This collection contains interviews with important members of the University of Minnesota Morris campus, including many interviews done for the Promise of the Prairie documentary.
The digitization of some of these oral histories was made possible in part by the people of Minnesota through a grant funded by an appropriation to the Minnesota Historical Society from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. Any views, findings, opinions, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the State of Minnesota, the Minnesota Historical Society, or the Minnesota Historic Resources Advisory Committee.
Some additional interviews with UMN Morris faculty and administrators are available in the UMN Digital Conservancy, including interviews with Jack Imholte, Bettina Blake, Bill Stewart, and Bill and Ida Stewart.
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Dian Lopez
Dian Lopez
Dian Lopez, professor of Computer Science, talks about her path to University of Minnesota Morris and her memories of the university when she began teaching in 1970. She also talks about the progression of the Computer Science discipline.
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Bernice Lund Interview, 1978
Bernice Lund
Bernice Lund was born in 1913 near Canby, Minnesota. She went to normal training and became a rural school teacher in the Porter, Ruthton, Canby, and Breckenridge school districts. She received her masters in mathematics in 1940 and continued teaching high school on and off through the years. In 1960 she was offered a position at UMN Morris in the mathematics department. She retired in 1977.
In this interview, Bernice Lund discusses her family history, rural schools, and UMN Morris and the surrounding community.
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Tom Mahoney Interview, 1986
Tom Mahoney
Tom Mahoney discusses the Vietnam War and its effect on the University of Minnesota Morris.
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Tom Mahoney Interview, 2017
Tom Mahoney
Tom Mahoney ’70, of Hancock, was the creator and founding director of the Grants Development Office at the University of Minnesota, Morris. In this interview, Tom talks about his background and how he made his way to Morris. He talks about his time as a student and the events that eventually lead to the creation of the Grants Development Office. He also discusses some of the more major grants he was a part of during his tenure at Morris.
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Argie Manolis Interview, 2022
Argie Manolis and Lex Lhotka
Director of the Clifford J. Benson Center for Community Partnerships Argie Manolis discusses the path that led her to her role at UMN Morris and her time at Morris as a faculty member and the director of community engagement. In particular, she discusses work she did on the Queer Issues Committee and with E-quality and life in Morris as a queer person. She discusses hate crimes that occurred against queer students on campus, and changes in the University regarding support of queer students.
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Madeline (Maddy) Maxeiner Interview, 2017
Madeline Maxeiner
Maddy Maxeiner '76, vice chancellor emeritus for external relations, talks about her early background and how she decided on UMN Morris as a student and her path to becoming a vice chancellor.
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Roger McCannon Interview, 2018
Roger McCannon
Roger McCannon, retired director of Continuing Education Regional Programs and Summer Session (CERP), talks about his time at University of Minnesota Morris. Roger came to UMM in 1975 and retired in 2004. Roger talks about the evolution of CERP that eventually became to the Center for Small Towns (CST). Roger has written about this history which can be found at, https://www4.morris.umn.edu/sites/morris.umn.edu/files/csthistory2004.pdf.
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Barbara McGinnis
Barbara McGinnis
Barbara McGinnis begin her career at University of Minnesota Morris in 1961. Barbara McGinnis served as a reference librarian at Briggs Library for more than 25 years. She was born and raised in Danvers, MN. and spend the majority of her life in West Central Minnesota. She talks about the beginning years of the university, in particular women's issues.
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Thomas McRoberts Interview, 1986
Thomas McRoberts
Tom McRoberts discusses the Vietnam War and how it affected the University of Minnesota Morris.
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Leslie Meek Interview, 2019
Leslie Meek
Leslie Meek '89, professor of psychology, talks about her time as a student at UMM and as a faculty member. She talks in-depth about student advising and interaction.
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Jeff and Linda Melander Interview, 1984
Jeff Melander and Linda Melander
Jeff and Linda Melander attended UMN Morris from 1971-1975. They met each other and eventually married during their years at UMN Morris. At the time of the interview, they resided in Elbow Lake, Minnesota. Jeff and Linda were very instrumental in the formation of the University of Minnesota Morris Saddle Club which has remained in existence and grown since its founding in the early 1970s.
