Robert James Jones rose from humble beginnings in rural Georgia to become the 10th chancellor of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. After earning degrees in agriculture and building a distinguished research and administrative career, he led the university through major challenges, including a state budget crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, and campus tensions following global events. In this interview, he reflects on his early life, academic journey, leadership philosophy, and the accomplishments that shaped his tenure.
Daniel Perrino was a teacher in the Music department and served as dean of student programs and services from 1968 until 1976. Perrino recounts his efforts to respond to changing needs of UI by expanding the student programs developing Quad Day as a space for diverse student groups could make connections with each other.
In the first of six interviews, Eisenman provides details of his educational experiences at Harvard and the University of Illinois, including his work reporting on the Illini Union protest on September 10, 1968. He also describes his work during the UI centennial and the creation of scholarship funds for students who could not otherwise afford the fees required to attend UIUC.
In part two of his interview, Eisenman focuses on his time working in Governor Ogilvie's administration to lower the cost of higher education by allowing the cost of tuition to rise, but providing more scholarships for low-income students. Additionally, he discusses the Illinois Blood Labeling Act, the creation of a large-scale blood drive at the University of Illinois, and local politics regarding the Champaign County Blood Bank.
Eisenman discusses the discontent certain faculty members and students felt during the centennial year regarding the quality of education at the University of Illinois. Of major concern was the length of time it took for new courses to be approved, which Eisenman found discouraging during the Vietnam era, a period of rapid change.
Audio recorded by David Eisenman, Assistant Dean of Students from 1968 to 1970, during the years of Project 500. It includes his assessments of the implementation of Project 500 as well as the resulting conflicts, and touches on his first-hand accounts of the protests by African American students against their placement in sub-standard housing in the first weeks of the program.
In this 1975 interview with Daily Illini reporter Greg Miller, Fred Turner discusses Thomas Arkle Clark's personal style of managing students, as well as how this approach changed during Turner's own tenure as dean when he delegated student interactions to several assistant deans. Turner also discusses the history of fraternities on campus, including his own involvement with the organizations as a University of Illinois student.
Leslie Aulls Bryan was the Director of the Institute of Aviation at the University of Illinois from 1946 to 1968. In this interview, he discusses the Institute of Aviation, the development of the University's aeronautics program, related research, and his career in aviation.
