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UNCG in the 1960s Oral History Collection

The UNCG in the 1960s Oral History Collection contains interviews conducted by students in Professor Peter Carmichael's HIS 520: Southern History "Interpreting and Presenting Southern History to the Public" class taught in the Fall of 2006. Students were instructed to interview either an alumni, faculty, or staff member who was associated with The University of North Carolina at Greensboro during the 1960s. Students were asked to focus on a specific issue or event related to the university's history.

Oral history interview with Robert M. Calhoun
Robert M. Calhoon (1935 - ) is a graduate of the College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio and holds master's and doctoral degrees from Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. He came to The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) in 1964 where he emeritus professor of history. Calhoon recalls campus life from his arrival in 1964, particularly the transition to a co-educational student body, the work of Mereb Mossman as dean to recruit faculty to UNCG, student activism on campus in 1968 and 1969 and the efforts of Chancellor James S. Ferguson to work with student activists. He also discusses the progress of racial integration on campus during the 1960s.
Oral history interview with Gayle Hicks Fripp
Gayle Hicks Fripp (1941- ) graduated in 1963 from Woman's College of the University of North Carolina, now The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG). She also holds a M.A. from UNCG. Fripp is an author and historian and is retired as the assistant director from the Greensboro Historical Museum. Fripp relates elements of her early life, growing up in Henderson, North Carolina, and student life at UNCG during the 1960s. She also mentions activities of the UNCG History Club, the 1960 Greensboro Sit-ins, student and faculty attitudes towards co-education, and other aspects of campus living, such as room inspections and campus dining.
Oral history interview with Sarah H. Stewart
Sarah H. Stewart (1947- ) received a BA in political science in 1969 from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG). She holds a BS in nursing from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Stewart relates aspects of campus life in the late 1960s at UNCG, including student government, the 1967 Black Power Forum, and other circumstances surrounding national events such as a campus-wide curfew following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968. She talks about changes in university regulations, particularly the abolishment of injunctions against women wearing pants or smoking in the front areas of campus. Stewart discusses overcrowding in the residence halls and the difficulty of parking for commuter students, student activism relating to the Vietnam War and the ARA food workers strike, and traditions such as the Daisy Chain and Golden Chain.
Oral history interview with Allen W. Trelease
Allen W. Trelease (1928-2011) was a professor of history at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) from 1967, as well as head of the Department of History from 1984 to 1992, retiring from full-time teaching in 1994. He authored several books, including Changing Assignments: A Pictorial History of The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and Making North Carolina Literate: The University of North Carolina at Greensboro from Normal School to Metropolitan University. Trelease discusses his professional move from Wells College in Aurora, New York to UNCG, the composition of the Department of History in 1967, the status of racial integration on campus, student activism, the academic admissions standards of the university, and the impact of Chancellors James Ferguson and William Moran on the university. He also relates his experience of writing Making North Carolina Literate in terms of his use of UNCG University Archives, particularly the records of chancellors, as well as other sources of materials such as the Southern Historical Collection at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Oral history interview with Robert Yow
Robert Yow (1951-2012) graduated in 1973 from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) with a degree in mathematical education. Yow discusses growing up in the Proximity Mill neighborhood of Greensboro, North Carolina. He talks about attending Proximity Middle School, Page High School, and The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Yow recalls going to see the civil rights demonstrations in Greensboro when he was ten or eleven years old, segregation in Greensboro, and the integration of Page High School and other schools in the mid-1960s. He talks about student activism in the late 1960s and the shooting of students at Kent State University in 1970. Yow discusses teaching mathematics and coaching athletics at Northwest High School from the mid-1970s until his retirement in 2002.

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