UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON ARCHIVES
ORAL HISTORY PROJECT

Interview #791
KELLER, NANCY

Keller, Nancy (1955- )
Professor, Departments of Plant Pathology and Food Microbiology and Toxicology, University of Wisconsin-Madison
At UW: 2001-

Interviewed: 2006	
Interviewer: Sandra Pfahler
Length: 1.5 hours

Abstract: Early life and primary school education in Pennsylvania; Double major in art and biology at William and Mary; Transfer to Penn State as biology major; Travel and experience in Africa with Peace Corps; Graduate education in Plant Pathology at Cornell University; postdoc at USDA lab in New Orleans; Research as assistant professor at Texas A&M; Tenure process; Recruitment by University of Wisconsin Department of Plant Pathology;  Reputation of research programs in science; Teaching and mentoring graduate students; Obtaining funding for research; Work on faculty committees and professional organizations; Climate for women on UW campus; Motherhood and personal life.

Interview Session (July 13, 2006): Tape 1

Tape 1/Side 1

00:00:46	NK was born in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania and grew up in State College, the site of Penn State.  She was aware of university life and higher education.  Her grandfather J. Orvis Keller, was a professor there and has a building named for him on campus.  He was an engineer and painted as a hobby.  She has two older brothers.  Her father sold car insurance and her mother was a housekeeper.

00:03:30	She talks about public school.  She has no strong recollection of any teachers who were strong influence.  She enjoyed math, science and art in high school and did well, but was not an over-achiever.  Math was her best subject, but she was not sure how she might use it.  She did not initially want to teach.

00:06:06	She was a double major in biology and art when she began college.  She discusses taking SAT and a back operation she underwent during senior year.  Her medical condition prevented her from thinking a lot about university.  Her father did most of the applications.  She was accepted at several universities but chose William and Mary.

00:08:11	NK talks about her transfer from William and Mary to Penn State after her first year.  She discusses the kind of students who attended Penn State while she was there.  She decided to focus on science and dropped art major, though she still misses the opportunity for creative work.

00:10:36	She discusses her education and the quality of her professors at Penn State.  She enjoyed her non-science courses a great deal.  She talks about part time jobs she held during school.

00:13:38	NK talks about a trip to Australia and her experience in the Peace Corps after graduating from Penn State.  She spent over three years (1979-82) in Peace Corps teaching math and science in Lesotho in southern Africa.  She gives an overview of the history and politics of Lesotho.

00:17:16	NK talks about the Catholic nuns that she worked with in Africa.

00:18:36	She discusses apartheid system in South Africa and its effect on race and politics in Lesotho.

00:19:53	NK explains her decision to go to graduate school in Plant Pathology.  Her experience in Africa made her want to work to improve world’s food supply.  She began graduate school at Cornell in 1982.

00:21:27	She talks about taking the GRE test in Africa.

00:23:09	NK recounts some of her experiences in graduate school at Cornell.  Her master’s degree advisor was Gary Bergstrom and she was his first graduate student.

00:25:03	She discusses advances in molecular biology in the 1970s and 80s that changed the study of plant pathology.  She talks about her love for fungi.  Her Ph.D. advisor was Olin Yoder.  She talks about her research on DNA in fungi.

00:27:54	She talks about her interest in continued research and uncertainty about wanting to teach.

00:29:26	NK talks about Paul Nelson of Penn State and his work on mycotoxins in fungi.  His work inspired her to do research in mycotoxins.

00:31:14	End of Side.

Tape 1/Side 2

 00:31:18	NK outlines some of the factors that informed her decision to take a two year postdoc position at USDA lab in New Orleans.  She worked on a mycotoxin that causes liver cancer.

00:33:38	She applied for and was offered an assistant professor job at Texas A&M University after a year of postdoc.  She stayed at postdoc for another year to complete research and then moved to Texas A&M in 1990 or 1991.  She discusses some of her colleagues at Texas A&M and the research that faculty did in molecular biology.

00:36:49	She talks about getting funding for her research at Texas A&M.  She talks about collaboration with scientists in Africa.

00:39:22	NK discusses the tenure process at Texas A&M.

00:40:10 	She was recruited by UW and they offered her a job twice.  She says that personal reasons affected her decision to move to UW and does not want to talk about the details.  She misses her former colleagues in Texas.

00:41:05	She talks about reputations of universities across nation and how different programs get to be considered superior to others.  She believes southern schools do not get fair consideration.

00:43:01	NK discusses the difficulty of moving to UW and re-establishing her lab.  She was a new mother at the time, which made it harder.

00:44:57	She talks about collaborating with other scientists on campus and at other schools.  She explains the value of collaboration for research.

00:47:18	NK discusses the two primary courses that she teaches at UW.  She teaches both undergrads and grad students.  She does get tired of teaching the same courses year after year, but draws energy from the students who get excited by topic.  She considers herself an average teacher.  Some students like her a lot and others do not like her teaching style.  

00:49:41	She talks about her graduate students and the enjoyment she gets from them.  She hopes to teach them the “realities” of academic life.  She talks about her relationship with her advisor in grad school.

00:53:00	NK talks about teaching graduate students how to write.  Some of them are non-native English speakers.  She believes some people are innately skilled at writing.

00:55:10	She discusses her own love of writing.  She enjoys the creative process.

00:56:03	NK talks about the current funding atmosphere.  She says that it is much harder to get funding today than in 1980s and 1990s.  In some instances as few at 7% of grants are funded.

00:57:52	She talks about her work on faculty committees, especially inside the department.  She is chair of the department curriculum committee.  She is not involved in campus governance.  She is more interested in research than administration as a general rule.

01:01:01	She begins to discuss her involvement in professional organizations, which she feels is a very important component of her work.  She enjoys working for national organizations.  She declines many opportunities to travel because she is a single mother.

01:02:35	End of Side.  End of Tape.

Tape 2/Side 1

01:02:36	NK talks about the climate for women on the UW campus.  She feels it is pretty good, although there are obstacles to climbing the career ladder.  There are many women on campus working to improve conditions and this has positive effect.  She has never personally focused on sexism in her career.  She feels the quality of her work eventually demonstrates her capabilities.  She spends a lot of time with female students helping them be assertive.

01:06:11	She returns to the topic of mentoring graduate students in career planning.  She has not been skilled in negotiating and wants to help her students get the funding and support they need.

01:07:52	She discusses some of the honors and awards she has received.  

01:11:56	NK talks about balancing work and family.  Her daughter is 6 years old.  Being a mother has forced her to spend less time at work.  Motherhood has not lessened her enthusiasm for her work.  

01:14:13	She talks about love of the outdoors.  She works out at the gym to keep in shape and to reduce stress.  Exercise is a “mental release” for her.  She also swims and rides a bike.

01:16:17	NK discusses her love of traveling and experiencing different cultures.  She talks about some of her trips.  

01:18:54	She talks about visiting her parents in Pennsylvania.  She expresses interest in joining Peace Corps again later in life.

01:19:34	End of side.  End of tape.  End of interview.

END