History Commons^™

Richard Sommers, Richard Sommers, Meg Miner

All oral histories

[Note: This interview was conducted on two different days and the resulting recording was edited to bring together some of the subject's comments that were in audible due to technical problems.]

Sommers begins with the story of their first meeting and later becoming Myers' roommate. He asserts that Myers was more interested in history than his declared major of political science. Myers undertook an obscure research project during their Senior year that Sommers judges was graduate level work and uses as an example of the lengths Myers would go to, beyond the minimal requirements of the course. Sommers also reflects …

Jane Baines, Jane Baines, Meg Miner

All oral histories

Baines describes the progression of her IWU career with details about changing technology and how it aided the work of Advancement. She also describes Myers' influences on the office's work which included bringing ideas for developing donors and directing specific activities she engaged in.

Marc Featherly, Marc Featherly, Meg Miner

All oral histories

Featherly describes Myers' input on a series of presidential portraits and other ways in which different backgrounds are used for portrait sittings. He took the Myers portrait that hangs in Bates & Merwin Reading Room, The Ames Library and says it was Myers' favorite. He recalls Myers being very hands on but that it was more about big ideas than about following up on details. Featherly also discusses the affects of technology on his field and comments on how presidents and others influence the atmosphere and student body of IWU. He speaks of working relationships with Myers and Wilson and …

Art Killian, Art Killian, Meg Miner

All oral histories

Killian started on Physical Plant's Grounds Crew five years before Myers and so offers recollections of changes in campus landscaping priorities and operations through four presidencies. He tells a story about Myers showing him a book of English garden plants and how he was unable to explain to Myers that they were not suited to Central Illinois environmental conditions. Killian viewed his work as a craftsman does--more satisfied with ensuring good structures in the landscape on the campus as a whole. He offers views on changes in campus culture, shifting from a community atmosphere before the Myers' era, to a …

T. John Metz, T. John Metz, Meg Miner

All oral histories

Metz was a building consultant and was invited to evaluate the IWU library at Myers' request based on Metz's work building Carleton's library. He recalls that Myers and Dean Hurwitz had come from institutions with significantly different libraries. He believes faculty were worried about Myers' presidency because he brought in the U-Haul collection. He recalls the visit being different from other experiences because the librarians were acting more as teaching faculty than as "career librarians." Metz speaks of the difficulties librarians in many institutions experience with faculty wanting grad school research-type collections and of the unsuitability of that material in …

Carol Churukian, Carol Churukian, Meg Miner

All oral histories

Churukian was a friend of a person Myers cultivated as a donor: Pearl Funk, who also possessed book collections. She shares a story of hosting them both for a dinner in her home and recalls that Myers excluded hosts Carol and her husband George from his focus that evening. Churukian recalls that Funk told her later that Myers called Funk from San Francisco to ask if she wanted him to purchase a specific title he spotted for her.

Roger Schnaitter, Roger Schnaitter, Meg Miner

All oral histories

Schnaitter is a collector of focused, discrete artifacts. He did not talk to Myers about his collecting habits but witnessed some of Myers' collecting activities and expresses opinions about them. Schnaitter describes some of Myers' personal and leadership characteristics and his influences on buying pianos and harpsichords for the School of Music. On reflection, Schnaitter believes Myers' interests in collecting influenced his own and he describes Myers' collecting methods compared to his own.

John "Jack" Muirhead, John Muirhead, Meg Miner

All oral histories

Muirhead begins by telling the story of the home he lived in, which was removed when the Ames Library was built, and how Myers remembered his connection to the site while giving a library tour. He also recalls Myers cooking a special dinner for him and Pam Muirhead after Ellen Myers made a connection with their interests. Muirhead contrasts differences in the physical campus and atmosphere before Myers' era. He also recalls the emphasis Myers brought to the presence of John Wesley Powell at IWU and Myers' support for the Black History Project through the McLean County Museum of History. …

Stacey Shimizu, Stacey Shimizu, Meg Miner

All oral histories

Shimizu shares her thoughts on the purpose of Myers' collecting through a story about a book's inscription he shared. She recalls dinners at the president's home, his philosophy about libraries, what she felt his vision for IWU was, and the effect his personal characteristics, combined with U.S. economy, had on the University.

Anke Voss, Anke Voss, Meg Miner

All oral histories

Voss discusses the origin/creation of the archives in the new library, her early teaching experiences in Illinois and being identified as person to take over at a time when plans to host the Remington Trust exhibit of rare books were under way. Myers gave presentations on those books, encouraging their use by students and faculty. She recalls Myers saying there would be an "archives pedestal" on top of the new library and that he was a "love everything, celebrate everything" kind of person who was rarely idle. Voss recounts Myers' visits to her office and that he did not interfere …

Minor Myers Iii, Minor Myers Iii, Meg Miner

All oral histories

Minor Myers III recalls several experiences with his father's collecting interests and how his father used Minor III's desire to acquire baseball cards to teach him about collecting. His childhood interest in treasures led his father to bury a box of Roman coins in the backyard for him to discover. He makes several observations about his father's intellectual curiosity and the ways his collections both informed and fueled what Minor III describes as a "consumptive joy." He reflects on his father's love of music and the structure and purpose of his father's organization of knowledge.

