This project provides the voices of fifty five former Executive Directors of State and territorial arts councils during the formative decade of these organizations—the period between 1965 and 1975.

The telephone interviews were conducted by Susan Neumann—Martiensen, former Deputy Director of the Ohio Arts Council and Maryo Ewell, formerly of the Colorado Council.

The complete interview data collected in this project has been used to explore the challenges, tactics, political, and artistic circumstances this first generation of SAAs leaders faced in the formative years, 1965—1975.

Co—directors of the SAA Oral History Project were Wayne P. Lawson, Ph.D., Director Emeritus of the Ohio Arts Council and Former Director of the Ohio Arts Council (1978—2006) and Margaret Wyszomirski, Ph.D., Director of the Graduate Program in Arts Policy & Administration at The Ohio State University.

Graduate students in the APA Program at OSU were extremely helpful in organizing and analyzing the interview data, particularly, InSul Kim, Corrinn Conard, Jung Eun Song, Minha Lee, and Curt Vance. Woong Jo Chang also helped formulating these webpages.

The transcripts of these interviews are available as a resource for researchers and other interested parties. Please click on "Interviews" tab above to see the transcripts.

The transcripts of these interviews are available as a resource for researchers and other interested parties. Please click on "Interviews" tab above to see the transcripts.

We have also prepared a bibliography of relevant documents, reports, and other information about the history of individual arts agencies from materials that were collected in the process of conducting the interviews. Please click on "Bibliography" tab above to see the bibliography.

Papers in this series provide a detailed exploration of the following topics: (click to see full text)

1. Overview :Challenges and Context- Margaret Wyszomirski
2. The Temper of the Times- Minha Lee
3. Building Organizational Capacity- Curt Vance
4. The Creation of an Arts Constituency- Corrinn Conrad
5. Relations within the Intergovernmental Systems of Public Arts Agencies- Jung Eun Song

Bibliography of the SAA ED Project Interviewees

1. Andres, Bill. (Boston, MA). Executive Director of Oklahoma, 1973-75.
................A telephone interview by Ewell, M. (2005, July 12)

2. Andrews, James. (The Villages, FL). Executive Director of West Virginia, 1976-88.
................A telephone interview by Neumann, S. (2005, February 28)

3. Bensinger, Joanne. Executive Director of IDAHO, 1966-70.
................A telephone interview by Ewell, M. (2005, July 5).

4. Braver, A. James. (Youngsville, NC) Executive Director of New Hampshire from 1970-71/ Alaska from 71-72.
................ A telephone interview by Ewell, M. (2005, July 8).

5. Brustad, Wesley O. (New Brunswick, NJ) Executive Director of South Carolina, 1971-74.
................ A telephone interview by Neumann, S. (2005, February 7).

6. Burgard, Ralph. Executive Director of American Council for the Arts, 1966-1967.
................A telephone interview by Ewell, M. (2005, May 10).

7. Carver, Charlotte. (Sioux Falls, SD). Executive Director of South Dakota, 1967-88.
................A telephone interview by Ewell, M. (2005, April 22).

8. Coats, Maurice. (Austin, TX). Executive Director of KANSAS, 1968-72/ TEXAS 1972 – 79.
................A telephone interview by Ewell, M. (2005, July 14).

9. Coe, John G. (Cheyenne, WY). Executive Director of New Hampshire, 1971-82/ Wyoming 1992- 2003.
................A telephone interview by Neumann, S. (2005, February 11).

10. Collins, Richard D. (Langley, WA). Executive Director of Maine, 1966-74.
................A telephone interview by Neumann, S. (2005, January 21).

11. Consagra, Sophie Chandler. (New York, NY). Executive Director of Delaware, 1972-1977.
................Transcribed from interview submitted in writing by Neumann, S. (2005, May 27).

12. Cox, Nash. (Frankfort, KY). Executive Director of Kentucky, 1974-85.
................A telephone interview by Neumann, S. (2005, March 1).

13. Draper, Ruth. (Salt Lake City, UT). Executive Director of Utah, 1974-85.
................A telephone interview by Ewell, M. (2005, April 19).

14. Edgy, James. (Cincinnati, OH). Executive Director of Kentucky, 1970-74/ Ohio, 1974-78.
................A personal interview by Neumann, S. (2004, November 15).

15. Fagan, Patrick. (Red House, WV). Executive Director of West Virginia 1966-1970.
................A telephone interview by Neumann, S. (2005, January 19).

16. George, Rick A. (Atlanta, GA). Executive Director of South Carolina 1974-1980.
................A telephone interview by Neumann, S. (2005, March 9).

17. Gilborn, Craig. (Mt. Tabor, VT). Executive Director of Delaware 1969-1972.
................A telephone interview by Neumann, S. (2005, May 26).

18. Groenhout, Ed. (Flagstaff, AZ). Executive Director of Montana Arts Council, 1969- 71.
................ A telephone interview by Ewell, M. (2005, April 6).

19. Helms, Roy. (Honolulu, HI). Executive Director of Alaska, 1972-77.
................A telephone interview by Ewell, M. (2004, December 30).

20. Hero, Peter. (San Jose, CA). Executive Director of Oregon, 1975-86.
................A telephone interview by Ewell, M. (2005, April 14).

