Current Projects

To learn more, please contact the designated project lead.

Oklahoma Conservation Heritage: The Oklahoma Conservation Heritage Collection is a series of interviews, conducted in partnership with the Oklahoma Conservation Historical Society with people involved in the conservation of natural resources in the state. Throughout the state’s history Oklahomans have struggled with extreme weather from drought and the Dust Bowl to devastating flooding. Conservation efforts to combat soil erosion, protect land and communities from flooding, and improve water quality have been a vital part of our state’s history. Project lead: Dr. Tanya Finchum
Global Campus Oral History Project at Tulsa Community College: The Global Campus Oral History Project at Tulsa Community College is a series of interviews conducted by students in an English Composition class with fellow TCC students focusing on their international and community college experiences. The project is a partnership between Stephanie Youngblood’s Composition courses at Tulsa Community College’s West campus and the Oklahoma Oral History Research Program at the Oklahoma State University Library, with the generous participation of Briana Hefley-Shepard’s English as Second Language students from Tulsa Community College’s Northeast Campus. Project contacts: Dr. Stephanie Youngblood and Briana Hefley-Shepard
Oklahoma Native Artists: Since 2010, the Oklahoma Native Artists oral history project has been documenting the lives and work of artists in the fine and traditional arts. Focusing on Native American practitioners who live in the state or have longstanding ties to it, this collection houses oral histories discussing individuals' first experiences in art, their training and awards, and their creative practices. Project lead: Dr. Julie Pearson-Little Thunder
OSU and OK Diverse Sexuality and Gender: The OSU and OKlahoma Diverse Sexuality and Gender projects are to document the first-person perspectives of individuals who identify as part of the LGBTQAI+ communities in Oklahoma and/or Okalahoma State University. Project lead: Arlowe Clementine
Spotlighting Oklahoma: The narratives recorded as part of the Spotlighting Oklahoma oral history project will help to fill gaps in the written cultural and intellectual history by preserving the experiences of both ordinary and extraordinary Oklahomans. Project lead: OOHRP Staff
Inductees of the Oklahoma Women’s Hall of Fame: The Inductees of the Oklahoma Women’s Hall of Fame oral history project preserves the voices of women who have been inducted into this prestigious state-wide group awarded by the Oklahoma Commission on the Status of Women. Project lead: Sarah Milligan
O-STATE Stories: The O-STATE Stories oral history project records interviews with alumni, administrators, faculty, staff and supporters connected to Oklahoma A&M College and Oklahoma State University as a means of preserving memories and campus history. Project lead: OOHRP Staff

Oklahoma Activism in Education during the Civil Rights Movement

The goal of Oklahoma Activism in Education during the Civil Rights Movement is to provide context surrounding the period of segregation in Oklahoma City as well as the events—both inside and outside of the classroom—that were involved in leading the desegregation efforts in the state. This project works to fill a gap in the literature, recognizing Oklahoma as a space for social change and the Oklahoma educators involved in radical activism during this time. Preserving these oral histories is an important piece that contributes to the history of Oklahoma and the U.S. in its totality. Project lead: Autumn Brown

STEM Areas and Women

The STEM Areas and Women Collection is a series of interviews conducted with women who have work experience in the hisotorically predominantly male fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in Oklahoma. Project lead: Dr. Tanya Finchum

Stillwater's African American Heritage

The Stillwater’s African American Heritage Collection is a series of interviews focused on the Black community of Stillwater, Oklahoma, and in particular former students of Washington School. Project lead: Dr. Tanya Finchum

Art as Activism in North Tulsa Oral History Project

It is imperative to make space to recognize the history and culture of activism in North Tulsa, as national attention fixates on Tulsa, Oklahoma during the commemorative year of the most horrific, racially-motivated tragedies in our country’s history, the Tulsa Race Massacre. The purpose of this oral history project is to create an archive of interviews from grassroots Tulsa activists advocating for change related to Tulsa’s Black community, focusing on artistic expression as forms of activism enacted in the North Tulsa community. Dominant definitions of activism include action enacted for institutional change, but activism for the sake of group survival is just as important, and exists in subtle ways throughout Black communities; our creativity is a way to document our existence on this earth. Project lead: Autumn Brown

Impressions from the Pandemic: Oklahomans Reflect on COVID-19

Through a yearlong oral history project, the Library’s Oklahoma Oral History Research Program will collect, preserve and make accessible sources representing a variety of aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic experience. The OOHRP will capture impressions, in-depth recollections and analytical reflections of a diverse group of Oklahomans impacted by the pandemic. This project was funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services’ American Rescue Plan grant program. Project lead: Sarah Milligan

Current Projects

What are we currently working on?

Want to learn more about past projects - check out our collections page!