David E. Green Collection

The David E. Green Collection encompasses oral histories he conducted as research and the final paper on the college presidential term of Robert W. Fuller (1970-74), “The Politics of Reform: Oberlin College in the Fuller Years.” The records consist of sixteen oral histories on nine 7-inch reel-to-reel tapes, two copies of Green’s paper and a letter from College Archivist Bill Bigglestone to Green concerning the content of the paper.

Green’s analysis beginning with the end of President Carr’s term (1960-70) offers an in-depth look at Oberlin’s increasingly volatile political atmosphere into the late 1970s. In also exploring the period before President Fuller arrived, Green highlights faculty and administrators’ reactions, rather than those of the (relatively louder and more visible) student body, to the reform efforts of President Carr’s administration. Green’s oral history interviews with Oberlin College professors, administrators, and trustees document the context for Fuller’s presidency and his decision in 1973 to resign in the face of widespread opposition. Green states on pages 2-3 of his paper that:

"The tragedy of the Fuller years, I believe, was not that their [interviewees] conceptions of what was in Oberlin’s best interests were different. It was that the basic trust between factions of the community broke down to such an extent that they could no longer agree to disagree rationally, and to try to work out a reasonable solution.