Brian Rogers, Brian Rogers, Meg Miner

All oral histories

An abstract of this interview is available below. A time-annotated index is linked above and to the right. A transcription will be posted as soon as it becomes available.

Rogers states that Myers was the chair of the search committee when Rogers was selected as Connecticut College Librarian in 1975. Myers was a member of the Friends of the Library and frequently wrote for their Bulletin. Myers also edited the publication for a few years and helped with a book sale that the Friends held to benefit the library. Myers was active in evaluating and organizing materials that were donated …

Suan Guess-Hanson, Suan Guess-Hanson, Meg Miner

All oral histories

Guess-Hanson recalls Myers attending campus and community events and comments on the effects such visibility had with him, and other presidents, on the community. She taught in the same school that Ellen Myers did and mentions seeing her in the years since the time of Myers' presidency. Guess-Hanson shares recollections of changes in campus over the years and notes the positive impact that being able to attend events in different campus venues had on the community. She composed a choral piece in memoriam to Myers and donated a copy it to the archives which is also linked below.

Greg Koos, Greg Koos, Meg Miner

All oral histories

Koos is a fellow collector who shared an interest in "old things" with Myers. While Myers came to the Museum, Koos knew him more from seeing him at flea markets, antique stores and Babbit's Books. He also states that he shared a friendly competition in acquiring items for a low price. Koos characterized this as bottom-feeding but also knew Myers would pay more if he wanted something enough. Koos believes some of Myers' collecting could have had investment value in mind but that is was not likely a motivation; he later observes that there is little value in bookcollecting since …

John Lubrano, John Lubrano, Meg Miner

All oral histories

Starting in 1979, Lubrano worked with Myers primarily on his collection of scores of instrumental and choral parts of music. Myers had interest in some specific British composers but also enjoyed discovering others. Lubrano tells the story of a 1744 manuscript book by an American composer Peter Pelham and that Myers may have donated it to Colonial Williamsburg. Lubrano does not characterized Myers as a collector-seller; he was an academic collector, preferring content over "individual prizes." He believes Myers wanted a mass of a material that could tell a story in aggregate and may have represented him at auctions. Lubrano …

Pamela Buchanan Muirhead, Pamela Buchanan Muirhead '68, Meg Miner

All oral histories

Muirhead discusses Myers' interactions with students and his appreciation of her fascination with historical collections. In one story, she mentions name tags a student made for a class visit to Myers' home; she donated one to the archives' collections and a copy of it is linked below. Muirhead also covers her role in campus administration and how Provost and Dean Ellen Hurwitz influenced her; she then shares her views on Myers' management of the University and different aspects of his leadership style including perspectives on the dual needs of faculty scholarship and teaching. She offers insights into Myers' attitudes on …

Lynda Duke, Lynda Duke, Meg Miner

All oral histories

Duke recalls work involved in hosting the annual book sales that Myers instituted and thinks the sales were well attended but doesn't think they brought much value for campus as a whole. She describes the labor involved by staff time in the Physical Plant and the heavy use of her time in planning, organizing and conducting the sales. She didn't speak with Myers about his interest in libraries but understood he valued all books and recalls there was no collection weeding until well after the move to The Ames Library. Duke also describes instances at events in Myers' home when …

Thomas Griffiths, Thomas Griffiths, Meg Miner

All oral histories

Griffiths recalls that Myers had the "urge to collect" and built collections purposefully, even to the point of paying a higher price to fill a gap. Recalls Myers discarding books, one of which he has, but suspects it was only if Minor had duplicates. Reflects on the influence Myers had on faculty, through emphasis on and support for scholarship, and on students and facilities. Also discusses being present during meetings about the book auction, the last conversation he had with Myers and the one book he received as a gift after Myers' illness. The idea of wearing chrysanthemums at the …

Michael Young, Michael Young, Meg Miner

All oral histories

Young was on Myers' search committee and the two following. Young began collecting after Myers' death and may have been influenced by Myers' example. Young recalls the so-called U-Haul collection from the Corn Belt library system and a discussion with Myers about their potential value for IWU. He speculates how Myers would have felt about IWU's library changes. Young shares his opinions about libraries and disagrees with how Myers' collection was dispersed. Young recalls asking Myers to keep an eye out for a specific set Young was interested in; Myers called him about a year later when he spotted it …

Brian Simpson, Brian Simpson, Meg Miner

All oral histories

Simpson recalls meeting and getting to know Myers and his family as patrons of his store Babbitt's Books. Myers asked him to appraise collections the library received from estates and Simspon reflects on that work. Simpson describes Myers' goal in acquiring special collections for the library not so much for their suitability to undergraduate study but more so that people would come to campus to see these things. Myers understood the value that objects held for research rather than the content but Simpson also recalls Myers' willingness to balance the usefulness of content on microfilm when the original would be …

Garrett Davey, Garret Davey, Meg Miner

All oral histories

Davey recalls a class visit to Myers' home and the many things Myers shared about his collecting; reflects on the meaning he took from Myers' collecting and the influence his personal characteristics had. Davey observes that Myers' passion for his collections was contagious and that Myers' desire to find meaning in these objects was inspirational.

