Warren E. Kronstad was a faculty member in the Crop and Soil Science department from 1959-1998. Kronstad lead the Wheat Breeding Project, which created new varieties of wheat. Kronstad received the Oregon State University Distinguished Professor Award.
Margaret Lucille Lawrence was an Assistant Professor in English. She was born in 1912 in Oelwein, Iowa. She was married to Gilbert N. Lawrence, and they had at least one son, named Richard, born in May, 1950. She received her Bachelor of Arts in English and Latin, with additional study in Library Science, from Clark College in Dubuque, Iowa, in 1933, which she attended on scholarship and graduated maxima cum laude. She went on to attend graduate school at the University of Wisconsin, the University of California at Berkeley, and Florida State College for Women, from 1937-1943, working towards a Master of Arts in English and Latin. Her thesis for her master’s degree was titled “Limited Extent of the Influence of Plautus on the Comedy of Ben Jonson: A Study in J’s Independence.” She was hired as an Instructor in English in 1945, at a salary of $2,270. In the next year, she was promoted to Assistant Professor, and her salary was raised to $7,225. Before coming to OSC, she was an Instructor in English at Florida State College for Women, in Tallahassee, for two years, until her husband was stationed in Corvallis. She was also an high school instructor of Latin and English in Iowa for about seven years, teaching at Toledo Public High School and Dallas Public High School. She was part of the American Association of University Women, where she was the secretary elect from 1945-46. In 1970, she was named the first director of OSC’s new Writing Clinic, at the time housed in the English department, where she was tasked with teaching students grammatical proficiency. She created an “English Diagnostic Test” which was administered to Writing 121 students, which she used to identify struggling students and encourage them to visit the Writing Clinic. She was on numerous university and departmental committees, including the Writing Clinic Committee, of which she was chairman. She was a performer and director in Little Theater productions in both Corvallis and Albany, and was an active member of the Corvallis Women’s Civic Chorus. After working at OSC for 29 years, she retired in 1974, at a salary of $14,278, and was awarded the title of “Emeritus” upon retirement.
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.
Gayle Timmons was a part-time instructor in Foods and Nutriiton from 1946 to 1947. She made $850 for a nine month term. This position was extended in 1947 to a part-time position with yearly tenure.