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Oral Histories (OH)

Administration 9 videos

Mary Anne Bamrick
Dean of the Verde Campus

Mary Anne tells many, many stories of her career as a founding Business instructor, Verde Campus Dean, and Interim College President. As Dean of the Verde Campus she remembers unique experiences, such as responding to alarms in the night and diverting flood water from a temporary building. She also describes providing services to the Verde Valley and sometimes all of Coconino County, and developing the Campus from the original four buildings and small staff.

1 hr 6 min  video

Roy Campbell
District Governing Board

Roy tells of his experience on the original steering committee to form the College and the challenges the committee met and overcame. He reminisces about life in Prescott in years past and his work on the College's Governing Board for 10 years.

18 min  video

Michael Dougherty
Dean of Student Services

Michael shares the evolution of Financial Aid at the College from a one-person operation to a Department and his own experience of being the only financial aid counselor to being the Dean of Student Services. Michael also speaks of the commitment to excellence within the College and his most rewarding experiences seeing students graduate.

20 min  video

Paula Fuhst
Assistant Dean of Student Services

Paula Fuhst started at the College in 1981 as the Director of Housing and held numerous positions in Student Services culminating in being the Assistant Dean of Student Services. She reminisces on her many experiences and joys helping students, physical changes on the Prescott Campus and the College's commitment to student success.

38 min  video

Herald Harrington
District Governing Board

Herald Harrington has generously given of his time the last twelve years to serve as a member of the District Governing Board. He candidly describes the work that the Board does and gives a "behind-the-scenes" look at what is involved in being a Board member. He also shares his passion for community colleges, his vision for the future, and his pride in the people within the institution and the work they do.

55 min  video

David Hochstettler
Dean of Instruction

David candidly relates how he came as an English instructor in 1972 and transitioned to Dean of Instruction and then back to the classroom as a Humanities instructor. He also recounts the enormous work that was done while he was Dean to make courses transferable among all the higher education institutions in the state.

56 min  video

Tom Schumacher
Verde Valley Campus Dean

Tom holds a unique position of being a long-time (since 1977) Art Instructor at the Verde Valley Campus who has transitioned to being the Verde Valley Campus Dean. He tells of the history of the Campus and his own personal experiences there and how and where classes were held all over the Verde Valley to meet the need.

41 min  video

Bonny Stauffer
Dean of Visual and Performing Arts

Bonny Stauffer has seen the College from many different perspectives since 1975. She tells of being a student here, student assistant, instructor, and now Dean of Visual and Performing Arts. She expresses her belief that the College has grown on the outside but still has the core desire to help students.

25 min  video

Barbara Wing
Prescott Campus Dean

Barbara Wing has seen the College from two different perspectives - working at the University of Arizona in Articulation with Community Colleges and in her long career here starting as a Curriculum Specialist and working her way up to Dean of Instruction and now Prescott Campus Dean. She speaks of the many changes she has seen and her pride in our talented faculty.

44 min  video

Alumni 9 videos

Ken Bennett

Ken talks of his childhood interaction with the College and his experiences of being a student at the College during 1977-1978. He reminisces about the virtues of the small class sizes and the ability to get to know faculty and administrators. He also compares his learning experience at Yavapai College with his experience at Arizona State University.

57 min  video

Kent Hellman

Kent Hellman has had a longtime association with the College starting as a student in 1977 after being in the military. He describes how he started working on the Prescott Campus part-time in 1995 and then became full-time in 1996. He was in the second class of the Northern Arizona Regional Training Academy (NARTA). He transferred to the Verde Valley Campus in 1999/2000 and speaks of being a Police Officer there and the spirit of cooperation there among the staff, faculty, and administrators.

43 min  video

Sara Holter

Sara, a long-time staff member of the Learning Center on the Prescott Campus, tells of her experiences as a returning adult student and her transition to working in the Learning Center.

27 min  video

Deb McCasland

Deb McCasland started as a student at the College in Spring, 1970; she was involved in Student Government which bought the first bus used for athletics. She tells of transferring to NAU and then returning as a staff member in Campus Activities where she became involved in Performing Arts activities. She remembers planning for many concerts, shows, and lectures at a variety of locations around the area as there was no facility on campus. When the Performance Hall was built she was able to bring in big shows and she tells of the process she uses to hire the entertainers. She also reminisces on the many performers.

