UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON ARCHIVES
ORAL HISTORY PROJECT

Interview #725
FISH, ODY J.

FISH, Ody J.  (1925 - 2007)
Regent, University of Wisconsin Board of Regents
At UW: 1970-1979, 1982-1989

Interviewed: 2005
Interviewer: Art Hove and Joel Skornicka
Length: 1.5 hours

UW System Merger; Board of Regents; State Building Commission; Research Park; State politics.

Interview Session (September 7, 2005):

00:00:45	Ody Fish talks about Fred H. Harrington as president of the University of Wisconsin.

00:03:24	OF joined the Board of Regents before the UW System Merger.  He was appointed to the Board by Governor Warren P. Knowles in 1970.

00:05:35	He served on the negotiating team for the Merger.

00:07:29	OF discusses the selection process for regents.  He also describes some of the personalities on the Board.

00:13:23	He talks about changes in the relations between the state legislature and the university. OF thinks that in earlier days there was greater fondness for the university by legislatures throughout the state.

00:20:50	Campus unrest was an issue that confronted the Board of Regents when OF was first appointed.  He sided with the students and supported Harrington’s decision to keep the university open.

00:24:20	He discusses the proposed expansion of the University Hospital.

00:28:21	OF talks about the merger of the state and UW boards of regents.

00:29:00	He then talks about John Weaver as president of UW.

00:32:09	As his first term as a regent expired, Governor Lee Dreyfus asked OF to be the citizen member of the Wisconsin State Building Commission.  After this committee service he was re-appointed to the Board of Regents.

00:35:13	The biggest challenge facing the State Building Commission was budgeting for the maintenance of new buildings.  Although Madison received the majority of new buildings, other UW campuses never seemed to protest.  He was more concerned with what would eventually happen when enrollment stabilized but old buildings needed to be replaced.

00:42:40	OF opposed the establishment of a veterinary school on the Madison campus.  He talks about the negotiations in the Board of Regents.

00:54:39	He evaluates the importance of the Research Park.

00:58:49	Ody Fish talks about growing up in Sauk Centre, Minnesota. 

01:00:47	He talks about working for a newspaper.

01:02:42	OF later worked for a company in Hartland, Wisconsin.  He thinks his involvement in a manufacturers’ association contributed to social skills necessary for his political career.

01:05:24	He reflects on his career.

01:10:16	He declined three offers from Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford to chair the Republican National Committee.  

01:11:38	OF talks about the highlights of his work with the University of Wisconsin, including an honorary degree.

01:12:57	He relates several stories to illustrate how standards in public service have declined.

01:30:38	He describes his activity in the Wisconsin Academy.

01:39:25	OF reflects upon his public service career.

01:44:18	End of interview.

END