The Campus Folksong Club was active on the University of Illinois campus from the early 1960s through the early 1970s. During its height in the 1960s, the CFC had over 500 members. The University of Illinois Campus Folksong Club Oral History Project was developed by Tracie Wilson, the 2006-2007 Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) Fellow and folklorist with technical assistance by Tabatha Becker, Reference and Web Resources Graduate Assistant. Additional interviews were conducted by Annie Paprocki, Anthropology and Sociology Librarian.
The COVID-19 Documentation Project seeks to document the administrative and scientific responses to the COVID-19 pandemic at the University of Illinois at Chicago, the University of Illinois at Springfield, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and the University of Illinois System. A major portion of this project included conducting oral histories with various administrators, scientists, faculty, staff, and external stakeholders from each institution. Notable interviewees include President Timothy (Tim) L. Killeen and Ron Watkins of SHIELD Illinois.
The Alpha Nu Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated was chartered at the University of Illinois on May 16, 1932. In May 2018, members of the Champaign-Urbana Alumnae Chapter returned to campus for a reunion held in the Illini Union where several members were interviewed. Interviewees discuss their experience as African American students at the University of Illinois and as members of a Black Greek Letter Organization in the 1960s.
During the 1930s, the state of Illinois suffered the effects of the Great Depression, just like the rest of the country. Students at the University of Illinois felt the effects of the economic downturn in a number of ways.
This collection of 45 oral histories was compiled from a series of interviews conducted by the Student Life and Culture Archival Program in 2000, 2001, and 2007 in an effort to document student life at the University of Illinois from the years 1928 to 1938.
The last living interviewee died in December 2021. This makes these recordings all the more important, as they preserve the experiences, memories, thoughts, and voices of those who are no longer here to share them.
Krannert Center first opened its doors in 1969 – the manifestation of a dream that began with two remarkable individuals, Herman and Ellnora Krannert, whose philanthropy has profoundly influenced the University of Illinois through gifts supporting both Krannert Art Museum and Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. Widely considered the nation’s leading university-based performing arts center, for five decades Krannert Center has served as classroom, laboratory, and public square for the campus,community, and region. Krannert Center will celebrate its 50th anniversary in a two-season celebration, 2018-19 and 2019-20. University of Illinois students, staff and faculty and the general public share their stories of this remarkable facility.
Project 500 was the first extensive effort by the University of Illinois to offer equal educational opportunities for all of the residents of Illinois. The details of the project were poorly carried out, and miscommunication led to a protest at the Illini Union on September 10, 1968 which resulted in the arrest of 240 black students. This collection consists of both audio recorded by Assistant Dean David Eisenman during the years of Project 500 and recordings of oral interviews with students and administrators involved in the program conducted by Joy Ann Williamson.
Inspired by the recently published book, Radicals in the Heartland: The 1960s Student Protest Movement at the University of Illinois by Michael Metz, University of Illinois Press hosted a series of panels and presentations in October 2019 exploring the past and present of student activism at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The Student Life and Culture Archives conducted oral history interviews with alumni who participated in the demonstrations during their time on campus.
In the 1960s, a series of oral histories were conducted to mark the University of Illinois Centennial. This was a collaborative effort between the University Archives and the WILL public broadcasting station to record sessions with faculty and alumni capture their experiences at the University of Illinois.
