Kenneth R. Barker oral history, 3 March 2015

Item information

Title:

Kenneth R. Barker oral history, 3 March 2015

Description:

This interview was conducted at the D.H. Hill Jr. Library of North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina. In the interview, Dr. Barker discusses: discovering the field of plant pathology in high school through a tobacco disease clinic led by North Carolina extension agent Dr. Howard Garriss; NC State Plant Pathology Professors Arthur Kelman and J.N. Sasser; conducting research under J.N. Sasser for Dr. Barker’s master’s thesis on an alfalfa stem nematode; studying under Dr. John Charles Walker at the University of Wisconsin; returning to NC State to teach; applying for grant funding to support research; NC State Plant Pathology department heads Don Ellis and Robert Aycock; buying the first computer for the department; changing research trends in Plant Pathology, from crop-oriented descriptive approaches to genomics, molecular biology, and genetic engineering; his memories of growing up on a tobacco farm and helping his father work the fields and prepare the tobacco for market; collegial relationships between Plant Pathology departments at NC State and the University of Wisconsin; historic contributions to the profession by faculty members in the Plant Pathology department; memories of being an undergraduate student in Arthur Kelman’s classes; arriving at NC State as the first member of his family to attend college; participating in mandatory ROTC service as an undergraduate; unrest on campus at the University of Wisconsin and NC State during the Vietnam War; growing numbers of women students and faculty in the 1960s; Dr. Hedwig Hirschmann, female faculty member in Plant Pathology; the Plant Disease and Insect Clinic; and the department’s relationship with extension and the agriculture industry in North Carolina

Topics:

People
University History

Subjects:

College students
College teachers
Plant diseases
Plant pathologists

Original Format:

Digital video recording, sound, color

Extent:

1:24:15

Item identifier:

mc00449-oh-barker-20150303

Interviewer:

Ferris, Virginia L. more info on Ferris, Virginia L. 

Interviewee:

Barker, K. R. (Kenneth Reece), 1932- more info on Barker, K. R. (Kenneth Reece), 1932- 

Created Date:

2015-03-03

Genre:

Interviews
Oral histories (Document genres)

Names:

Barker, K. R. (Kenneth Reece), 1932- more info on Barker, K. R. (Kenneth Reece), 1932- 
North Carolina State University -- History more info on North Carolina State University -- History 
Ferris, Virginia L. more info on Ferris, Virginia L. 
North Carolina State University. Department of Plant Pathology more info on North Carolina State University. Department of Plant Pathology 
North Carolina State University -- Students -- History more info on North Carolina State University -- Students -- History 

Location:

Raleigh (N.C.)

Digital Project:

NC State Institutional Histories