March 13, 2026

(STILLWATER, Okla.) – Sarah Milligan, Hyle Family Endowed Professor and head of the Oklahoma Oral History Research Program (OOHRP), now serves as president of the Oral History Association (OHA).

OHA is the national professional network for oral historians in the United States. It was established in 1966 and now boasts an international membership of people committed to the value of oral history. "As an oral historian, that is your primary professional organization, says Sarah Milligan. "It not only gives oral historians a place to network and share problems and systems of solutions, but also where we can learn new tools, and think collectively about ethical approaches to the work we do.

As president of the organization, Milligan says she hopes to increase embedded relationships within related professional organizations and consider areas of stabilization and growth so OHA can continue to move into the years to come with solid footing.

"It is a tough time to be in the humanities at the moment, Milligan says. "So I have to stay on track for what is affecting our membership and work with the OHA leadership to develop planning and programming that is important and timely.

After realizing she was interested in how generational stories were preserved and passed down where she grew up in southeastern Oklahoma she pursued a master’s degree in Folk Studies at Western Kentucky University. Since then, she states she’s never had a post-college job in which she wasn’t using oral history, including her time as a folklife specialist for the Kentucky Folklife Program and the administrator for the Kentucky Oral History Commission.

Concerning her current involvement in the OHA, Milligan says she began attending its annual conferences when she started working with the title of oral historian in 2007. She started her leadership journey in 2016, when she was asked to be the annual meeting program co-chair for the 50^th anniversary year and has been involved in organizational leadership in various capacities since then. In 2023, she was asked to run for the presidential seat. She is now in year three of this four-year commitment.

To budding oral historians, she offers this. "I generally advise someone looking to start out in work with oral history to be flexible, says Milligan. "One of the great things about oral history work is that it is embedded within many related, but distinct, fields of studies and career paths. Understanding the theory, ethics, and methods related to oral history is extremely applicable in a variety of jobs.

When doing her own research, she says it is important to continue to be curious and let people tell their own stories. "That doesn’t mean I don’t think critically or don’t ask probing or complicated questions, but I treat people as humans first and go from there, Milligan says. "Empathy is a big part of this job for me.

Learn more about OHA at https://oralhistory.org/ or the OOHRP https://library.okstate.edu/oralhistory/.

RELEASE CONTACT: Nina Thornton, Multimedia Producer | OSU Library | 405-744-1256 | lib-pub@okstate.edu

STORY BY: Maddie Rogers, OSU Library Communications Intern

URL: https://library.okstate.edu/news/articles/archived-news/milligan-elected-president-of-oha

Last Updated: 10 June 2026