50 min  video

Brad Newman

Brad Newman was in the founding class of students and has been continuously enrolled here since 1976. He tells in his own humorous fashion stories about particular founding faculty and administrators and his own personal hijinks. He feels the quality of the founding faculty was outstanding.

22 min  video

Jennifer Pike

Jennifer Pike reveals what it was like to be a returning adult student while working full-time. She describes how she was only able to take two classes per semester and would often stay up long into the night studying. She was able to transfer to N.A.U. to get her teaching certificate and tells of the work she has done teaching Special Education students in the Prescott area.

55 min  video

Tania Sheldahl

Tania started at the College as a student athlete playing on the Women’s Basketball Team in 1982. She recounts some funny stories of being on the team and going to Nationals and the support the community gave to all the teams. She also candidly describes the solid foundation that Yavapai College gave her and her belief that the school continues to do the same with students.

16 min  video

Bonny Stauffer

Bonny Stauffer has seen the College from many different perspectives since 1975. She tells of being a student here, student assistant, instructor, and now Dean of Visual and Performing Arts. She expresses her belief that the College has grown on the outside but still has the core desire to help students.

25 min  video

Harold Tenney

Harold Tenney held a unique position here not only as a student in the beginning years but also as a relative to several individuals who were movers and shakers in the development of the College. His aunt, Opal Allen got the referendum on the ballot for the establishment of the College and his father, Boyd Tenney was on the Appropriations Committee which approved funding for the College. He reminisces about his experiences here when it was a small school.

26 min  video

Community Members 3 videos

Martha Campbell
Steering Committee

Martha was one of the members of the original steering committee which worked to found the college. She tells of her experiences traveling around Yavapai County in 1966 to generate support for the formation of the school and the efforts of the committee and interested individuals to meet all the requirements for the formation of a Junior College District in Arizona. She relates that her experience on this committee led to her going back to school to be a teacher.

51 min  video

Roy Campbell
District Governing Board

Roy tells of his experience on the original steering committee to form the College and the challenges the committee met and overcame. He reminisces about life in Prescott in years past and his work on the College’s Governing Board for 10 years.

18 min  video

Jean Phillips
YC Foundation

Jean Phillips describes the work that was done at the very beginning of the College to get it established. She has been with the YC Foundation since its inception and she recounts many of its projects, such as raising money for scholarships, fundraising for the Family Enrichment Center and to enhance the Performance Hall. Her area of responsibility with the Foundation is scholarships and she tells of how scholarships started soon after the opening of the College and how they have grown over the years.

52 min  video

Faculty 37 videos

Serge Ainsa
Foreign Languages

Serge Ainsa talks of his long career at the College starting in 1974 and the efforts he took to promote the foreign language classes over the years—Around the World in 60 minutes simulation trips, Arabian Nights celebrations with food provided by the Arab students. He also discusses his coming to America when he was 18 and the many changes, challenges, and rewards he experienced here.

1hr 22 min  video

Mary Anne Bamrick
Business

Mary Anne tells many, many stories of her career as a founding Business instructor, Verde Campus Dean, and Interim College President. As Dean of the Verde Campus she remembers unique experiences, such as responding to alarms in the night and diverting flood water from a temporary building. She also describes providing services to the Verde Valley and sometimes all of Coconino County, and developing the Campus from the original four buildings and small staff.

1 hr 6 min  video

Dieter Bartels
Anthropology

Dieter recounts how he came to the United States and Yavapai College Verde Valley Campus from Germany and how he became a cultural anthropologist. He also talks of his teaching philosophy and how he challenges his students to think and grow.

1hr 3 min  video

Beth Boyd
Geology

Beth Boyd started here in 1983 with the intention of only teaching a short while and then moving on to a different location and type of position. She speaks of challenging experiences in the classroom, changes, the reward of positively impacting students, and College policies which seem to grow in size and complexity.

