In conjunction with the University of Illinois Sesquicentennial celebrations in 2017 and 2018, the University of Illinois Archives launched the “Voices Now” initiative to conduct new oral history interviews with students, alumni, faculty, and administrators. These recordings cover a wide variety of topics including University housing, student activism, student publications, the Champaign-Urbana community, and more. We are continually adding new interviews to this portal collection.
David and Ann Atkins attended the University of Illinois where both earned teaching degrees in the early 1990s. In this interview, they discuss why they chose the University of Illinois, campus life, notable professors, and meeting while living at Stratford and Koinonia houses.
Kenneth Roellig served in World War II, and then used the GI Bill to attend college. He first studied at the Galesburg campus, specifically established to accommodate the influx of students after the war, and then transferred to Urbana. After graduating in 1950, he returned in the mid-1950s for graduate school, and then came back once again after receiving his master’s degree to study for an advanced certificate. In this interview, he discusses his early life, military service, time at both campuses, experience as a graduate student, and later career.
Oral history interview conducted on March 27, 2024, with Bruce Fouke, Ted Brown, and Sam Kaplan about the history of Roy J. Carver Biotechnology Center (CBC) and their respective roles in its creation and growth. Established at the University of Illinois in 1984, the CBC facilitates research genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, bioinformatics, flow cytometry and translational medical research.
Vanessa Faurie graduated from U of I in 1987 with a B.S. in Journalism/News and also completed her MBA in 2015. During her freshman year she was occasionally contributing writer for the Daily Illini and by her senior year, she served as editor in chief. She also interned with Teen Age (magazine) and National Geographic before graduating. Faurie stayed in the Champaign-Urbana after graduating and has worked at the university since 1988. She started at the Alumni Center as an editor and has worked her way to becoming the Director of Advancement for Research Initiatives.
Vern Fein graduated from the University of Illinois in the early 1970s. Since that time he has stayed in the community and taught. In this interview, he talks about his political activism as a student and how those experiences have shaped his life. Fein served as president of the Students for a Democratic Society and was involved in Students for Free Speech. Fein worked for the on-campus underground newspaper, Walrus, helped establish the Red Herring, and was pivotal in campus organizing.
Victor Fein came to the University of Illinois after serving in the US military. Eventually, Victor became a co-founder of a local co-op called Earthworks. The co-op started out as a small art studio selling handmade wood and leather good. It eventually grew to include a clothing shop, pet store, and grocery. Victor and his wife also opened a restaurant, Metamorphosis, out of the co-op.
Wendy Mathewson (BA '96) and Beth Watkins (BA '96) met in a freshman honors course, "The History that Music Made." They became roommates and lifelong friends. Both graduates of the Department of History, both women are employed by the university today. Mathewson is the undergraduate advisor for the Department of History and Watkins is the Education and Publications Coordinator at the Spurlock Museum. In this interview, they reflect on their time as undergraduates, campus life, the lasting impact UIUC has had on their lives.
Winton Solberg, professor emeritus in the Department of History, wrote numerous articles and published multiple books on the University of Illinois's history. Born in 1922, Solberg grew up during the Great Depression and served in World War II, and after the war decided to pursue a PhD in history. He came to the University of Illinois in 1961, when university president David Dodds Henry approached Solberg to write a volume on the university's history. He taught American Intellectual and Cultural History as well as an occasional survey course until his retirement from teaching in 1992. In the spring of 2018, he had two manuscripts pending publication in addition to the recently released <i>Creating the Big Ten: Courage, Corruption, and Commercialization</i>.
