Browse Items (219 total)

In this interview Steve Noll discusses accepting his sexuality as a young man, the unnamed gay student group before the Gay Student Alliance and the support it received from Cooper House, and reactions to Denim Day from the communities surrounding…

Lisa Barroso arrived at Virginia Tech in the fall after Denim Day happened. She became an active member of the lesbian community and the Women's Space group. Her brother, Mark Barroso, was an editor at the Collegiate Times and is remembered by many…

Andrew Alvarez was a founding member of the Gay Student Alliance in the late 1970s. In his interview, he talks about living on campus at Virginia Tech, being a guest speaker for the Social Deviance class in the sociology department, planning and…

In this interview, Sewell discusses the classes he was teaching as a member of the Department of Communications in 1979 during Denim Day. He recalls some of the responses he observed to the event, including the university's official stance on the Gay…

Scott Beadle was a member of the Gay Student Alliance during the first Gay Awareness Week and helped to plan Denim Day in 1979. During his time at Virginia Tech, he studied engineering and theater arts and served as president of the Gay Student…

In this interview, Sueann Brown talks about realizing her sexuality and becoming involved with the Gay Student Alliance at Virginia Tech, her experience of Denim Day in 1979, and her experience as an openly lesbian architect with the National Parks…

Sherry Wood was the editor of the Collegiate Times in 1979 when the first Gay Awareness Week, and Denim Day, occurred. In this interview, she discusses the volume of letters to the editor received by the Collegiate Times in response to Denim Day and…

Rosemary Beiszner came to Virginia Tech as a foot in the door to the academic world. She attended undergraduate at Mercyhurst College, studying home economics. She went on to pursue a master’s degree in family and child development at Ohio State.…

Mallory Foutch came to Virginia Tech in 2016 after attending both undergrad and grad school elsewhere. During school, she was a passionate social activist and feminist, which she turned to in her work here with the Women’s Center as a program…

Class of 1958 first black graduate of Virginia Tech

Irving Linwood Peddrew III was the first black student at Virginia Tech

Two interviews of Dixie Stone, Fate Cheek, and Dr. Alva W. Taylor about the events of Cordie Cheek's lynching. They discuss the men who were looking for Cordie and the family members they violently interrogated to find him.

Interview with James L. Garret. Garret was hauling hay in a truck when he was stopped by the mob and he witnessed the lynching of Cordie Cheek.

Class of 1959, one of the first three black graduates of Virginia Tech

Elaine Dowe Carter graduated from Christiansburg Industrial Institute in 1948. Elaine grew up in Elliston, Virginia and served as president of the Christiansburg Institute Alumni Association.

Jacqueline “Jackie” Eaves graduated from Christiansburg Industrial Institute in 1964 and was a member of the Alumni Association. Jacqueline was born in Radford, Virginia and raised in Blacksburg, Virginia.

Class of 1971, first black scholarship athlete at Virginia Tech

Naomi Davidson graduated from Christiansburg Industrial Institute in 1954. Naomi grew up in the Wake Forest community in Montgomery County, Virginia, and later retired in Pulaski County, Virginia.

Class of 1971, one of six charter members of Groove Phi Groove

A staged reading of articles and letters to the editor about Denim Day from the 1979 Collegiate Times interspersed with clips from the Denim Day at Virginia Tech 40th Anniversary Oral History Collection.

received his Ph.D in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, with an emphasis in Higher Education Administration at Virginia Tech in December 2000. He is presently Director of Summer and Winter sessions.

Gladys Sokolow graduated from Christiansburg Industrial Institute in 1953. Gladys grew up in Pulaski County, Virginia and later resided in Christiansburg, Virginia. Gladys served as Treasurer for the Christiansburg Institute Alumni Association Board…

Esther Jones graduated from Christiansburg Industrial Institute in 1939. Esther used the skills she acquired at CI to assist her husband in running a mine in Wake Forest, Montgomery County, Virginia.

Jessie Eaves graduated from Christiansburg Industrial Institute in 1965 and was one of the first black students to attend Radford College. Jessie grew up in Wake Forest, Montgomery County, Virginia and served as 1st Vice President for the…

graduated from Virginia Tech in December of 2000. She majored in Mechanical Engineering. She served in the Air Force at Wright-Patterson base in Ohio, while pursuing an advanced degree..

Ebony Wilson is a 2001 graduate of Virginia Tech. She grew up in Norfolk, VA and was a member of the Corps of Cadets. She continued her service in the Navy.

Mary Smith Mills attended Christiansburg Institute from 1941 to 1945. Mary grew up in Christiansburg, Virginia and later became the first black woman to work at a clothing store in downtown Blacksburg.

