Description

This video collection was donated to the library by former Vice President of Student Affairs, Dr. William Butler, who served the University from 1965-1997. Butler interviewed university faculty,
staff, administrators and students during the 1980s and 1990s. Most of the interviews deal with life at the University of Miami during the turbulent 1960s. Below is a brief inventory of this collection.

List of Interviews

Below is a finding aid for the William Butler Oral History Collection. Each entry is listed by tape number and by interviewee name. Multiple copies exist of the Butler interviews. Copy one of each interview is set aside for archival purposes, and is not available to the public. All other copies, however, are available to the public. Descriptions of each tape are also provided, often listing important people, institutions, dates, and events that are mentioned in the interview.

Also included in the interview descriptions are the interview lengths, the formats in which the interviews exist, production dates, and whether or not the library has a release forms for specific interviews.

We are currently involved in efforts to secure release forms for all oral history materials. If for some reason a release form does not exist for a given interview, that interview can not be made available to the public. Researchers who need to access such materials should contact us so that we can prioritize our efforts to secure these forms.

Tape # 1

Henry King Stanford Interview (Copy 1)
Description: William Butler interviews former University President Henry King Stanford. Among the topics discussed are the protest movements of the 1960s and 1970s, Dr. Stanford administrative style, female athletic scholarships, and the beautification projects of the Foote presidency. Dr. Stanford also talks about his life outside the university, including his experiences in Germany during the 1930s, his career as an administrator at several other colleges, and his life after retirement.

Production Date: 5/9/95, Format: U-Matic, Length:90 Minutes, Release: No

Tape # 2

Henry King Stanford Interview (Copy 2)
Same as tape #1 above.

Format: VHS

Tape # 3

Henry King Stanford Interview (Copy 3)
Same as tape #1 above.

Format: VHS

Tape # 4

Henry King Stanford Interview (Copy 4)
Same as tape #1 above.

Format: VHS

Tape # 5

Ron Frasier Interview (Copy 1)
Description: Ron Frasier, coach for the UM baseball team from 1962 – 1992, talks with William Butler about his career both at UM and elsewhere. Among the topics discussed are the circumstances surrounding the building of Mark Light Stadium, his meeting with Fidel Castro at a game in Cuba, his experiences with President Stanford and President Foote, and memories of his favorite baseball clubs. He ends his discussion by talking a bit about his career since retirement.

Production Date: ? Format: VHS, Length: 90 Minutes, Release: Yes

Tape # 6

Ron Frasier Interview (Copy 2)
Same as tape #5 above.

Format: VHS

Tape # 7

Ron Stone Interview (Copy 1)
Description: Ron Stone was a student at UM during the late 1960s and 1970s. At the time of this interview, he was serving on the UM board of trustees. In the interview, he discusses student life at the university, reflecting mostly on fraternity life, his interest in golf and music, rock concerts, and student activism. He also discusses his responsibilities as a trustee.

Production Date: ? Format: U-Matic, Length: 88 Minutes, Release: Yes

Tape # 8

Ron Stone Interview (Copy 2)
Same as tape # 7 above

Format: VHS

Tape # 9

William Sandler Interview (Copy 1)
Description: William Sandler served as Dean of Students at the University of Miami from 1962 until the mid-1990s. In this interview he speaks about his reasons for coming to Miami, student life, the policy of en loco parentis, the university’s policy in regards to female students during the 1960s, student activism, and other aspects of student life. He also talks about the changes to the UM campus over the years, and about his plans for the future.

Production Date:? Format: U-Matic, Length: 84 Minutes, Release: No

Tape # 10

William Sandler Interview (Copy 2)
Same as tape # 9 above.

Format: VHS

Tape # 11

William Sandler Interview (Copy 3)
Same as tape # 9 above.

Format: VHS

Tape # 12

Pat Whitely Interview (Copy 1)
Description: Pat Whitely became Vice President of Student Affairs on June 1, 1997. In this interview she discusses her early life and education, her challenges as a longtime administrator and student life coordinator at UM, her dissertation research (which involved a study of the residential colleges at UM), and some of her plans for the future of student affairs. She also talks briefly about her marriage, her hobbies, and other personal matters.

Date of Production: ? Format: U-Matic, Length: 90 Minutes, Release: No

Tape # 13

Pat Whitely Interview (Copy 2)
Same as tape # 12 above.

Format: VHS

Tape # 14

Pat Whitely Interview (Copy 3)
Same as tape # 12 above.

