Friday, March 15, 2024

'I have not resigned,' Linfield President told the McMinnville News-Register in 1974

Memory Lane: A look back at Yamhill County news in the Fri., March 14, 2024, issue of the McMinnville News-Register/N-R includes for "50 Years Ago," that would be 1974, the following (see clipping posted) ...



Also see ....

Gordon Carl Bjork was Linfield College president, 1968-1974. His presidency ended May 31, 1974.






Thursday, March 14, 2024

Masuko Hachiya Oyama attended Linfield College and graduated from the University of Oregon








Masuko Hachiya Oyama
1927 - 2023

MASUKO OYAMA OBITUARY
(See photo)

Published by The Oregonian from Mar. 21 to Mar. 26, 2023.

Masuko Hachiya Oyama
Feb. 21, 1927 - Feb. 24, 2023

Masuko Hachiya Oyama was born Feb. 21, 1927, in Portland, Ore. She passed peacefully Feb. 24, 2023 at age 96, in Tualatin, Ore.

Masuko spent her childhood in the Portland area, attending Shattuck Elementary and briefly Lincoln High School.

In 1942, Masuko was sent to the Minidoka Internment Camp in Idaho and later relocated to Salt Lake City where she graduated from East High School in 1945.

Masuko attended Linfield College and transferred to University of Oregon where she graduated with a General Social Science degree in 1949.

In June of 1951, she married Albert Akira Oyama and settled in Portland, Ore., and in 1963, moved to Lake Oswego, Ore.

Masuko and Albert had three sons, Pat (1953), Stan (1955) and Kevin (1963).

Masuko had a passion for Ikebana flower arranging, calligraphy, and most of all tennis which she played well into her 80's.

She is survived by sons, Stan (Cathy) and Kevin (Karen); five grandchildren; and one great-granddaughter. She was preceded in death by husband, Albert; son, Patrick; her brothers, Ted (Sumi) Hachiya, Hiram (Helen) Hachiya; and her sister, Yoshiko (Tom) Inomoto.

No funeral or memorial service will be held; remembrances to celebrate Masuko's life may be directed to the Ikoi No Kai Bento program -1333 S.E. 28th Ave., Portland, OR 97214

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Masuko Oyama Interview Segment 1 
(Note: There are a total of 12 segments)

/ Densho Digital Repository

https://ddr.densho.org/interviews/ddr-one-7-51-1/

Densho Digital Archive
Densho Visual History Collection
Title: Masuko Oyama Interview
Narrator: Masuko Oyama
Interviewer: Janet Kakishita
Location: Lake Oswego, Oregon
Date: November 10, 2013
Densho ID: denshovh-omasuko-01-0011

<Begin Segment 11>

JK: After the war, were you still in Salt Lake or did you go back and join your mom?

MO: No, I came home directly from Salt Lake.

JK: So you were like a, you had just finished your senior year?

MO: Uh-huh.

JK: And how did you get back to Portland from Salt Lake?

MO: Bus. I think a bus ride. It was all bus.

JK: And when you came back, what was your first impression of --

MO: The hotel was available for me. My brother had made it so that I would, to expect me, so the family portion of that hotel that was left for us is available. Then my sister joined me shortly after that, but my mother was left behind for some reason, I don't know.

JK: Okay, so it took your mom longer to get back.

MO: Uh-huh, yes.

JK: And when you came back to Portland, how did you reestablish yourself? What decisions did you make about the next step in your life?

MO: Well, I wanted to continue going to school, so I chose... I chose one school and I think my brother chose not to go to that school. So I don't know how I ended up at Linfield College. That was not my first choice, but it was his choice. So I went there anyway for two years. I liked it, but I decided it was too expensive, and he did, too.

JK: Okay. What were you planning on majoring in in college?

MO: That's a good question. I don't know. I didn't want to be a teacher, I know. It was just a general, just to say I graduated, I guess.

JK: Okay, so after two years of Linfield, then what did you do?

MO: I went to University of Oregon. Went to a cheaper school. [Laughs]

JK: And did you have any major there that you focused on?

MO: No, it was general.

JK: And when you finished college, what did you decide to do next?

MO: I got married.

JK: Okay, to Uncle Albert, of course. And then you started a family.

