Interviews 731-740

Each Guide entry contains information about an interview, including biographical data about the interviewee (name, vital dates, dates at the UW-Madison, and principal positions held as of the interview date), information about the interview (interviewer, year conducted, length, and series, transcript, and restriction information if applicable), and a list of key topics discussed in the interview. For more detailed information about an interview, or to obtain a copy of an interview contact the Oral History Program.

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Early years and education; Home front during Second World War; Army training; Rutgers University; Graduate study and research at Yale University; Hermann J. Muller; Research; Hiring by UW; Teaching; Department chair; Campus disruptions during Vietnam era; Committee service; United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation; National Council on Radiation Protection; Wisconsin Radiation Protection Council; Environmental Mutagen Society; Center for Limnology; International Commission on Radiation Protection; Radiation Effects Research Foundation (RERF).

NOTE: THIS INTERVIEW IS RESTRICTED UNTIL 2025 AND CAN ONLY BE USED WITH THE EXPRESSED, WRITTEN CONSENT OF EITHER SEYMOUR ABRAHAMSON OR HIS ESTATE.

#732. THOMSON, James A. (1958- )
John D. McArthur Professor of Anatomy, UW-Madison Medical School and Regional Primate Research Center; Scientific Director, WiCell Research Institute
At UW: 1991-

Early education; Study of biophysics; Graduate study and research at the University of Pennsylvania; Primate Research Center; Stem cell research; WARF; Ethical issues; Research goals; Politics of stem cell research; Future applications of stem cell research; WiCell Research Institute.

Family history; Graduate education; Army service; Research on symbolic politics; Intellectual influences; Political science department; Vietnam War era; Political leaders and enemies; Public opinion; Categorization; "Contestable Categories and Public Opinion"; Ideology; Writing process; Writing style; Theory and methods; Influence of historical eras on research; Political spectacles; Media and journalism; Relationship between art and politics.

Father’s geology career; Early education; Undergraduate and graduate study of geology; Dissertation; Humble Oil and Refining Company; Air Force Cambridge Research Center; Teaching at UW; Geology of Baraboo Hills; Textbook publication; Tenure; History of geology department; Research projects; Students; Honors and awards; Research and teaching on history of geology; Campus protests; TA strike; Committee service; Faculty governance; Views on teaching; Visiting scholars from China; Roadside Geology of Wisconsin.

Early education; Family background; Wabash College; Study of English literature; Graduate study of theater and drama at Indiana University; Directorship of the Wisconsin Center for Theater Research; United Artists Collection; History of the United Artists; Department of Communication Arts; Humanities Divisional Committee; Arts Consortium; Arts Institute; Interdisciplinary Arts Residency Program; Research and publications; Committee service; University administration.

#736. LEARY, James P. (1950- )
Professor of Folklore and Scandinavian Studies; Director, Folklore Program
At UW: 1990-

Interviewed: 2005	Length: 4.5 hours
Interviewer: Robert Lange

Family background; Catholicism; Education in Australia; University of Notre Dame; Graduate study at North Carolina and Indiana University; Field work on folklife; Smithsonian Institution Office of Folklife Programs; Academic staff and faculty work at Wisconsin; Teaching; Folklore Program; Research; Impressions of university administration; State of higher education.

#737. DAVIS, Matthew D. (1926- )
Professor Emeritus, Department of Ophthalmology
At UW: 1956-

&

DAVIS, Frederick J. (1922-)
Associate Professor, Department of Ophthalmology
At UW: 1950-1985

Childhoood; Education; Medical school, internships, and residencies; Development of ophthalmology department; Fund-raising; Chairmanship of the department; Faculty hires; Fundus Photograph Reading Center; Relationship between Davis Duehr and the department; Honors and awards.

NOTE: THIS INTERVIEW IS RESTRICTED UNTIL 2025 AND CAN ONLY BE USED WITH THE EXPRESSED, WRITTEN CONSENT OF MATTHEW D. DAVIS AND FREDERICK J. DAVIS.

#738. READ, W. Charles (1940- )
Professor Emeritus of Linguistics; Dean, School of Education
At UW: 1970-

Early years and education; Study in England; Haverford College; Harvard University; Noam Chomsky; Dissertation; UW English department; Teaching; Tenure; Linguistics department; Department chairmanship; Graduate School Research Committee; Associate Dean for the Humanities; Interim Dean of the Graduate School; Deanship of the School of Education; Teacher education; Spencer Doctoral Research Program; School of Education budget; Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER); Private donations; Board of Visitors; Wisconsin Center for the Advancement of Post-Secondary Education (WISCAPE); Online education; Masters of Science for Professional Educators (MSPE); Continuing Adult and Vocational Education (CAVE) Program; Interaction with chancellors.

THIS INTERVIEW IS RESTRICTED UNTIL THE LATER DATE OF EITHER JULY 1, 2015 OR THE DEATH OF W. CHARLES READ AND CAN ONLY BE ACCESSED WITH THE EXPRESSED, WRITTEN CONSENT OF W. CHARLES READ.

#739. RALSTON, Richard (1937 - )
Professor Emeritus, Comparative Social History, Folklore, and Afro-American Studies Department
At UW: 1974-

Family background; Early education; Ford Foundation scholarship; Fisk University; Graduate study in history at Rochester; Service in the US Army; Operation Crossroads Africa; Ph.D. at UCLA; Job search; Teaching at University of Rochester; Activism and scholarship; Curriculum reform; Post doc at the Hoover Institute; Return to teaching at Rochester; Taking a job at UW.

Growing up in the Bronx; Undergraduate study at UW-Madison; Wisconsin Union Theater; Helen C. White; Work as a stagehand; Peace Corps; Campus protest; Films; Career at the Union Theater; Service functions of the Union; Student leadership; African American artists; Chamber music; Arts departments; Arts Consortium; Future of the arts.

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