UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON ARCHIVES
ORAL HISTORY PROJECT

Interview #533
KELBER, SHIRA

KELBER, Shira (1979- )
Undergraduate Student
At UW: 1997-2001

Interviewed: July 7th, 1999	
Series: Chadbourne Residential College
Interviewer: Barry Teicher
Length: 2 hours, 40 minutes

Background and education; Decision to attend UW; Chadbourne Residential College (CRC); William Cronon; House Fellows; CRC government and mission groups; Faculty-Staff mission group activities; Faculty Fellows; Other mission groups; Academics in CRC; Career goals and plans; CRC’s successes and challenges; Perceptions of CRC in other residence halls;  Final thoughts on CRC.
	
Interview Session (July 7, 1999): Tapes 1-3

Tape 1/Side 1

00:00:28	SK was born and grew up in St. Louis Park, a suburb of Minneapolis, Minnesota.  She enjoyed high school, especially the advanced placement courses.  SK discusses the high school teachers who influenced and encouraged her.  Her family placed an enormous emphasis on education and SK always knew she wanted to attend college.

00:06:16	SK explains why she chose to attend UW.

00:11:07	She reports her first experience with Chadbourne Residential College (CRC). SK immediately became interested in the program.  She describes the UW orientation she attended and notes that a separate CRC orientation did not exist when she began the program.

00:18:00	SK gives her impressions of William Cronon and describes his role in CRC.  She outlines the connections between CRC and Barnard Hall.  SK also discusses other staff members including Scott Seyforth, Jennifer Gilbride-Brown and Mercedes Ramirez-Fernandez.

00:26:29	SK explains the duties of the House Fellows.  The government structure of CRC has changed a great deal since her arrival with the exception of the Forum.  During her first year, there was an executive board composed of nine members.  The steering committee appointed four and the residents elected five.  In the first elections the residents chose five white males.  This led to changes in the governmental structure.

00:31:04	End of side.

Tape 1/Side 2

00:31:11	SK speculates on the reasons for the election results.  As a response, the students voted to create CRC Mission Groups.  She describes the four Groups: Faculty-Staff Involvement, Diversity, Community Service and Community Outreach.  SK chaired the Faculty-Staff Involvement group for two years.  She describes the interaction of the support staff and the mission groups.

00:39:11	At the end of SK’s first year in CRC, some students wanted to reevaluate the government.  This examination led to the formation of the Governance Committee.  SK describes the functioning of the Committee and her involvement on it.  She outlines some of the changes made in CRC government as a result of the reassessment.

00:43:30	SK reports on her work as chair of the Faculty-Staff Involvement Mission Group.  In the second year, Rich Keeling replaced Cronon as unofficial faculty advisor of the Group.  The Community Outreach Mission Group was eliminated after the second year.  SK describes the Coffee House Mission Group, created in the second semester of CRC’s first year.

00:46:03	Following the Governance Committee meetings at the end of SK’s second year, a more drastic overhaul of CRC government took place.  CRC scrapped the Executive Board and created an Academic Mission Group.  SK had mixed feelings about the changes but she predicts that CRC will continue to function smoothly.

00:54:43	SK explains why she stayed in CRC for a second year.  She describes her attempts to create a CRC alumni association.

00:59:03	SK talks about the organization and activities of individual floors in Chadbourne Hall.  She explains the duties of the House Fellow.

01:02:14	End of side. End of tape.

Tape 2/Side 1

01:02:19	SK continues to discuss the duties of House Fellows.  She describes some unique aspects of the Chadbourne cafeteria and coffee house.

01:07:08	SK describes the purpose of the Faculty-Staff Involvement Mission Group.  She outlines some of the events planned by the Group, including a lecture series, faculty-staff dinners, informal lectures and theme weeks.  One of the most successful theme weeks, ‘CRC-the world’, revolved around international travel.  SK describes the events of the international travel week.

01:32:20	SK estimates the amount of time she spent each week in organizing group activities.

01:33:31	End of side.

Tape 2/Side 2

01:33:38	SK continues to outline her duties as chair of the Faculty-Staff Involvement Mission Group.  She talks about individual resident involvement in the Group.  CRC has made an arrangement with the University allowing guest lecturers to stay in the Barnard guest apartment free in exchange for participating in a CRC program.

01:40:43	SK talks about the evolution of the Faculty-Staff Involvement Mission Group during her two years as chair.  She describes some of the other students who worked with the Group.

01:42:29	SK describes the problem of horizontal (individual floors) versus vertical (the entire building) communities.  She also talks about the problem of creating long-term relationships between faculty and students.  SK developed the idea of Faculty Fellows.  She describes some of the activities involving Faculty Fellows and students.  She speculates on the future of the Faculty-Staff Mission Group.

01:51:38	SK gives her impressions of the Coffee House Mission Group and provides some background on interest groups.

01:53:43	She discusses the Community Service and Diversity mission groups and speculates on diversity in CRC.

01:58:25	SK outlines the functions and activities of the Community Outreach Mission Group.  The Group worked closely with the University Residence Hall Board.  It eventually disbanded because its purpose was ill defined.

02:01:23	End of side. End of tape.

Tape 3/ Side 1

02:01:42	SK analyzes the role academics plays in CRC.  Some UW courses hold discussion sections for CRC students in the residence hall.  Infrequently, a professor might offer an entire course just for CRC residents.  SK describes her experiences in courses that had CRC components.

02:12:12	SK outlines the role of CRC academic advisor Mercedes Ramirez-Fernandez.

02:13:34	She talks about some of her favorite courses during her first two years at UW.  She recently changed her major from Advertising-Journalism to History and Hebrew.  Her career plans might include public history, museum work or law school.

02:22:40	SK declares that the main success of CRC is in creating a community.  The connections between students and faculty-staff are also important.   She addresses some of the challenges faced by CRC.

02:29:32	She talks about the perception of CRC among other residence halls.  CRC has become increasingly popular on campus and with incoming students.

02:34:48	SK discusses some of the challenges facing CRC.

02:36:48	She concludes with some final thoughts about her experiences in CRC.   

02:39:43	End of side. End of tape.	

END