MO: Uh-huh.

JK: And he was going to medical school, right?

MO: Uh-huh.

JK: Okay, and did children come shortly after?

MO: Not too sure. I don't think we could have afforded it.

JK: Okay, and you had three boys. And how was it different, how do you think their life was different than your life? What things did you want them to have that you didn't have?

MO: You know, I can't say I didn't have anything that I didn't want. I thought that was, I think being evacuated and being shipped to the other places was a good investment for us.

JK: In what way? How did that make you...

MO: There are other people besides Portland people that's living, and the people are different in different areas. I thought the people in Salt Lake were so friendly, so hospitable, and I just love it. It just turned me into a soft person.

JK: Okay, so it helped change you and made you into a better person, and so you wanted to pass this on to your boys, the opportunity to see and meet other people, other points of view. And is there anything else that you would have as your legacy for your boys or grandchildren on your life experiences?

MO: Uh-uh, I don't think so.

JK: Okay.

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Masuko Hachiya as a Linfield College student in 1947 Linfield Oak Leaves yearbook






















Linfield students Mitsue (Endow) Salador, Mary Kazuyo Wakai forced to leave Linfield during World War II



Mitsue Endow (left) and Mary Wakai as Linfield College students
in 1942 Linfield Oak Leaves yearbook.

.......

Linfield student Mitsue (Endow) Salador was studying to be a teacher in 1942 when she had to report to the Portland Assembly Center


Capturing Linfield’s disappearing history

Linfield Magazine Spring 2019


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During World War II, Mary Kazuyo Wakai was one of two Linfield students forced to leave the college

Linfield Magazine Fall 2019


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See "Oath administered to newly-appointed Oregon Alien Enemy Hearing Board members including Linfield President William G. Everson (as board chairman) on Jan. 5, 1942, in Portland." 


During World War II, Everson was chairman of the Oregon Enemy Alien Hearing Board, which conducted hearings for non-citizen Japanese residents of Oregon who were detained as possible security risks and made determinations as to whether their detainments should continue.

























Saturday, March 09, 2024

Everson Street on the campus of Linfield U

Everson Street on the campus of Linfield U in McMinnville, Oregon, is named for William G. Everson, a former Linfield College president.

https://www.linfield.edu/assets/files/admission/mcminnville-campus-map.pdf


 




Wednesday, February 21, 2024

Linfield University’s interim president confronted similar challenges at Oregon State University

 A familiar position

Linfield University’s interim president confronted similar challenges at Oregon State

By Scott Unger, McMinnville N-R/News-Register Feb 21,2024

Linfield interim President Becky Johnson doesn’t think about the temporary part of her job; she’s too busy working on the budget, enrollment numbers and overall image of the school in an effort to make it an ideal landing spot for a permanent leader.

“I just jump into it like I’m the permanent president because you want to make sure that things keep moving forward or things that need to be fixed are getting fixed,” Johnson told the News-Register. “I kind of don’t think about the fact that I’m only going to be here 12 to 18 months and I think people want that to happen, they don’t want to just be on pause.”

Johnson knows what the job entails, having served as interim president at Oregon State University last year. She also oversaw the creation of OSU’s Bend branch campus, which has a similar enrollment to Linfield.

A month in as Linfield leader, Johnson has met with the board of trustees and gotten to work on lowering an estimated $4 million operating deficit and improving enrollment numbers that have dipped in recent years.

“We’re facing a budget deficit and no president wants to come into that and have to make hard decisions about ‘who do we cut,’ kind of thing, so we’re trying to take some actions over the next 12 to 18 months to get the budget back in order, at least on a glide path,” Johnson said. “We can’t keep hoping that we can grow our way out of this, we have controlled our expenditures and some of that you can do with vacancies and some are that you really have to cut part of your workforce and get your expenditures in line with your revenues.”

Johnson hopes to get the school on a three-year path to a balanced budget, as trying to do it all at once would be “too destructive” for the university.

“Maybe we can cut that (deficit) in half over this next year and then it might take two more years to get us back in the positive,” she said.

The budget shortage is partially caused by the drop in enrollment, so getting more students to attend Linfield would help alleviate it.

“Our enrollments been down for a few years, so (I’m) trying to get that headed in the right direction,” she said.

