterans ... Read More
-
John J. Craighead Interview, October 5, 1975
John J. Craighead
In this radio interview, Dr. John J. Craighead discusses his work with grizzly bears in Yellowstone National Park. Craighead talks about a research grant he and his team received that would allow them to publish the results of over a decade of field work on ... Read More
-
John Lester Interview, November 2, 1993
John Lester
John Lester recalls traveling between Texarcana, Texas, and Tucumcari, New Mexico, with his family in a covered wagon when he was six years old. Lester briefly describes going to Southwestern University at Georgetown, Texas, in 1918, majoring in English and music and minoring in French. ... Read More
-
Joseph Epes Brown Interview, February 28, 1986
Joseph Epes Brown
Dr. Joseph Epes Brown describes how he came to the University of Montana in the fall of 1970 after having taught at Indiana University in Bloomington. He discusses his early education and career. Brown recalls the meaningful relationships that he had with the Abenaki elders ... Read More
-
Lillian McCammon Interview, January 27, 2016
Lillian McCammon
Lillian McCammon describes growing up in New York state, her father’s general merchandise store, attending school in a rural New York community, and teaching herself to swim when she was very young. She discusses her decision to attend the University of Montana after falling in ... Read More
-
Marty Knowlton and Tim Welsh Interview, May 24, 1977
Marty Knowlton and Tim Welsh
Marty Knowlton recalls the creation and development of the Elder Hostel program, an educational program for senior citizens that allows them attend short courses on college campuses, live in the dorms, and interact with younger college students. He describes the growing interest in the program, ... Read More
-
Neil Bucklew Interview, February 28, 1986
Neil Bucklew
Neil Bucklew discusses his educational background and career trajectory from working in the personnel field at several different universities to becoming President of the University of Montana from 1981 to 1986. He describes his greatest accomplishments as president, his hopes and visions of the future ... Read More
-
Neil Bucklew Interview, May 22, 1986
Neil Bucklew
Neil Bucklew discusses his reasons for leaving his position as the President of the University of Montana (UM) for a new position as President of West Virginia University. He talks about the general responsibilities of university presidents and the specific responsibilities he had while president ... Read More