Format: VHS

Tape # 15

Pat Whitely Interview (Copy 4)
Same as tape # 12 above.

Format: VHS

Tape # 16

Jim Yasser Interview (Copy 1)
Description: Jim Yasser served as student body president at UM during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Specifically, he served as President of Undergraduate Student Government 1969-70. In this interview he talks about his upbringing, the national climate of protest, his election campaign, and life since his graduation from UM’s law school. He also talks about the politics of confrontation and activism that he participated in, and reflects on the relatively young and liberal university administration that transformed UM in the early 1970s. Finally, he reflects on American politics and the state of the UM campus during the 1980s.

Production Date:? Format: U-Matic, Length: 90 Minutes, Release: Yes

Tape # 17

Jim Yasser Interview (Copy 2)
Same as tape # 16 above.

Format: VHS

Tape # 18

Jim Yasser Interview (Copy 3)
Same as tape # 16 above.

Format: VHS

Tape # 19

Mike Abrams Interview (Copy 1)
Description: Mike Abrams was a student at the University of Miami from 1965 – 1969, served on the Florida Legislature for 4 years, and currently serves as a member of the University of Miami Board of Trustees. Specifically, he served as President of Undergraduate Student Government from 1968-69. In this interview, he discusses his early life, campus reaction to the Vietnam War, student politics, fraternity life, the Ratskeller, the Wellness Center, and other aspects of student life. He also talks about his career in politics, including his time as Miami chairman of the democratic party for six years. Since then he has become an investment banker, and remains involved with UM.

Production Date: ? Format: U-Matic, Length: 90 Minutes, Release: Yes

Tape # 20

Mike Abrams Interview (Copy 2)
Same as tape # 19 above.

Format: VHS

Tape # 21

Walter and Russell Eiling Interview (Copy 1)
Description: Walter Eiling attended the University of Miami in the 1940s. His son, Russell, attended UM during the 1970s. In this interview, both discuss how student life changed over the course of 30 years. They also detail their lives before and after college. Russell in particular talks about his involvement in theater, and about his subsequent career as the director of the Miami Museum of Science.

Production Date: ? Format: U-Matic, Length: 51 Minutes, Release: Yes

Tape # 22

Walter and Russell Eiling Interview (Copy 2)
Same as tape # 21 above.

Format: VHS

Tape # 23

Henry Minich/Eugene Flipse Interview (Copy 1)
Description: Reverend Henry Minich was an Episcopalian minister who served as Chaplain at the University of Miami for 30 years starting in the 1950s. In this interview he talks about his responsibilities as chaplain, about the efforts to build the ministry, about the compromises that had to be made as a man of religion who tended to both secular and spiritual needs, about the protest era, and about his retirement.

Considered among the most notable medical economists, Dr. Eugene Flipse dedicated 38 years of his life to serving UM. He is responsible for developing the Student Health Service, and for establishing a state of the art pharmacy on campus (among many other accomplishments). In this interview he discusses his role on campus, and gives some insight to his treatment of such notables as Eisenhower and LBJ. He also reflects on the need for a medical system that is not profit or technology driven, but rather more humanistic.

Production Date: 4/25/1994 and 5/22/1994 Format: VHS, Length: 51 Minutes and 53 Minutes, Release: Yes

Tape # 24

William Butler Retirement Gala (Volume 1)
Description: This is a videotape of William Butler’s retirement gala in 1997. Among the many speakers at this event are Nic Mennick, Bill Sheeter, Rick Artman, Jerry Askew, Bill Maloney, Bill Sandler, Pat Whitely, and Henry King Stanford.

Production Date: 5/31/1997 Format: VHS, Length: 120 Minutes, Release: Yes

Tape # 25

William Butler Retirement Gala (Volume 2)
Description: This is part two of William Butler’s retirement gala in 1997. Among the many speakers at this event are Henry King Stanford and Bill Butler. Also featured is a brief documentary of Bill Butler’s life, with commentary from Dr. Glassier and President Tad Foote.

Production Date: 5/31/1997 Format: VHS Length: 120 Minutes, Release: Yes

Tape # 26

William Butler Tribute
Description: This is a pictorial history of Dr. William Butler’s life, with images set to music. The various sections cover different aspects of his life, from childhood and family life, to his professional accomplishments and his hobbies.

Production Date: 5/31/1997, Format: VHS, Length: 60 Minutes, Release: Yes