Rev. Phillip Harmon Price and his sister, Anna Christine Price integrated Blacksburg High School in 1961

Charles Johnson graduated from Christiansburg Industrial Institute in 1953 and served as President of the Christiansburg Institute Alumni Association. Johnson employed the barbering trade he acquired at CI for many decades in Blacksburg, Virginia.

Susan Manero talks about her time at Southern Seminary College (now Southern Virginia University) decision to transfer to Virginia Tech, surprise at the lack of denim on Denim Day in 1979, coming out, the gay and lesbian community in Blacksburg, the…

William Simpkins discusses his experience coming to Virginia Tech as a student from the local area in the late 1990s and coming out as gay while here. He talks about the history of gay student groups at Virginia Tech in the late 1990s and their…

Jim Hatch went to Lynchburg College as an undergraduate, majoring in management. Upon graduating, he attended Virginia Tech for a Master’s of Accounting and graduated in 1972. Afterwards, he began working as a public accountant and remained active in…

Megan Nguyen is a Queer Vietnamese American originally from Northern Virginia. They attended Virginia Tech from 2012 to 2016 and studied Biology. They found the LGBTA, now HokiePRIDE, early during their time at Virginia Tech. They were involved in…

Douglas Martin, Ed.D. is Director Emeritus in the
Department of Human Resources at Virginia Tech. This
nearly hour-long interview contains his first-hand account
of several impactful people and events that shaped Tech in
the last half century.…

Gerald Miller grew up on a farm in Harrisonburg, Virginia. From an early age, he had responsibilities and schooling expectations drilled into him, which heavily guided his career. He attended Virginia Tech and graduated in 1965, majoring in Agronomy.…

Roger H. More was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland in 1942. From an early age he knew that he would attend college, but planned on going to Baltimore Polytechnic Institute. These plans changed when his best friend and his bother went to…

In an hour and 10 minute interview of Mary Nolen
Blackwood and Willis Blackwood, Ren Harman asks about
their lives as they connect to Virginia Tech. Along with
early life at Virginia Tech and family life, this interview
touches on their continued…

Ida Powell graduated from Virginia Tech in 1958 with a bachelor's degree in home economics. In this hour-long interview, Powell discusses her experience as a female student attending Virginia Tech's campus in the 1950s as well as her humanitarian…

PDF transcript of an oral history interview with Emily Pillsbury Davis. Pillsbury was the "L" Squadron commander in the Corps of Cadets in 1975-1976.

This transcript was created from files on a previous iteration of the 125th Anniversary website.…

Bob Quisenberry, Class of 1962, discusses his life and
career, including his time as a student at Virginia Tech and his continued involvement with the university in the decades since.

In this nearly hour long interview, Ren Harman, Project Manager for VT Stories, interviews Kevin Crofton, Class of 1982, in the Holtzman Alumni Center on the campus of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA. In this interview, Kevin reflects on his time…

In this VT Stories interview from 2018, Manisha Sharma interviews the former Director of University Publications Clara Cox in the Holtzman Alumni Center. In this oral history Cox talks about her rise through the ranks of university relations, her…

In this VT Stories oral history interview, Ren Harman interviews Jerry Hulick, Class of 1973. Hulick discusses his time at Virginia Tech during the protests of the Vietnam War and the changing landscape of the culture in Virginia Tech and Blacksburg.…

Frank Bannister was born in Wake Forest, Virginia in 1913, and his family members were descendants of Kentland Plantation slaves, which is now Kentland Farm in Whitethorne, Virginia. Bannister describes growing up in Wake Forest, working in the…

Leola Burford, a resident of Christiansburg, worked as a teacher in the Richmond area before getting married, and, eventually returning to the Christiansburg area. In this interview, Burford recalls her experiences at CI and Hampton University and…

Rice Dobbins grew up in Riner, Virginia in an area called Piney Wood. Dobbins primarily worked as a farmer in the Montgomery County area, specifically on Heth Farm (present day Heathwood Apartments). He moved to Blacksburg in the late 1930s, where he…

Rosa Thomas Holmes, originally born in Beckley, West Virginia, grew up in the Christiansburg area. Holmes attended Hill School in and Christiansburg Industrial Institute before attending Virginia State College. She worked as a teacher in Florida…

William Burrell Morgan, who went by Burrell, was born in Iowa before he moved to the Christiansburg area. Morgan attended Hill School and graduated from Christiansburg Industrial Institute; later, he operated his family's taxi service, which had been…

Charles A. Johnson was born in Wake Forest, Virginia, where he grew up and received his primary education. Johnson graduated from Christiansburg Institute in 1953 before serving in the Army. When Johnson returned from the Army, he began cutting hair…