22 min  video

Ed Branson
Art

Ed Branson remembers the vitality and enthusiasm of faculty and students in the beginning years of the College as he was developing the Art Program. He had 25 part-time instructors in the 1970’s and was able eventually to hire 5 full-time faculty who stayed for years and brought diversity and breadth to the Program. He tells of the many student arts shows, art trips, workshops with visiting artists and the development of Art Scholarships for the students. He also talks of his passion for art and shows some of his own pottery.

1hr 16 min  video

Jim Burns
Music

Jim was one of the founding faculty at Yavapai College and is now an Emeritus Faculty. He relates his experiences as being the only music faculty the first 3 years of the school’s existence and the support he received from administrators and the community. He tells of the College buildings not being ready when the school opened and how classrooms were scattered all over Prescott and the work that he did for 14 years directing choirs and musical productions, teaching music lessons and being the bus driver for the musical groups and the sports teams.

48 min  video

Gerry Caton
Accounting

Gerry Caton has been teaching at the College for over 21 years. He talks of starting here part-time, working in Institutional Research for 5 years and his preference for teaching in the classroom over teaching online.

6 min  video

Ginny Chanda
English

Ginny, an Emeritus Faculty member from the Verde Valley Campus in Clarkdale tells of her experience coming to the campus in 1979 when there were only four buildings and four full-time faculty members. She also talks about being Division Dean for three years, the student population and her accomplishment establishing the first computer writing class on the Verde Valley Campus.

55 min  video

Diana Dwan
Math

Diana speaks of the changes she has seen in the facilities, administration, and the students at the Verde Valley Campus. She also relates the changes in education since she began to teach and the rewards of making a difference in a student’s life.

33 min  video

Paul Ewing
Liberal Studies

Paul reminisces about the Verde Valley Campus when he came in 1989 and his experience travelling with the College Honors Students to Greece and Italy. He talks of the Liberal Studies courses at the College and shares his hopefulness for current students and the evolution of technology in their lives and education.

43 min  video

Scott Farnsworth
Health, Physical Education, & Recreation

Scott came to Yavapai College in 1987 as the athletic trainer. He tells of his 17-18 years experience in that position and the many memories he has of the accomplishments of the teams through the years. He also describes the evolution of how the Soccer team members came to have rings and his transition from trainer to instructor.

20 min  video

Elaine Farrar
Art

Elaine describes the camaraderie of faculty working to build programs when she came to YC and the evolution of the Art Department under the capable leadership of Mr. Ed Branson. She recounts the challenges of teaching art at extension sites and the enrichment that Yavapai College has brought to the community.

32 min  video

Will Fisher
Music

Will reminisces on his long career as the choral director at Yavapai College starting in 1984. He candidly describes numerous national and international trips the choirs have taken (some of them hair-raising) which have greatly expanded the experiences of the choir members and he also recounts education and recruitment tours they've taken around the state.

47 min  video

Moses Glidden
English

Moses Glidden tells of what made him decide to settle in Prescott and his many experiences at the College including being the advisor to the school newspaper when his position came under attack, the vote of no-confidence in a former College President, and his sabbatical in the Bay of Fundy. He also touches on his writings, hitchhiking, and passion for working with the homeless.

38 min  video

Barry Golden
Science

Barry recounts how he chose Prescott as a place to live and work and talks of his passion for teaching. He remembers starting at the Verde Valley Campus in 1981 and building the first science lab there. He also tells of his transition to teaching at the Prescott Campus, the receipt and storage of cadavers for the Anatomy and Physiology classes, his most satisfying experience teaching the AIDS classes, and his winemaking and iris growing businesses.

47 min  video

Steve Govedich
Sociology

Steve Govedich speaks of his long career teaching sociology and psychology at the College from 1981 to 2003. He expresses his own personal commitment to high standards for the faculty and administration and tells numerous stories where such ideals were tested. He also recounts the history of the College Honors Program, the advances for handicap accessibility on campus, the demographics of the students, and changes in the College facilities.

