ASU Retirees Association (ASURA) Video History Project Interviews
This collection includes interviews of Arizona State University retirees, including administrators, faculty, and staff. The video interviews were conducted by the ASU Retirees Association (ASURA) beginning in 2001. Videos are approximately 1 hour each.
Filtering by
- All Subjects: Tempe Campus
- All Subjects: Hayden Library
An Interview with Dean Smith who served as ASU's Director of Publications. Smith discusses the SIZE and FOOTPRINT of the ASU Tempe Campus in 1940.
Dr. J. Russell Nelson came to ASU in 1981 to be University President and he retired in 1989. He was born in Oregon but grew up in California and Utah. He received his PhD from UCLA and proceeded to teach at the University of Minnesota. He honed his administrative skills at the University of Colorado. When he arrived at ASU he was given the task of moving the university to a research university. In the interview he talks about the lack of teaching space and the effort required to reorient the faculties’ focus. Nelson spoke at length about several buildings, Hayden Library and the Nelson Fine Arts Center. There is discussion about getting around the Regents to get funding for the West Campus and the effort required to clean up the athletic department.
Bill Lewis, Vice Provost for Computing, came to ASU in 1966 to join the Industrial Engineering faculty. He retired in 2008. Important interview stories include ones involving: FOUNDING PROGRAMS (computer science); COMPUTERS (student information system, computing support); TEMPE CAMPUS (1966, changes); DEPARTMENTS (Industrial Engineering); PEOPLE (Lee P Thompson, Milt Glick); and BUILDINGS (Computer Commons).