21. Hightower, John B. (Newport News, VA). Executive Director of New York, 1963-70.
................A telephone interview by Neumann, S. (2005, February 15).

22. Hull, William. (Portland, ME). Executive Director of Kentucky, 1966-71.
................A telephone interview by Neumann, S. (2005, January 12).

23. Jamison, Bill. (Santa Fe, NM). Executive Director of Oklahoma, 1975-77.
................A telephone interview by Ewell, M. (2004, December 28).

24. Jowers, John. (St. Thomas, VI). Executive Director of Virgin Islands, 1985-2002/ Associate director, 1969-85.
................A telephone interview by Neumann, S. (2005, June 27).

25. Katz, Jonathan. (Washington, DC). Executive Director of KANSAS, 1973-76.
................A telephone interview by Ewell, M. (2005, April 15 & July 8).

26. Keller, Anthony S. (Randolph, VT). Executive Director of Connecticut, 1966–1981.
................Transcribed from interview submitted in writing by Neumann, S. (2005, July 14).

27. Lopez, Bernie. (Tesuque, NM). Executive Director of New Mexico, 1975-85.
................A telephone interview by Ewell, M. (2005, April 21).

28. Marston, Edgar. (Chapel Hill, NC). Executive Director of North Carolina, 1968-73.
................A telephone interview by Neumann, S. (2005, January 12).

29. McCulloch Lovell, Ellen. (Marlboro, VT). Executive Director of Vermont, 1975-83.
................A telephone interview by Neumann, S. (2005, March 15).

30. Melton, Terry. (Salem, OR). Executive Director of Oregon, 1970-75.
................A telephone interview by Ewell, M. (2005, April 14).

31. Mintz, Donald. (Ringwood, NJ). Executive Director of Maryland, 1969-72.
................A telephone interview by Neumann, S. (2005, May 9).

32. Mitze, Clark. (Sacramento, CA). Executive Director of Missouri, 1965-68, California, 1976-78, Illinois 1978-81.
................A telephone interview by Ewell, M. (2004, December 27).

33. Myhr, Dean. (Oro Valley, AZ). Executive Director of Minnesota, 1965-74.
................A telephone interview by Ewell, M. (2005, May 16).

34. Moon, Bob. (San Francisco, CA). Executive Director of Kansas 1971-73.
................A telephone interview by Ewell, M. (2005, May 8).

35. Nelson, David. (Missoula, MT). Executive Director of Montana, 1970-90.
................A telephone interview by Ewell, M. (2004, December 28).

36. North, Halsey M. (New York, NY). Executive Director of North Carolina 1973-1976.
................A telephone interview by Neumann, S. (2005, May 28).

37. Olds, Jack. (Livonia, MI). Executive Director of Iowa, 1967-79.
................A telephone interview by Ewell, M. (2005, April 5).

38. Pas, Leonard. (Eminence, IN). Executive Director of ILLINOIS, 1965-74.
................A telephone interview by Ewell, M. (2005, May 10).

39. Poteet, Frances. (Albuquerque, NM). Executive Director of Missouri, 1968-73.
................A telephone interview by Ewell, M. (2005, April 21).

40. Rouby, Jerrold. (Fort Myers, FL). Executive Director of Wisconsin, 1974-81.
................A telephone interview by Ewell, M. (2005, April 25).

41. Scott, Glenn. (Fargo, ND). Executive Director of North Dakota, 1974-80.
................A telephone interview by Ewell, M. (2005, April 18).

42. Scott, E. Ray. (Detroit, MI). Executive Director of Michigan, 1966-85.
................A personal interview with Neumann, S. (2004, November 6).

43. Sennema, David. (No information). Executive Director of South Carolina, 1967- 71.
................A telephone interview by Neumann, S. (2005, January 27).

44. Sheets, Robert. (Denver, CO). Executive Director of Colorado, 1967-80.
................A telephone interview by Ewell, M. (2004, December 30).

45. Streibig, Donald R. (Columbus, OH). Executive Director of Ohio, 1967-1972.
................A personal interview by Neumann, S. (2004, October 29).

46. Urice, John K. (Bloomington, IL). Executive Director of Florida, 1976-78.
................A telephone interview by Neumann, S. (2005, February 16).

47. Vermel, Ann. (Fresno, CA). Executive Director of Rhode Island, 1971-76.
................A telephone interview by Neumann, S. (2005, March 8).

48. Warlum, Michael. (Madison, WI). Executive Director of Indiana, 1969-72.
................A personal interview by Ewell, M. (2004, October 16).

49. Williams, Arthur. (Waitsfield, VT). Executive Director of Vermont, 1967-69; 1974-75; 1985-86 .
................A telephone interview by Neumann. S. (2005, January 29).

50. Wilson, Alden C. (Augusta, ME). Executive Director of Maine, 1974-2005.
................A telephone interview by Neumann, S. (2005, February 3).

51. Worrell, Norman. (Nashville, TN). Executive Director of Tennessee, 1966-76.
................A telephone interview by Neumann, S. (2005, February 4).

52. Wry, Brann. (Trenton, NJ). Executive Director of New Jersey 1973-1976.
................A telephone interview by Neumann, S. (2004, Dec.7).

To be updated soon.