Marian Murray was an instructor in the Department of Home Economics Education in 1946. She was born in 1924, in College Place, Washington. She received her Bachelor of Science in Home Economics and Education from OSC in 1946. She was the Secretary of the OSC’s Mortar Board chapter, and was the editor of OSC Omicron Nu, and was also a member of both the American Home Economics Association and the American Association of University Women. She was hired to cover for Miss May Du Bois’s sabbatical leave, and was hired at $2,400 for ten months of service. She was also to do the secretarial work for the department. Dean Milam (who Murray listed as a reference on her application) later requested some of Murray’s labor be used in the School of Home Economics for winter term. The Department of Home Economics Education instead employed an assistant for part of Murray’s duties, allowing her to spend 28% of her time helping Dean Milam.
Laura Belle Smith was an Assistant Professor in Art and in Clothing, Textiles, and Related Arts intermittently from 1946 to 1967. She was born in 1904 in Toronto, Canada. She studied at the School of Architecture of the University of Minnesota and Ohio State University, graduating from the latter in 1933 with a Bachelor of Arts in Interior Design and Watercolor Painting. She earned her Master of Arts from Ohio State University in the same field in 1934. Her thesis for her master’s degree was titled “New Materials in Interior Design.” She went on to attend the Art Institute of Chicago, the Chouinard Art Institute, and University of California in Los Angeles for further study. Before coming to OSC, she taught art at various universities in Texas, Kansas, and California. While an employee at Texas State College for Women, she was on the advisory committee for the completion of the new Student Union building. She selected furniture and completed the decorations. She was also in charge of a new demonstration house, where she “directed the interior section.” While interior design and watercolor painting were her two major fields of interest, she occasionally taught classes in fundamental and advanced design, house planning, and mechanical drawing. She was married when she came to OSC. In 1946, he was hired at $2400 for a ten month term in 1946 as an Assistant Professor of Art and Architecture. She resigned from this post the next year, and then temporarily took work in the Department of Clothing, Textiles, and Related Arts as a substitute for teachers on sabbatical leave. For roughly the next two decades, she was appointed to temporary positions in the CTRA department as permanent staff members resigned, while OSC worked to fill their positions. They considered this a great help, and thought of her as an “able person and good teacher.” As her husband was already on staff at OSC, Smith could not be put on permanent staff herself. Furthermore, as she only taught one area, this made scheduling difficult, and they wished to have more versatile employees on permanent staff.
Marjorie Ann Wilson was a part-time instructor in Clothing, Textiles, and Related Arts in 1946. She was born in 1922 in Lebanon, Oregon. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Home Economics, with additional study in education, from OSC in 1943, where Dean Milam referred to her work as “outstanding.” She then became a part-time typist in the School of Home Economics, but this position was temporary. In summer of 1946, she was hired at $780 for the academic year, at 1/3 time. In the fall, her hours were increased to two-thirds. She was Vice-President of the Mortar Board, and a member of the honoraries Kappa Delta Pi, Omicron Nu, and Phi Kappa Phi. She was also a member of the social fraternity Kappa Kappa Gamma. She had tuberculosis and a temporarily collapsed lung at the time of her appointment.
Alma Frances Tapscott was an Assistant Professor of Clothing, Textiles, and Related Arts in 1946. She was born in 1909 in Lima, Ohio. She attended Ohio Northern University, Bowling Green College, and Ohio State University, receiving her Bachelor of Science in Home Economics, with additional study in elementary education, from the latter in 1936. She received her Master of Arts from Teachers’ College, Columbia University in Clothing, Textiles, and Related Arts. Before coming to OSC, she spent eleven years teaching high school and one year as a spectroscopist in private industry. She was hired at $2800 for a ten month term. She resigned in 1948, at which point she was making a salary of $3,360.
Nellie Marie Ledbetter, who preferred to be addressed by her middle name, was an Associate Professor in the Department of Clothing, Textiles, and Related Arts. She was born in 1909, in Alicel, Oregon. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Home Economics and Social Science from Willamette University in 1934. Before coming to OSC, she was a home economics teacher in La Grande, Oregon. She began as a part-time instructor in both the Department of CTRA and Household Administration, but ultimately continued in only the first. While an Associate Professor at OSC, she completed her Master of Science in Home Economics, but due to university policy, professors of associate rank or higher could not receive a degree from the university. To circumvent this, she was temporarily reduced in rank to instructor and received her Master of Science in 1950. For the school year of 1961-62, Professor Ledbetter went on sabbatical leave, primarily for the purpose of writing a manual which would be used in the introductory clothing construction classes, which she hoped to have published with the Burgess Publishing Company. She worked closely during this time with the former head of the OSU CTRA department, Dr. Florence Petzel, who was now employed at the University of Texas. She retired in 1975, after working at OSU for 29 years, and was awarded Emeritus status upon her retirement. She continued teaching part-time in 1977. She was an advisor to the Mortar Board and served on many of the school’s committees, including the Scholarship, Honors, and Awards Committees. She was also active in the Fashion Group of Portland and the Oregon Consumer League.