In this interview, Jeff and Linda discuss the early years of the Saddle Club and the importance of the Saddle Club to them and to their college education.
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Willard Micklish Interview, 1978
Willard Micklish
In this interview, Willard Micklish discusses the founding of the University of Minnesota Morris, including information on the West Central School of Agriculture and community reactions. Micklish was active in the West Central Education Development Association and managed the Golden Cream Dairy.
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Patrick Moore Interview
Patrick Moore
Patrick Moore '82 was interviewed for the University of Minnesota Morris documentary Promise of the Prairie: Education in Three Parts.
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Edward Morrison Interview
Edward J. Morrison
Edward J. Morrison, former publisher of the Morris Sun Tribune, was interviewed for the University of Minnesota Morris documentary Promise of the Prairie: Education in Three Parts.
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Jenny Nellis Interview, 2018
Jenny Nellis
Jenny Nellis, Professor of Studio Art Emeritus, discusses her education and career path that eventually lead her to University of Minnesota, Morris. She discusses administrative changes in the 90's; when UMM Athletics went from Division II to III; and women employment and issues on campus. She also talks about what she feels her legacy is at UMM.
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Peh Ng Interview, 2023
Peh Ng and Lex Lhotka
Division of Science & Mathematics chair and Mathematics professor Peh Ng discusses the her time at Morris as a faculty member and administrator. In particular, she discusses E-quality, LGBTQIA2S+ issues and support on campus and in the community.
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Remembering Bill & Ida Stewart: Dorothy Nins 2023
Dorothy Nins and Sue Dieter
Reminiscences about William B. Stewart & Ida B. Stewart by UMN Morris alumni during the dedication for William B. and Ida B. Stewart Hall on September 9, 2023.
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Jim Olson Interview
James M. Olson
Jim Olson, professor emeritus of chemistry, was interviewed for the University of Minnesota Morris documentary Promise of the Prairie: Education in Three Parts.
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Jim Olson Interview, 2018
Jim Olson
Jim Olson, professor emeritus of chemistry, talks about the his time a University of Minnesota Morris. Jim was here when the West Central School of Agriculture transitioned to the University of Minnesota Morris. He discusses the challenges of building programs and majors at a new institution.
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Peter Orr Interview, 2006
Peter Orr
Peter Orr was in charge of the campus greenhouse and landscaping, and was the grounds supervisor starting around 1974 until 2006.
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Julie Pelletier Interview
Julie Pelletier
Julie Pelletier, associate professor of anthropology and American Indian studies, was interviewed for the University of Minnesota Morris documentary Promise of the Prairie: Education in Three Parts.
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Fred Peterson Interview, 2022
Fred Peterson and Mary Klauda
During this interview, Fred Peterson discusses his time as art faculty at the University of Minnesota Morris. He discusses the creation of the art discipline curriculum, the art gallery on campus, the changes after the Humanities Fine Arts Building was constructed, and his publications and research on vernacular architecture.
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Joe Pierret Interview, 1978
Joe Pierret
During the 1977-78 school year, Joe Pierret was the manager of Agoraphobia: the student-operated record and magazine store on the UMN Morris campus. In this interview, Pierret comments on the responsibilities of the store's manager and reaffirms the need for a student store on the UMN Morris campus in light of the fact that no student union exists. Pierret also offers his opinions on why the store had problems in the past and suggests that given good management, the store has a promising future.
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Lowell Rasmussen Interview
Lowell Rasmussen
Lowell Rasmussen, Vice Chancellor for Finance and Facilities, was interviewed for the University of Minnesota Morris documentary Promise of the Prairie: Education in Three Parts.
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Lowell Rasmussen Interview, 2023
Lowell Rasmussen and Kayde Moore
Lowell Rasmussen discusses his time at the University of Minnesota Morris as the Vice Chancellor for Facilities and Finance. He primarily talks about campus buildings, construction and renovation of campus buildings, campus planning and finance, and sustainability initiatives.