Barbara Bischoff Patten (1914-2004) was a member of the Class of 1936. She joined a sorority and majored in History. Barbara did not have a lot of extra money during the Depression, but she was not impoverished. Nevertheless, Barbara worked as a store clerk during college.
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.
Connie Penda-Eggelston was born in Chicago in 1948 to well-known musicians. Her older brother, a Project 500 Recruiter, convinced her to come back to the Illinois in 1968 after she withdrew from the University from her first term starting in 1966. She was a member of BSA and participated in the September 10, 1968 Union Demonstration. Participating in cultural programs and actively engaging with Champaign black youth were how she spent her time as a student.
David Bechtel was a student at University of Illinois during the early 1960s and eventually became an assistant dean in charge of men's residences in 1969 before he moved to the undergraduate career center in 1972. Hugh Satterlee served as an administrator in various capacities from the 1960s to 1980s, including Dean of Students. In this interview Bechtel and Satterlee discuss their experience dealing with student turmoil on campus.
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.
Howie Schein took a circuitous path to the University of Illinois, first studying at Grinnell College, then the University of California, Berkeley, and then arriving in Champaign to pursue his PhD. After graduation, he led Unit One as associate director and director from 1976 to 2008. In this interview, he discusses his early life and education, graduate studies, and how he guided Unit One as it evolved through the decades.
Jeff Machota attended the U of I from 1984 to 1986 and took full advantage of what Unit One/Allen Hall had to offer. He made connections with artists-in-residence and also got involved in the anti-apartheid movement. In this interview, he discusses his early life, activism, and his impressions of the University.
Jeffrey Roberts was the only black student in the journalism program when he came to the University of Illinois in the fall of 1968. The passion for writing he brought with him to Illinois stemmed from high school experiences as a bat boy for the Chicago White Sox. In this interview, he recalls his varied experiences as a young black man at Illinois in the 60s and 70s, including: his dating life, his involvement with Project 500 and the Black Student Association, and his "Black Vibrations" column with the Daily Illini.
