UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON ARCHIVES
ORAL HISTORY PROJECT

Interview #748
CANTOR, JOANNE

CANTOR, Joanne (1945- )
Professor Emeritus, Department of Communication Arts; Associate Dean for the Social Sciences
At UW: 1974-2000

Interviewed: 2006	
Interviewer: Judith Craig
Length: 3.5 hours

Education; Twentieth Century Fox; Graduate study; UW department of communication arts; Teaching; Sexism; Committee service; Associate Dean for the Social Sciences; Deans; Research on violence and fear in the media; Publications; Terrorism; Honors and awards.

First Interview Session (February 23, 2006): Tapes 1-2

Tape 1/Side 1

00:00:30	Joanne Cantor was born in Newport News, Virginia, in 1945.  Her family moved to Washington, D.C. when she was three years old.

00:01:55	Parents’ educational background.

00:02:55	She describes her undergraduate education at Cornell University.

00:04:25	JC always felt that she wanted to be a teacher.  She majored in French but prior to graduation she realized she might not want to teach.

00:06:28	She applied for a Fulbright to teach English in France.

00:06:54	During the summers she worked in the office of the Federal Communications Commission in Washington, D.C.

00:09:40	She took a job at the Chase Manhattan Bank in Paris before working for Twentieth Century Fox in France.

00:13:54	Her undergraduate education in French had focused on French literature.

00:14:45	JC heard about the study of communications after reading an article on Marshall McLuhan.  While still in Paris she decided to apply for graduate study in communications.

00:16:13	She attended the University of Pennsylvania for graduate studies but did not know in what subject.  Work as a research assistant for a statistics professor.  She received a master’s degree.

00:18:35	She followed her advisor to Indiana University, where she received a fellowship to pursue a PhD in communications.  Her parents worried about her career choice and that she might educate herself “beyond marriage.”  She received her PhD in 1974.

00:22:58	Unpleasant job interview at Michigan State.

00:25:38	She heard about an opening in the department of communication arts at the University of Wisconsin.  JC describes her interview at UW.

00:28:23	She was offered the job and started teaching at UW in 1974.  Her courses included research methods and “Radio, TV, Film and Society.”

00:33:28	Joanne Cantor continues to describe her teaching at the University of Wisconsin.  She had no proper pedagogical training.

00:36:40	Progress toward tenure depended on publication of research.

00:38:09	Social life of the communication arts department.  She witnessed sexism exhibited toward other female faculty but not toward her herself.

00:40:54	Reputation of the department.  She describes the development of the department.

00:44:50	She never received advice on tenure, although she admits that when she came to UW she didn’t necessarily intend to achieve tenure.  The department put her up for tenure after four years.

00:50:40	Departmental balance of power among areas of rhetoric, film, and telecommunications.

00:53:38	TA strike.  She worked on the TA Policies and Procedures committee.

00:54:57	Encounters with sexism.

00:57:44	Committee service.

01:00:34	Graduate School Research committee.

Tape 2/Side 1

01:03:12	Joanne Cantor describes help she received from the communication arts department while she was confined to bed rest.  She also discusses her colleagues’ experiences of receiving or not receiving support during pregnancies.

01:07:07	Throughout her career JC did not, she thinks, encounter as severe sexism as did many other women of her generation.

01:10:00	She became chair of the communication arts department.

01:11:40	JC discusses her working relationship with Sarge Bush and David Cronon.

01:14:12	Crawford Young offered her the position of Associate Dean for the Social Sciences.

01:17:51	She describes her associate deanship.  She most enjoyed interviewing prospective faculty, especially those candidates for the smaller and newer departments in ethnic studies, for example.

01:25:48	She dealt prominently with the “entitled” departments of economics and sociology.

01:31:25	Work with the anthropology department.

Second Interview Session (February 27, 2006): Tapes 2-4

Tape 2/Side 2

01:34:39	Joanne Cantor continues to discuss her associate deanship.  She discusses hiring procedures with specific reference to the psychology department.  Spousal hires.

01:47:34	She enjoyed interactions with other associate deans, staff meetings, and getting the broad perspective on the university that came with her work as an associate dean.  The major difficulty of this position was not having enough time to conduct research and attend to her teaching responsibilities.

01:51:08	JC thinks the associate deans needed more training for their administrative duties, although there were also benefits to having faculty members (as opposed to outside managers) serving as deans.

01:54:23	She describes deans of the College of Letters & Science under whom she served.  Don Crawford was an “academic” dean.

01:59:11	Crawford Young’s administrative style.  Strategic Plan.  She talks about the development of a South Hall “family.”

02:03:39	Meeting Phil Certain.

02:06:04	End of side.  End of tape.

Tape 3/Side 1

02:06:11	Joanne Cantor talks about her limited interaction with Chancellor Donna Shalala.

02:08:40	She discusses various aspects of her associate deanship.

02:15:39	She and Judith Craig discuss the budget.

02:18:10	JC describes the deanship of Philip Certain.  He was interested in revising the undergraduate curriculum.  

02:19:27	She describes the impact of Chancellor Shalala on the university.

02:24:23	During her career there has been greater emphasis placed on the teaching and service roles of faculty.

02:29:35	Research on persuasion.

02:33:16	She applied her research to political campaigns for Jimmy Carter and Mayor Paul Soglin.

02:34:04	JC proposed to do research on media and fear among children.  The National Institute for Mental Health funded this project.

Tape 3/Side 2

02:37:36	Joanne Cantor continues to discuss her research on the media and fear.

02:39:00	National Television Violence Study and the development of a ratings system for programs. 

02:42:24	JC testified before Congress about the ratings system.

02:45:35	Talks to parents’ groups.

02:45:55	She published Mommy I’m Scared in 1998. 

02:56:20	Center for Successful Parenting.

02:55:10	Decision to retire from the university.  She describes her research and writing activities since retirement.  She serves as director of the Center for Communications Research.

03:03:40	She wrote a children’s book for children who had been frightened by terrorism.

Tape 4/Side 1

03:09:10	Joanne Cantor continues to discuss her book, Teddy’s TV Troubles.  She developed a website that addresses the effects of media violence.

03:13:24	She talks about financing her research since her retirement.

03:15:54	JC recounts her experience in New York City during the terrorist attacks in September 2001.

03:29:39	She offers some concluding remarks on her career at the University of Wisconsin.

03:31:27	She describes some honors and awards she has received.

03:34:47	End of side.  End of tape.  End of interview.

END