Trujillo, Juan, October 29, 2014. This interview begins with Juan Trujillo’s background, including where he was raised and the background of his parents. Trujillo then discusses his education from high school to college at BYU and then in Texas. He also mentions several of his past mentors before stating his reasons for choosing to apply for a job at Oregon State University. After this, he details the past job duties he has held and his current position as assistant professor in the School of Language, Culture, and Society. The classes he teaches and has taught range from Spanish linguistics, to English linguistics, to the Spanish Learning Community class, to DPD courses. Staying with the theme of OSU, Trujillo notes several people of importance from the university. To focus on diversity at OSU, Trujillo chronicles the changes in diversity at the university, the failures of the current OSU administrative bureaucracy to effect change, the cultural centers, his role in supporting faculty of color, and his recommendations for a more diverse campus. Trujillo highlights the lack of access to resources that people of color face at OSU and in Corvallis due to its limitations as a small community. Then, speaking on a national level, Trujillo talks of the racism and wage disparity that many minorities face. The interview transitions into a more personal tone when Trujillo relays his decision to obtain a PhD, his recognition of his ethnic background, his production of a short film documentary regarding gay Mormon experiences, and his expressions through writing. To end the interview, Trujillo highlights his challenges at the university in regards to receiving tenure as well as noting his accomplishments. [Interview conducted by Buddy Terry, Reilly Quinn, and William Rowley as part of the Fall 2014 U-Engage ALS 199 “Untold Stories: Histories of People of Color in Oregon” OSU Faculty/Staff Oral History Project compiled to create the digital book Untold Stories: Oral Histories of Faculty & Staff of Color at Oregon State University. Video available online.
