Oral history of Wilbert Locklin

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Wilbert Locklin was born in 1921 in Washington, DC. He received his undergraduate degree from Johns Hopkins and, in the late 1940s, went on to work for the university as the Vice President of the Johns Hopkins University Fund. During his tenure, he raised money for the school's library and athletic center, while playing an integral role in the expansion and development of Hopkins' School for Advanced International Studies (SAIS). In addition to his work at Hopkins, Locklin served as an aviator for the Armed Air Forces during WWII and was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross for his service. He also served as the President of Springfield College for 20 years beginning in 1963. In this interview, Locklin discusses his time at Hopkins as a full scholarship recipient as well as his time working as the Vice President of the Johns Hopkins University Fund. This oral history is a part of the Mame Warren oral histories series.

Oral history of John Barth

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John Barth, American author, was born in Cambridge, Maryland, May 27, 1930. Barth studied at the Johns Hopkins University and received his B.A. in 1951, his M.A. in 1952. Barth was an associate professor of English, Penn State University, 1953-1965 and professor of English, SUNY, Buffalo, 1965-1973. In 1973, he returned to Hopkins where he was appointed professor of English and creative writing. John Barth is now Professor Emeritus at the University.John Barth is the author of several novels including The Sot-Weed Factor (1960), Giles Goat-Boy (1966), Chimera (1972), Sabbatical: A Romance (1982), The Friday Book (1984), The Tidewater Tales (1987), and The Last Voyage of Somebody the Sailor (1991). In 1972, Barth was the recipient of the National Book Award in fiction for Chimera. In this interview, Barth discusses his years as a student at Johns Hopkins in the 1940s-50s and his return to Hopkins as a faculty member. He describes changes that led to the development of the Writing Seminars and reflects on serving as a mentor to Hopkins undergraduate and graduate students. This oral history is part of the Mame Warren oral histories series.

Oral history of Charles Nicodemus

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Charles Nicodemus graduated from Johns Hopkins in 1950 with a degree in business. During his time on campus, Nicodemus was an active member of both the Glee Club and SAC. After graduation, Nicodemus went to work for his family's business, the Robert Terry Garment Company and then The Mutual Insurance Company of Frederick County, of which he eventually became president. In this history, Charles Nicodemus recounts his experiences as a Hopkins student, especially in regard to his involvement on campus. This oral history is part of the Hopkins Retrospective oral histories series.

Oral history of John Gryder

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John Gryder, a longtime chemistry professor at Hopkins, was a noted civil rights activist in Baltimore. He attended the California Institute of Technology for his undergraduate and some graduate work and received his Ph.D in chemistry from Columbia University in 1948 before coming to Hopkins to teach later that year. Gryder partnered with Rev. Dr. Chester Wickwire, the campus chaplain for many years, to help desegregate Baltimore and provide equal educational opportunities for African Americans during the turbulent 1960s and 1970s. In this oral history, Gryder discusses being a professor and administrator on campus through various Hopkins presidencies and how Hopkins has changed as an institution from the 1950s forward, especially during the heyday of the student movement in the 1960s. This oral history is part of the Mame Warren oral histories series.

Oral history of Gordon "Reds" Wolman

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Markley Gordon "Reds" Wolman was geomorphologist whose passion for his discipline, dedication to his work, and his uniquely creative ways of looking at problems, resulted in a wide-ranging career. Among the many hats he wore were scientist, environmental activist, teacher and mentor, university administrator, and government advisor on the local, state, national and international level. Wolman was born in 1924 in Baltimore the son of Anne and Abel Wolman. His father was a sanitary engineer whose accomplishments ranged from developing chlorinated water, to designing water supply systems for cities throughout the world, to advising on the safe use of nuclear power. The younger Wolman, known throughout his life as Reds, attended the Park School in Baltimore graduating in 1942. He began his college career at Haverford College, but left to join the U.S. Naval Reserves after his first semester. When discharged in 1946, Wolman enrolled at the Johns Hopkins University where his father was in the Department of Sanitary Engineering. Wolman graduated in 1949 with a degree in Geology and All-American Lacrosse honors. He then took an MA (1951) and PhD (1953) from Harvard University. In 1951, Wolman embarked on a career of nearly 60 years that combined research, service to the profession, and educating the next generation of scientists. In this interview, Wolman discusses his undergraduate career at Johns Hopkins, his memories of notable faculty and administrators including Hopkins president Isaiah Bowman, and the faculty culture he experienced at Hopkins. This oral history is part of the Mame Warren oral histories series.