Dr. Muirhead recalls the same class visit and a copy of the name tag Davey recalls is associated with her interview.

Steve Seibring, Steve Seibring, Meg Miner

All oral histories

Seibring relates conversations he had with Myers about why Myers came to IWU, why he wanted to be a college president, and how he used his catalog collection to learn about higher education in the U.S. Seibring also recalls times when Myers demonstrated his interest in baseball cards and wanted to highlight stories about alumni who were collectors. He shares ideas on Myers' view about the university and reflects on the kinds of curricular offerings of that time. He relates instances of Myers' involvement in the work of both Admissions and Advancement, including being the impetus for reestablishing the Alumni …

James Martin, James Martin, Meg Miner

All oral histories

Martin felt Myers' greatest influence was by being a positive personality who was present at events. He states that the presences of a positive authority influences students and faculty to want to do well. Martin uses the phrase "ministry of presence" to describe the impact this trait has. Martin felt the campus became more world-minded and interdisciplinary, with an emphasis on curiosity and diversity under Myer's leadership. The fire and passion Myers exemplified influenced the character of IWU.

Joy Doran, Joy Doran, Meg Miner

All oral histories

Doran recalls the musical interests she shared with Myers, including being founding board members of the Pratt Music Foundation, which sponsors music education in the local community, and that they shared a vision for expanding the preparatory program available through the IWU School of Music. The former was realized during Myers' era but the latter idea did not come to fruition. She and Myers viewed themselves as "philosophers of potential and advocates of opportunity" and Doran was pleased to have support for her ideas even if they were not always success.

Princess Galloway, Princess Galloway, Meg Miner

All oral histories

Galloway shares the story of how she became a candidate in the Wade McCree, Jr. Scholarship Program as a Middle School student in Detroit. The year she entered the program was the first time a private college out of state became part of the program. She recalls Myers learning about her when she was 14 through an introduction by C. Robert Berg, Class of 1965, and that Myers kept in touch throughout her high school year. They had additional interaction throughout her four years and describes herself as a challenge for Myers. She describes the efforts she led during her …

Rebecca Anderson Matuszak, Rebecca Anderson Matuszak, Meg Miner

All oral histories

Matuszak recalls the influence a speech about multi-talented individuals had on her life. Myers cited books about and articles about geniuses in this talk that she feels helped her understand herself better and that continued to influence her career path. She relates examples of how the ease of relating to him led her and her peers to go to him first about problems and how he supported student initiatives. Overall, he set the example of what a life-long learner could be. He left the impression that he was listening for what he could learn from you and so when he …

W. Michael Weis, W. Michael Weis, Meg Miner

All oral histories

Weis recalls Myers wanting IWU's niche to be the multi-talented and sold everyone on the idea that IWU was already great and would be better. Prior to Myers there was a "micro university" focus and he supported that. Provost McNew was focused on establishing a liberal arts ideal; Myers didn't oppose that idea but also wanted to keep Nursing. He wanted to expand and grow the University and the faculty supported him. Myers inculcated a love of collecting among people and speculates that collecting helps you think about all the things surrounding the object--time period, materials--that it helps "broaden perspective …

Katherine Brokaw, Katherine Brokaw, Meg Miner

All oral histories

Brokaw is a 4th generation IWU alumna and recalls her first memory of Myers is from when she was in 4th grade and asked to conduct an interview with him. She described Myers' support for her many academic interests ad that he invited her and her friends to look at and use books in his home. One memorable title he showed her was an early printing of Dante's La Comedia. He also gifted her books he thought she would like. She observes that Myers was "curious about the world and about other people" and that he seemed to have an …

Cindy Gendrich, Cindy Gendrich, Meg Miner

All oral histories

Gendrich shared an interest with Myers in 18th century etiquette books and shares insights into why Myers collected them. She directs Wake Forest University's Performance and the Liberal Arts Center and discusses how she and Myers shared an understanding of the need for education to encompass a knowledge about the world around a particular discipline. Myers loaned her about ten of his books for her dissertation and she describes that encounter and the way some of Myers' books were shelved in his home. Gendrich characterizes Myers as a "walking around president" and reflects on the qualities of presidents.

Meghan Murphy-Lee, Meghan Murphy-Lee, Meg Miner

All oral histories

Murphy-Lee served in Student Senate and so recalls getting to know Myers through Board of Trustee meetings and that he took an interest in her desire to be a contract Russian major. Myers and Dr. Marina Balina helped her achieve her goals and served as models of scholarly behavior for students.