One area of focus is the nursing program at Linfield’s Portland campus, Johnson said. Competition is tight for nursing students after community colleges were approved to offer bachelor’s programs. Other schools have increased funding to their programs and there is an exhaustion in the field following the pandemic.

“All of that’s kind of compounded to have our enrollment in nursing down a little bit,” Johnson said. “It is one of our signature programs for sure, and we want to get that back where it was.”

She plans increased marketing for the program and adjustments to enrollment costs and financial aid to get enrollment up.

“It’s already a great program so I don’t think quality is an issue at all.”

School image is another area where Johnson’s previous experience will help. She took over OSU after a tumultuous one-year president and righted the ship and wants to shift away from bad press Linfield has received in recent years due to administrative changes and a lawsuit from a former professor.

“When I became interim at OSU it was after a crisis of leadership, where we had hired a president who didn’t last even a year I think,” she said.

“Everybody was very upset; there was a vote of no confidence. So, to come into that situation and try to make sure that people were aware that the things that made Oregon State great hadn’t changed. We’re still teaching the students, we’re still doing the research, we’re still in every county doing extension and master gardener and all of these things that people love about Oregon State. And so, let’s just forget this last year that people were so traumatized about. And because I’d been there for 35 years people knew me and had trust in me and I think I am very collaborative and I’m calm. And it just settled down very quickly and people got on with their work.

“I think the collaborative part is really important just because Linfield has had some bad PR over the last few years. I lived afar, I was in Bend and still read about it in The Oregonian all the time. We want to make sure that we have a great reputation because you talk to the students or the alumni or the parents and they all just rave about the experience that students have here. I’ve talked to faculty and they love teaching here. That’s what should be known about Linfield, not just the few things that end up in the newspaper.”

From her Melrose Hall office, Johnson can see her new campus home, where she and her wife have adjusted better than their pets. Her two cats miss their Bend outdoor covered patio and her dog longs to be unleashed to roam, she said.

Although she hasn’t had much time to interact with the student population since they were on winter break when she started, the former golf and basketball player during her time at the University of Wisconsin has observed the importance of athletics at Linfield.

Johnson saw students practicing baseball in the rain during an early morning dog walk and appreciates the dedication of student athletes.

Sports can be a connection to the community, a point of pride for students and alumni and can teach valuable life lessons such as working together, communication and leadership, she said.

Johnson always liked to be team captain when she was competing post college so she could make sure the best players were on her team. Asked if she is competitive, Johnson replied “I don’t think of myself as cutthroat by any means, but yeah.”

She has talked with many in the Linfield community through introductory phone calls and plans to get to know the community. “(That’s) one of the things that I really emphasized when I was in Bend,” she said. “It was really important for me to get out in the community and let people know what was going on at OSU, why their support was important.”

Johnson won’t have a formal role in choosing the next school president but will give input to the search committee, she said. Johnson hopes her work provides a solid landing spot for the incoming president, whomever is chosen.

“The main purpose is to make this as attractive as possible when they go to hire a permanent president,” she said.



Linfield interim president 'pauses' search for new Linfield athletic director

Johnson ‘pauses’ search for new athletic director 

By Scott Unger, McMinnville N-R/News-Register, Feb 21, 2024

Linfield University interim President Becky Johnson announced Monday that the school’s search for a new athletic director has been paused, but a new hire is still expected by the spring. 

“I’ve found through this process that there is quite a bit of polarization on campus about who the athletic director should be,” Johnson told the News-Register. 

“I’ve never experienced this before in a search process where there’s real polarization between the candidates

and who people want to see.” 

Former Athletic Director Gary Killgore was reassigned last year and Doug Hire has been serving as interim AD since. 

The school has identified three finalists for the position and isn’t necessarily looking for more candidates, she said. The university has declined to release the candidates’ names as two are still in other positions. 

“It’s not a failed search, they’re still our three finalists. Take a pause and hopefully they’ll stay in the mix,” she said. 

Johnson will make the call on the final hiring decision and hopes the pause will create a more positive environment for when a candidate is chosen. 

