Category: University Archives

President Clark: Contentious Times

President Clark meeting with students 1970, University Photographs, UA Ref 3, Oregon Digital Archive

This is the fifth of a series of blog posts highlighting the ongoing work of the Documenting UO History Project within the University Archives. A major part of this project is researching and documenting the often untold and hidden histories of the university’s diverse and underrepresented communities. This year our focus will continue to highlight Black history on campus, specifically Black student activism from the 1960s to present. Prior posts can be seen here.

President Robert D. Clark began his tenure at Oregon in 1969 and remained president until 1975. As far as students were concerned, Clark had large shoes to fill as the replacement to President Flemming, who had been incredibly popular with students from all walks of life and who especially championed the rights of minority students. Fortunately for Oregon students, President Clark came into the job with a wealth of experience, and was known as a progressive administrator. Prior to his presidential tenure at the University of Oregon, Clark served as the President of San Jose State University from 1964 to 1969. Students and faculty appreciated Clark’s ardent defense of civil rights issues, which included his unwavering support of Olympians John Carlos and Tommie Smith. This post will explore Clark’s relationship with student activists in his first years at the University of Oregon.

Continue reading →

Drama at the Museum!

Mrs. Leslie Carter as Jeanne in “Du Barry.” Image from “A Portrait History of American Acting” an exhibit from the Hoblitzelle Theatre Arts Library, The Humanities Research Center, The University of Texas.

This is the second of a series of blog posts that will explore exhibits during the 1960s at the Museum of Art at the University of Oregon, known today as the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art. Part of the Documenting UO History Project, this series will investigate two major types of exhibits: the Statewide Services Program and national exhibits that traveled to the Museum. The University Archives collection of the Museum’s records, cross referenced with the Jordan Schnitzer’s current holdings, reveal a unique institutional history of the Museum, its exhibits, and its employees. Though the Jordan Schnitzer’s current focus is on Asian art, and the Museum of Art also worked to complement its Asian collection, this project will focus on a variety of other kinds of exhibit subjects. See previous posts here.

Have you ever worked on a group project where no one’s role was completely clear? Institutions often have this challenge too; similar kinds of collaboration and communication needs to happen between all parties. For example, the American Educational Theatre Association (AETA) decided to hold its annual conference on the UO campus in August of 1962, and they coordinated the conference themes with art exhibits. AETA program managers worked with the Museum of Art’s employees to display theatrical art during the conference. They encountered many ups and downs along the way. The Museum of Art hosted several exhibitions for the AETA in their galleries. One of these was a large exhibit called “A Portrait History of American Acting,” and this post will explain some of the challenges involved in displaying it at the Museum of Art.

Continue reading →

“One for the Gallery; Two for the Show:” The Statewide Services Program at the Museum of Art

A circulating exhibit from the University of Oregon Museum of Art is prepared to be transported by truck. “Survey of the Arts in Oregon, 1967”. Governors Planning Council on the Arts and Humanities, page 10, box 37, folder 64, JSMA records, UA 120, UO Special Collections and University Archives.

This is the first of a series of blog posts that will explore exhibits during the 1960s at the Museum of Art at the University of Oregon, known today as the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art.  As part of the Documenting UO History Project, this series will investigate three major types of exhibits: the Statewide Services Program, national exhibits that traveled to the Museum, and international exhibits that the Museum displayed. The University Archives collection of the Museum’s records, cross referenced with the Jordan Schnitzer’s current holdings, reveal a unique institutional history of the Museum, its exhibits, and its employees. Though the Jordan Schnitzer’s current focus is on Asian art, this project will focus on a variety of other kinds of exhibit subjects.

Did you know that art doesn’t sit still? Museums are always on the move. Pieces of art and large exhibits often travel around to different regions so that large numbers of people can see them. Because art means different things to each viewer, it is important to make art freely available to the public. The Museum of Art at the University of Oregon began to circulate exhibitions free of charge through its Statewide Services program in 1965. It could do so through the Friends of the Museum, which helped with the financial backing of the program. Statewide Services coordinator Dennis Gould and Museum employees organized the distribution of traveling exhibits. They also taught community organizations how best to use the exhibits in their regions. This blog post will highlight the methods the Museum used to circulate their art in the state of Oregon.

Continue reading →

Progress in the Face of Racism: 1960s UO President Arthur Flemming

This is the fourth of a series of blog posts highlighting the ongoing work of the Documenting UO History Project within the University Archives. A major part of this project is researching and documenting the often untold and hidden histories of the university’s diverse and underrepresented communities. This year our focus will continue to focus on Black history on campus, specifically Black student activism from the 1960s to present. Prior posts can be seen here.

UO President Arthur S Flemming, 1961

I began my current research on Black student activism on the University of Oregon campus by researching campus life in the 1960s, this led me to perhaps the campus’s most progressive president, Arthur S. Flemming. President Flemming was popular among students and less popular with conservative Oregonian’s and the university’s  board of trustees. In my interview with Herman Brame, one of the University of Oregon’s founding Black Student Union members, he offered insight into what it was like working with President Flemming firsthand. Brame’s experience provided the perfect contrast for my analysis of Flemming’s tenure.

President Flemming arrived on the Oregon campus in 1961 after serving as the United States Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare under President Eisenhower from 1958-1961. Flemming quickly became popular on campus, particularly with students. He championed the rights of minority students and even defended the constitutional rights of the Communist Party, allowing representatives to speak on campus. Brame’s experience with working with UO President Flemming in the 1960s was incredibly positive. Brame, as well as many other activists, students and staff applauded President Flemming for being a progressive forward-thinker. In fact, President Flemming had an open door policy with the BSU, something that Brame confirmed in his interview.

Continue reading →

Taking Action: UO Alum Documenting Black History

This is the second of a series of blog posts highlighting the ongoing work of the Documenting UO History Project within the University Archives. A major part of this project is researching and documenting the often untold and hidden histories of the university’s diverse and underrepresented communities. This year our focus will continue to focus on Black history on campus, specifically Black student activism from the 1960s to present. Prior posts can be seen here.

bowerman-photo-2
Herman Brame and Bill Bowerman, ca. 1980s, photo courtesy of Herman Brame.

“I went to the student union to get something to eat and on the tables were all these flyers. So I picked one up to read it and some white supremacist group had put out flyers that had a picture of an ape and a picture of a black person comparing their anatomies. Saying these are one in the same.” – Herman Brame, Black student experience, University of Oregon, 1968

Last year, the UO Black Student Task Force released a list a list of 12 demands to the university administration — the demands included the immediate renaming of campus buildings, efforts to increase the black student population and an increase in black faculty.  The demands were strikingly similar to the list of demands and grievances offered by the University of Oregon Black Student Union in 1968 — many of which have been echoed on campus for decades. A strong African studies program has been another area where the university seems to lag behind counterparts in Portland and other west coast universities. Many black students say there is general feeling of exclusion on campus and in the community. This is a century-old dilemma plaguing minority groups throughout Eugene and Springfield – something that both lists addressed and that has come to the forefront recently on campus.  This post highlights some of those recent activities and our current outreach with UO alumni on this topic. Continue reading →