2 hr 4 min  video

Carol Hammond
English

Carol Hammond started as a part-time instructor at the College in 1983 and became full-time in 1987. She expresses appreciation for the wonderful mentors she has had at the College and the fact that the College has allowed her to take opportunities to learn and share. She tells that her commitment to teaching and joy of working with students is just as strong now as when she first started. She recounts many of the changes she has seen, how technology has changed students and teaching, and how the College has responded to changes by offering new programs.

39 min  video

John Haynes
English

John Haynes started as a founding faculty member and tells of the stressful first years of the College when the faculty and students came under close scrutiny by the administration. He relates numerous stories of working with students and activities he was involved in to establish a Learning Center, and to develop a diagnostic placement process for students and a reading program. He also recounts his experiences as the Golf Coach.

1 hr 31 min  video

Jim Hinton
Liberal Arts

Jim Hinton was hired in 1974 to teach the Criminal Justice Program. He speaks of the changes in that program over the 15 years he was involved with it and his transition to teaching sociology and political science. He reminisces on challenging times the College has experienced, his initial efforts teaching distance education courses in the 1980’s, and the many positions he has held here.

31 min  video

Dr. David Hochstettler
Humanities

David candidly relates how he came as an English instructor in 1972 and transitioned to Dean of Instruction and then back to the classroom as a Humanities instructor. He also recounts the enormous work that was done while he was Dean to make courses transferable among all the higher education institutions in the state.

56 min  video

Susan Lang
English

Susan, an Emeritus English Faculty taught for 20 years at the college starting in 1983. She reminisces on some of her favorite people on staff and the joy she feels seeing students transformed. She also recounts some harrowing experiences being accused of wrongdoing by administrators.

20 min  video

Rich Longfield
Music

Rich recounts how he came to YC being hired by Jim Burns, the founding music instructor and the personal and professional growth of himself and family members by being associated with the College. Rich touches on the history of Community Colleges in Arizona and his efforts to meet the needs of all his students through the years. He also shares his love of conducting.

51 min  video

Richard (Dick) Marcusen
Art

Dick, an Emeritus Art Faculty tells of his experiences in the fledgling Art Department when he came in 1971. He recounts hilarious stories of the College’s efforts to provide educational opportunities across Northern Arizona flying instructors to remote locations. He also speaks of his own educational philosophy and his involvement with the Friends of YC Art Gallery and the Sculpture Garden.

29 min  video

Lynn Merritt
Health, Physical Education, & Recreation

Lynn relates how she became the first women’s Physical Education instructor at YC when she wasn’t even looking for work. She became the 2nd Athletic Director at the College and tells of how the decision was made to have a soccer program and how she hired Mike Pantalione.

13 min  video

Lyle Minkler
Physics

Lyle Minkler, a member of the Founding Faculty, recounts many little-known stories of what it was like to teach here in the early years. He also expresses his pleasure working with students and the annual field trips he would take them on to see practical applications of what they’ve had been studying in the classroom.

35 min  video

Lynn Nugent
Nursing

Lynn speaks of her long career in the Nursing Department starting in 1979 and the many changes in the Nursing program over the years including the Department’s close working relationship with health care providers in Yavapai County. She is also an Emeritus Faculty and in her interview gives encouraging advice to nursing students.

44 min  video

Nina Perlmutter
Philosophy

Nina Perlmutter speaks of her passion to bring education to communities. When she started as an adjunct instructor in 1983, the College had no philosophy or religion program. She tells of building those programs after she came on full-time and her love of working with students. She expresses her belief that Yavapai College has been a cornerstone of diversity for the community.

22 min  video

Glen Peterson
Art

Glen Peterson remembers starting at the College in 1973 teaching part-time and doing graphic design for the College part-time. He eventually taught full-time graphic design, painting, art history and developed a color theory class. He tells of the dynamic nature of the Art Department in his years here and how the department had an influence on the school and the community.

41 min  video

Terence Pratt
English

Terence recounts the serendipitous events which led to his teaching English on the Verde Valley Campus. He recalls his experiences as Dean of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences and his decision to return to the classroom as a full-time faculty member because of his love of teaching.

