Blog featuring news and updates about collections, discoveries, exhibitions, and public programs of the University of Oregon Special Collections & University Archives
The University of Oregon Special Collections and University Archives holds a number of fascinating collections focused on LGBTQ history at the UO and throughout Oregon.
Creating Change: Forty Years of LGBTQ Activism at The University of Oregon is a new digital exhibit that celebrates the long history of LGTBQ activism at the University of Oregon. First staged as a physical exhibit at the Eugene Airport (Mahlon Sweet Field), its transitioned into a digital exhibit in time for the 25th anniversary of the formation of the Standing Committee on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) Concerns at the University of Oregon.
The Sub 4 Mile Reunion included a Q & A session led by current OTC Elite runners Andrew Wheating and Tom Farrell. Photo by Lauren Goss.
On May 27th, a select group of University of Oregon runners were honored at the Sub Four Reunion, hosted by the Oregon Track Club. The sold out event at the John E. Jaqua Academic Center for Student Athletes was filled with UO alumni, past and current UO coaches, and running enthusiasts. The event honored the 10 surviving runners who ran a mile in less than 4 minutes under coach Bill Bowerman. Coinciding with The Prefontaine Classic, the reunion duly recognized Steve Prefontaine as the 11th UO runner to break the 4-minute barrier in 1970.
As the Thomas Intern Film Archives Assistant for the University of Oregon Special Collection and University Archives, I’ve been working on the identification, preservation and digitization of the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics Films collection. When I heard about this reunion a few months ago, I became curious about track and field films in this collection. With nearly 4,000 films, over 2.5 million feet of film, and 8 decades of University of Oregon athletic heritage, I hoped to locate some suitable material. To my surprise and joy, I successfully discovered footage of two of the sub-four minute mile moments. First, the unabridged film of Jim Bailey running the first sub-four minute mile in the United Stated in 1956, and second, clips of Dyrol Burleson breaking the four minute barrier at Hayward Field in 1960.
The clip reel captivated both attendees and honorees during the first hour of the event. Photo by Lauren Goss.
With the help of my colleagues, Elizabeth Peterson (Humanities Librarian and Curator of Moving Images) and Jennifer O’Neal (Corrigan Solari University Historian and Archivist), we were able to digitize the footage and offer a clip reel to the reunion organizer, Todd Bosworth. In addition to the films, the clip reel includes photographs of the runners located by University of Oregon graduate research assistant, Zach Bigalke. Many thanks to University of Oregon undergraduate student, Joe Hughes, for producing such a captivating clip reel. As a third generation UO alumni, it was an honor to attend the event to celebrate fellow Ducks and their accomplishments.
List of reunion honorees and the time and date of their first sub-4 minute mile:
Jim Bailey 3:58:6 (May 5, 1956)
Dyrol Burleson 3:58:6 (April 23, 1960)
Jim Grelle 3:59:9 (April 28, 1962)
Keith Forman 3:58:3 (May 26, 1962)
Archie San Romani 3:57:6 (June 5, 1964)
Wade Bell 3:59:8 (June 2, 1966)
Roscoe Divine 3:59:1 (June 2, 1966)
Arne Kvalheim 3:59:4 (May 6, 1967)
Dave Wilborn 3:56:2 (June 23, 1967)
Steve Savage 3:59:2 (June 5, 1970)
“There is no amount of money that can ever repay us for the kinds of things that we underwent. Who could put a price tag upon that kind of confinement?” – Minoru Yasui
In honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, the University of Oregon Special Collections and University Archives is featuring events and student organizations that serve Asian Americans on and off campus. On April 23 at the New World Trade Center in Portland, Oregon, I was privileged enough to attend the Minoru Yasui Inspiring Action and Igniting Justice Symposium. The event was meant to honor University of Oregon Alumnus and activist Minoru Yasui who was the first Japanese American to graduate from the UO Law School and was an individual who protested discriminatory Executive Order 9066 during World War II. The symposium not only celebrated the life of Minoru Yasui and his fight for social justice, but also his United States Medal of Freedom that was recently awarded to him, which is the highest honor a civilian can receive in the US. Continue reading →
Dr. Charles W. Thomas II dubbed “Father of Black Psychology” in 1971
“If there is going to be racial justice, there has to be social action.” – Dr. Charles W. Thomas II, Eugene Register- Guard, 1964
Keeping with our Black History Month series that highlights the work of historian Herman L. Brame, we present psychologist Dr. Charles W. Thomas II, who was part of the first group of African American professors to teach at the University of Oregon, which began the integration of the faculty in the early 1960s. Although the campus and Eugene community did not possess a diverse population, he joined the UO faculty because the campus was pleasant and intellectually stimulating in regards to debates addressing the Vietnam War and civil rights. Dr. Charles W. Thomas II was an active member for racial equality on the UO campus, Eugene community, and wherever he went. Continue reading →
Clifford F. Johnson is our third feature in our series honoring Black History Month that highlights the work of historian Herman L. Brame. Johnson was raised in Illinois and decided to join the US army after graduating from high school. While in the army, Johnson served at Fort Lewis, Washington during World War II. During his time there, he faced racial segregation. Recreational facilities and the chapel were segregated and he, along with a large number of other African Americans, felt restricted while at Fort Lewis. However, in 1945, a basketball team comprised of Johnson and other African Americans beat the visiting Harlem Globetrotters in two out of their three games. In 1946, Johnson was honorably discharged as a chief warrant officer and became an undergraduate student at the University of Oregon in the same year. There he would have a successful academic career that would land him national attention. Continue reading →
