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.
Marilyn Wurzburger, Hayden Library Special Collections Librarian, was hired as an ASU Library cataloguer in 1960. The early part of the interview covers growing up in Illinois, participating in the Pillsbury Bakeoff and being a CBS tele-visitor reporter. Marilyn describes working in both Matthews and Hayden Libraries under a variety of head librarians. Marilyn talks about the creation of six Special Collections (see notes below for more details): Kelmscott Press, Batchelor Press, Doris & Marc Patten Herbal Books, Fritz Scholder, and Helmut Gernsheim. The interview wraps up with a discussion of some disappointments and highlights of Marilyn’s career.
George Umberson came to ASU in 1977 as Chair of the Department of Music and oversaw the creation of the School of Music.
Nick Salerno was a stalwart of the ASU English Department for 33 years and served as chairman for 10 years before retiring in 1991. He created and hosted Cinema Classics for PBS locally. Partnering with Dan Harkins, Nick also launched Critics' Choice at Harkins Camelview Theatre.
Robert (Bob) Barnhill came to ASU in 1986 as Chair of the Computer Science Department and left in 1997 as the Vice President for Research. The interview addresses a number of topics including the beginnings of Computer Graphics, moving the Computer Science Department to a more research-oriented effort, achieving Research 1 status, working with the University of Arizona to develop a new statewide Intellectual Property template, dodging the Unabomber and playing soccer. Common themes throughout the interview include Bob’s success at getting groups of people to actually do something other than just meet and the importance of a strategic plan.
Brian Foster came to ASU in 1980 as Associate Professor of Anthropology. He became chair in 1982, then was Dean of the Graduate College from 1986 to 1994. He went on to the University of Nebraska as Dean of Arts and Sciences. He served as Provost at the University of New Mexico ( 2000 - 2005) and at the University of Missouri (2005 - 2014). He is Provost Emeritus and Professor of Anthropology Emeritus at the University of Missouri - Columbia. In the interview, Brian describes his early life and education in Dixon IL before entering college at age 28. Brian's varied University academic experiences bring a unique view of the current state of University education and particularly of the pioneering changes taking place at Arizona State University.
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).
Vladimir Borovansky, ASU Noble Library Research librarian, joined ASU in May 1968. Interesting stories include:
1) the development of the NOBLE LIBRARY,
2) GOING DIGITAL - progression in the use of digital searching from offline searches to ARPANET to Google,
3), the creation of a Patent Depository Library and
4) an important trait of being a research librarian, i.e., know your audience
Morton Munk was a Professor and Chair (twice) of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. In retirement he holds the title of Research Professor and maintains an active research program.