Human, passion-filled stories drive
‘History of the UO’ documentary
Final two parts to premiere from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on May 30 at Knight Library
The University of Oregon's earliest students traipsed through a bare, muddy field and over a stile intended to keep out cattle just to make it to class at Deady Hall. Women hiked up their dresses for the grimy trek. Men hauled firewood to warm the university's lone building.
"The History of the University of Oregon," a three-hour documentary, traces the university's rise from hardscrabble beginnings in a once barren field to national prominence as Oregon's flagship university. The first portion of the three-part project, detailing 1857–1925, has already been released.
The final two parts of the story, covering 1926 to 1960 and 1961 to 1989, will premiere from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Friday, May 30, in 41 Media Services at Knight Library, 1501 Kincaid Street. A DVD of the complete story, from 1857 to 1989, will be available at The Duck Store for $19.95.
Rebecca Force, a television producer for the university's Oregon Humanities Center and an adjunct assistant professor in the UO School of Journalism and Communication, spent eight years writing, researching, narrating, and producing the project.
"The story of any institution is really the people who built it and the dreams they are filled with," says Force. "This project tells the story of an important institution, warts and all."
As part of her research, Force reached as far back as 1857, when officials expressed reluctance to build a state university even as they pursued statehood for Oregon. She also delved into handwritten notes from the university's first regents.
In addition, the film tackles more recent milestones, such as an 80 percent enrollment increase, fueled by the GI Bill after World War II. Officials brought in Quonset huts and other former military buildings to handle the nearly instant influx of students.
Overall, at least one theme endures.
"There was never a time in UO history when things came easy," Force says. "We always seemed to have the right leader for the time. The university's story is one of struggle, practicality, and a commitment to the highest of academic ideals."
Click here to watch a short clip, detailing the 1970s.