Oral history of Russell Baker

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Russell Baker, born August 14, 1925 in Morrisonville, Virginia, a small town across the state line from Harper's Ferry, West Virginia and not far from Frederick, Maryland, is a notable American author and Hopkins alumnus. An essayist and journalist for many years, Baker won his first of two Pulitzer Prizes in 1979 for his writing for The New York Times. He is notably one of the longest-running columnists in the history of the New York Times and The Baltimore Sun. Three years later, his first autobiography, Growing Up, won Baker his second Pulitzer. The primary subject of this first autobiography, his most well-known work, was his childhood in Virginia during the Great Depression, while the focus of his second autobiography, Good Times, was his extensive and varied half-century career in journalism, including a close look at his time with The Baltimore Sun. In this oral history, Russell Baker describes his childhood, World War II, and his student days at Hopkins (1942-1947), specifically his courses in English, his work with the News-Letter, and his general impressions of Hopkins. This oral history is a part of the Mame Warren oral histories series.

Oral history of Barbara Bonnell

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Barbara Bonnell attended Wellesley College and was a Fulbright scholar before coming to Hopkins in 1953 for her M.A. in international relations. She was deputy director of the Greater Baltimore Committee in the 1950s and director of information for Charles Center-Inner Harbor Management. She was also the first Baltimore native to become the president of the Association of Junior Leagues of America, in 1962. In this oral history, Bonnell discusses being a female graduate student and instructor on campus in the 1950s, undertaking research with Professor Malcolm Moos, McCarthyism, and community organizing in Baltimore. This oral history is part of the Mame Warren oral histories series.

Oral history of Sidney Offit

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Sidney Offit was born in 1928 in Baltimore, Maryland. He graduated from Johns Hopkins with a B.A. in English literature in 1950 and went on to have a robust and successful career as an author. He is best known for his work as a children's author, including works such as The Adventures of Homer Fink and Soupbone. He is also known for his work on televised debates with Martin Abend on WNEW-TV. In this history, Offit discusses his time at Hopkins as well as his writing. This oral history is a part of the Mame Warren oral histories series.

Oral history of Ross Jones

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Ross Jones, a native of Haddonfield, New Jersey just outside Philadelphia, graduated from Johns Hopkins in 1953 with a B. A. in History, after which he served for three years in the U. S. Army. While at Hopkins, Jones was highly involved with many student groups and activities, including the News-Letter, for which he was co-editor. He received a masters degree in journalism from Columbia University before moving back to Baltimore to work at Hopkins in 1961 as the executive assistant to then-president Milton S. Eisenhower. Since then, Jones has occupied many positions with the university including, most notably, as vice president of the university. In this oral history, Jones describes his experiences at Hopkins as a student in the 1950s, his work under multiple Hopkins presidencies (since 1961), and how Hopkins has changed in the last half-century. This oral history is part of the Mame Warren oral histories series.

Oral history of Edward Magruder Passano

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Edward "Mac" Magruder Passano was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He earned both an undergraduate (1967) and graduate (1969) degree from Johns Hopkins University. He is the CEO of One Waverly LLC, a philanthropic consulting firm and participates in a variety of other philanthropic endeavors. These include his position as chairman of the Passano Foundation and his position as a board member at the Baltimore Economy and Efficiency foundation, the Pride of Baltimore, and the Board of Visitors of the University of Maryland School of Medicine. In 2001, Passano, along with his wife and three daughters, received the Philanthropist of the Year award from the Association of Fundraising Professionals. In this interview, Passano discusses his time at the Johns Hopkins School of Professional Studies in business and education as well as his philanthropic endeavors. This oral history is a part of the Mame Warren oral histories series.