Collections : [Indiana University, Center for Documentary Research and Practice]

Frederick Mitchell, born on November 20, 1926, began his education at Indiana University in 1948 and received his undergraduate degree in 1953 after two interruptions for United States military service in the Merchant Marines and the army, respectively. A former student body president, he was actively involved in campus life through student government, and membership in his fraternity, Sigma Nu, and the Sphinx Club. In addition, Mitchell discusses the impact of veterans, the Korean War, World War II, and hazing on Indiana University. He also speaks briefly of his relationship with Herman B Wells.

Born on October 21, 1922, Thomas J. Mitchell is a 1949 alumnus of Indiana University who began studying at the university in 1942. After serving three years in the United States Air Force during World War II, he returned to Indiana University in 1946 to complete his undergraduate degree. In this interview, Mitchell discusses his days as a student at Indiana University and makes comparisons to his children's experiences at the university thirty years later. In addition, he speaks of the changes that Indiana University has undergone, the effects of World War II, transportation, and athletics at Indiana University. He also discusses his successful career as an insurance agent and how his education and experiences at Indiana University helped him to achieve occupational success.

Born on November 12, 1920, George Nakhnikian joined the Indiana University faculty as a member of the Philosophy Department in 1968 and served there until his retirement in 1988. In this interview, he recalls his childhood as an Armenian in Bulgaria and his immigration to the United States. Nakhnikian also discusses his participation in World War II, his use of the GI Bill to complete graduate school and his quick rise to chairmanship of the Department of Philosophy at Wayne State University. In addition, he recalls his undergraduate years at Harvard University and his coming to the Indiana University Department of Philosophy. Nakhnikian discusses departmental tensions, his years as chair, and the growth of the department.

Rudy Pozzatti, born on January 14, 1925 in Telluride, Colorado was a professor of fine arts starting in 1956. He discusses his experience in World War II with the 659th Field Artillery Battalion, his education at University of Colorado, Boulder, and coming to Indiana University in 1956. Further, he discusses his printmaking, development of the printmaking program, sculpture, his work with students, and his current projects.

Henry H. H. Remak, born on July 27, 1916, discusses his family background and youth in Germany, his education, his long association with Indiana University and recalls much of the university's history from the years spanning 1936 through 1996. A long-time faculty member, Remak discusses his career in languages, particularly German and French, and speaks of the German Department and the Institute for Advanced Study. Dr. Remak comments on the beauty of the Indiana University campus, the social anti-Semitism he experienced in the United States, the effects of World War II on enrollment in the German Department, and German Americans and culture in America. In addition, he speaks of teaching, especially in the context of the Cold War, McCarthyism, and the Vietnam War and the unrest of the nineteen sixties. Professor Remak shares anecdotes about two of the most well-known figures in the history of Indiana University, Herman B Wells and Alfred Kinsey, and he speaks of the increased and misplaced emphasis on academic specialization, the teaching vs. research debate, and faculty tenure.

Born on March 4, 1907, Claude Rich is a 1929 Indiana University alumnus who went on to establish a career of service to the university that spanned sixty-five years. Throughout these years, he held many different administrative positions including assistant alumni secretary, acting director of the student union, alumni secretary, which position became known as the director of alumni relations, director of the sesquicentennial celebration, and director of university relations. Rich comments on each of these jobs, his days as a student at Indiana University, and some of his colleagues including Herman B Wells and George "Dixie" Heighway. In addition, he speaks of his association with Hoagy Carmichael, the Board of Aeons, and Blue Key. He discusses the impact of World War II and the Vietnam War on Indiana University. Finally, Rich speaks of the university's participation in the development of international higher education systems and/or institutions.

Born in 1928, Fred Risk is a 1949 Indiana University alumnus who went on to earn his law degree in 1951 from the Indiana University School of Law. He discusses his memories of the university including the impact of World War II, the Korean War, and the growth of the university. He speaks of his involvement with the Acacia fraternity, and the difficulties of law school at Indiana University. Later, Risk became actively involved in alumni affairs and the Indiana University Foundation. He discusses the problem of funding for the university and for the individual student.

Raymond Smith, born in 1917, earned his graduate degree in 1939 from the Indiana University Department of Speech as part of the first class to receive a graduate degree from this department. Smith speaks of the Great Depression and the employment and financial constraints it inflicted. He served in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II as a radio instructor, after which he completed his doctorate at the University of Wisconsin in 1950. From 1950 through his retirement in 1982, Smith served as a professor in Indiana University's Department of Speech, later Department of Speech Communications. Smith discusses some influential members of Indiana University's Department of Speech and university faculty including Robert E. Barton Allen, Robert Milisen, Lee Norvell, and psychology professor, Snoddy.

Born on May 15, 1920, Richard "Dick" Stoner is a 1940 Indiana University alumnus who went on to complete his law degree at Harvard Law School in 1947 and spent four years in United States military service during World War II. He discusses his memories of his years as a student including involvement in the Arbutus where he met his future wife. Stoner discusses the impact of World War II on Indiana University, and his eventual return to Indiana and active involvement with the university. He has been active in the Indiana University Foundation and served on the Indiana University board of trustees for twenty years, from 1972 to 1992. He speaks of Herman B Wells, the importance of the Herman B Wells Scholars Program, the question of funding for the university, and the changes the campus has undergone.

Born on April 1, 1922, Charles Van Tassel earned his medical degree from the Indiana University School of Medicine in Bloomington in 1946. In this interview, he recalls his years as a student at Indiana University, the impact of World War II on the university, and the changes the campus has undergone in the intervening years. Van Tassel speaks of his continuing involvement with Indiana University including his active participation in the varsity club and the Indiana University Foundation Board, and his interest in university athletics. In addition, he discusses the Twelfth Man Club, the problems posed by funding, and the School of Medicine in Bloomington.