32 min  video

Donn Rawlings
English

Donn describes the advantages and disadvantages of community colleges and his own personal growth coming to Yavapai College from a university setting. He remembers the collegiality of the English Department when he first came here and talks of the need for education to be more exploratory and to look at human possibilities.

51 min  video

Brent Roberts
Math & Science

Brent started at the College in 1987 in the Learning Center and became full-time faculty in 1988 in the Math Department. He speaks of the role of technology in education and the specific changes technology has brought to Yavapai College. He also tells of his satisfaction coordinating the College Honors Program and his aspirations for the students.

44 min  video

Cathy Schiller
Health, Physical Education, & Recreation

Cathy candidly describes her development of the Senior Fitness Program at Yavapai College and her former work with the top-performing Cross Country Teams. Cathy started at Yavapai in 1989 and tells of her extensive background in education and her passion for life-long learning.

17 min  video

Tom Schumacher
Art

Tom holds a unique position of being a long-time (1977) Art Instructor at the Verde Valley Campus who has transitioned to being the Verde Valley Campus Dean. He tells of the history of the Campus and his own personal experiences there and how and where classes were held all over the Verde Valley to meet the need.

41 min  video

Don Sieh
Construction, English

It can be said that Don Sieh had a split teaching experience here. For the first 13 years, he taught English and then transitioned to teaching in the Construction Program for his last 12 years. While here, he was deeply involved in defending faculty and student rights on campus. He was also instrumental in getting important documents and systems in place such as a Faculty Constitution, a Student Judicial System and Governance, and a faculty salary schedule. He speaks of his current philanthropic and volunteer work.

40 min  video

Bonny Stauffer
Art

Bonny Stauffer has seen the College from many different perspectives since 1975. She tells of being a student here, student assistant, instructor, and now Dean of Visual and Performing Arts. She expresses her belief that the College has grown on the outside but still has the core desire to help students.

25 min  video

Fulton Wright
Astronomy

Fulton Wright tells of his circuitous career at the College starting in 1974 in the Computer Department as Faculty Support. He then moved to the Business Division, taught there and eventually ended in the Science Division teaching astronomy and physics. He remembers that the faculty had the freedom to do what they thought best for the students. He speaks on a broad array of topics such as textbooks, College presidents, playing bass in the orchestra, and teaching via two-way TV.

27 min  video

Staff 18 videos

Charlotte Brennan
Library

Charlotte tells of being the founding Library Director at the College before the original library was even finished. She relates how the Library grew and how the local librarians formed a network to provide better access to materials for the students, faculty, and townspeople.

32 min  video

Michael Dougherty
Financial Aid

Michael shares the evolution of Financial Aid at the College from a one person operation to a Department and his own experience of being the only financial aid counselor to being the Dean of Student Services. Michael also speaks of the commitment to excellence within the College and his most rewarding experiences seeing students graduate.

20 min  video

Don Drentlaw
Campus Police

Don Drentlaw started at the College in 1974 as a Campus Safety Officer when the department had only four officers on the Prescott Campus. He has held every position in the department including Chief. He describes his greatest challenge and reward convincing the Governing Board of the need for a Police Department on campus and for the officers to be armed.

9 min  video

Crystal Erickson
Lifelong Learning

Crystal Erickson has held administrative support positions in numerous departments since she started at the College in 1984. She remembers taking classes and getting her Associate's Degree here in 1989 and then attending Northern Arizona University. She tells of some of the changes she's seen and unusual events which have taken place on campus over the years.

6 min  video

Scott Farnsworth
Health, Physical Education, & Recreation

Scott came to Yavapai College in 1987 as the athletic trainer. He tells of his 17-18 years experience in that position and the many memories he has of the accomplishments of the teams through the years. He also describes the evolution of how the Soccer team members came to have rings and his transition from trainer to instructor.

20 min  video

Paula Fuhst
Student Services

Paula Fuhst started at the College in 1981 as the Director of Housing and held numerous positions in Student Services culminating in being the Assistant Dean of Student Services. She reminisces on her many experiences and joys helping students, physical changes on the Prescott Campus and the College's commitment to student success.