“I am concerned about whether one of those candidates can be successful, can come into this situation that we’re in right now and be successful, so I’ve actually suspended the search for now,” she said. “I want to make sure we work on some things within athletics and within the broader Linfield community. We need to make sure that people appreciate and respect the role that athletics plays at Linfield and in the broader community and how important it is to our enrollment. Just that there’s kind of cross-respect and appreciation from staff, administration, faculty and the athletic coaches and everybody else.” 

Johnson didn’t say how long the pause would be in place but said the timeline to find a permanent AD remains, with a candidate expected to be hired before the end of the school year.




Saturday, February 17, 2024

Evergreen Aviation Museum in McMinnville was host for a night of Linfield intercollegiate wrestling on Valentine’s Day 2024

Video from KPTV Portland, 2/15/2024

Originally scheduled for Jan. 16, due to hazardous travel conditions (ice and snow), the event (Umpqua CC of Roseburg, Ore., at Linfield U) was moved to Valentine’s Day/Feb 14, 2024.







Linfield’s Ethan Ensrud gets his hand raised after pinning his Umpqua Community College opponent on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024, at the Evergreen Aviation Museum. Photo by Rusty Rae, McMinnville N-R/News-Register 2/16/2024


Thursday, February 15, 2024

LINFIELD WRESTLING 'NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM' A ROUSING SUCCESS


LINFIELD WRESTLING 'NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM' A ROUSING SUCCESS

In McMinnville, the Wildcats split a dual match with Umpqua Community College, surrounded by a NASA space capsule, stealth fighter jets and a Navy helicopter

(Feb 14, 2024, Story and photos from Linfield Sports Info)

Tuesday, February 06, 2024

WHAT IS LINFIELD COLLEGE FOOTBALL'S CONNECTION TO TAYLOR SWIFT?

WHAT IS LINFIELD COLLEGE FOOTBALL'S CONNECTION TO TAYLOR SWIFT?

 :::Taylor Swift's father was a member of the 1970 University of Hawaii football team which played the 1970 Linfield College football team on Nov. 14, 1970, in Honolulu. UH won the game, 19-17.:::

In the 1970 season, Linfield had an 8-1 win-loss record. The only loss for the Wildcats was 19-17 in Honolulu to the UH (the University of Hawaii) on Nov. 14, 1970.

Quarterback DAVE WHITE (Class of 1971) talked to Wildcatville in October 2021 about the Linfield football game the night of Sat., Nov. 14, 1970, vs. the UH (University of Hawaii):

          “We were undefeated. If we win the game we'd likely be in the NAIA post-season playoffs. Linfield was NAIA and Hawaii, a larger school, was NCAA. We lost 19-17. Near the end of that game, we were close to the end zone with a chance to take the lead. 19 to 17 was the score. I was running for my life around the right end and drove for the end zone and was knocked out of bounds. The next play or so I threw a pass to wingback George Fink. He caught it in the end zone. TD! No wait, the defender somehow reached around George and grabbed the ball and they fell to the ground. George caught the ball and took a step or two before they fell to the ground. The correct call was a TD! We beat Hawaii and go to the NAIA National Playoffs. But we had a horrible call from the local Hawaiian ref. He said it was an interception. No TD or a chance for golden toe Steve Davis to kick the winning field goal. I was right there and it was a touchdown! The referee came from the back corner of the end zone and had a poor line of sight. Coach Rutschman was as mad as I had ever seen him and later diplomatically called it a ‘home cooking’ call. That ‘homer’ call cost us an undefeated season and national playoff berth.”

 

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 The Other Football Player in Taylor Swift’s Life

WSJ Feb. 6, 2024

 https://taxioffduty.blogspot.com/2024/02/scott-swift-played-uh-football.html

Scott Swift, her father, played a single season at the University of Hawaii before starting work in finance. His teammates from those days are only now discovering to whom he’s related.

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What is Taylor Swift’s tie to UH (the University of Hawaii)?

University of Hawaiʻi News Nov. 28, 2023

https://www.hawaii.edu/news/2023/11/28/taylor-swift-tie-to-uh/

Scott Swift suited up in green and white, colors that never go out of “Style,” for UH as a freshman center in 1970. He wasn’t “The Man,” but his team, which played in the old Honolulu Stadium (current Old Stadium Park in Mōʻiliʻili), went 9-2.