38 min  video

Kent Hellman
Campus Police

Kent Hellman has had a longtime association with the College starting as a student in 1977 after being in the military. He describes how he started working on the Prescott Campus part-time in 1995 and then became full-time in 1996. He was in the second class of the Northern Arizona Regional Training Academy (NARTA). He transferred to the Verde Valley Campus in 1999/2000 and speaks of being a Police Officer there and the spirit of cooperation there among the staff, faculty, and administrators.

43 min  video

Sara Holter
Learning Center

Sara, a long-time staff member of the Learning Center on the Prescott Campus, tells of her experiences as a returning adult student and her transition to working in the Learning Center.

27 min  video

Larry Humphrey
Human Resources

Larry Humphrey has long been known as the former Human Resources Director at YC but he originally started here in 1974 as a Purchasing Agent. He speaks of his personal advancement at the College culminating in being the head of the Human Resources Department. He also tells of the changes he's seen and his current part-time position being a courier driver.

31 min  video

Deb McCasland
YC Foundation

Deb McCasland started as a student at the College in Spring, 1970; she was involved in Student Government which bought the first bus used for athletics. She tells of transferring to NAU and then returning as a staff member in Campus Activities where she became involved in Performing Arts activities. She remembers planning for many concerts, shows, and lectures at a variety of locations around the area as there was no facility on campus. When the Performance Hall was built she was able to bring in big shows and she tells of the process she uses to hire the entertainers. She also reminisces on the many performers.

50 min  video

Mike Pantalione
Health, Physical Education, & Recreation

Mike remembers being the sole Soccer Coach the first 3 seasons of the program until Hugh Bell came as an assistant. To promote the program in the early years he would tell prospective players and their families that Yavapai was a Native American name for "winning soccer". He describes what he looks for in a player and how he got the nickname, "Philly".

19 min  video

Peggy Pratt
Residence Hall

Peggy Pratt came to the College with her husband and baby boy in 1980. Her husband was to be the Director of Supai Hall but he was asked due to an emergency to fill in as coach at Bradshaw Mt. High School and the Directorship fell to her. She recounts the many activities she planned for the young men in the dorm and what she would do to make the environment as home-like as possible. She remembers substitute teaching for athletic classes and the collegiality of staff and faculty.

21 min  video

Carol Quiring
Police Department

Carol, a long-time Campus Police Officer, tells of her background and passion for working with students and how they have changed over the years. She also touches on the international students in 1984 and how the Administration's attitudes towards the Campus Police have changed through time.

35 min  video

Tania Sheldahl
Student Advising

Tania started at the College as a student athlete playing on the Women's Basketball Team in 1982. She recounts some funny stories of being on the team and going to Nationals and the support the community gave to all the teams. She also candidly describes the solid foundation that Yavapai College gave her and her belief that the school continues to do the same with students.

16 min  video

Tom Thomas
Audio/Visual

Tom Thomas has had a long career here (1980-2007) working in Audio-Visual Services. His favorite part of his job was videotaping guest lectures, student presentations, and performances. He tells of assisting in the production of a local TV show, "On Campus" which highlighted happenings and people on the Prescott and Verde Campuses. His most rewarding experience, as a collective whole, was helping students develop their hopes and dreams.

38 min  video

David VanNess
Registration

David, a long-time Registrar at the College, talks of the changes he has seen since 1987 not only in the student population but also in the community's perception of the College. He describes how the College was one of the first to implement online registration. He remembers that Coconino County was once part of Yavapai College's service area and that staff would fly to communities in that area to register students and teach.

19 min  video

Liz Winney
Student Services

Liz Winney speaks of the many events and changes in students and programs she has seen since she started at the College in 1984. The majority of her work was in Student Services where she truly enjoyed working with the students. Her favorite activity there was being the Student Ombudsman for 10 years. She retired in 2004 but continues to work part-time because she enjoys the College environment.

14 min  video

Marilyn Yetter
President's Office

Marilyn Yetter held numerous administrative support positions at Yavapai College. Her last position before retiring was Executive Assistant to the President. She shares her philosophy on representing the college and the President to the public, her work with the President and District Governing Board, and how she came to organize events on campus.

1 hr 2 min  video