Publication Date

4-13-2016

Comments

An abstract of this interview is available below. A time-annotated index and a transcription is available for download and is linked above and to the right. An essay summarizing themes that emerged from interviews conducted about Myers in 2016 is available: Portrait of a Collector: Reflections on an Influential Bibliophile.


This interview subject is affiliated with IWU and/or President Myers in the following ways: Grounds Crew, 1984-2011.

Abstract

Killian started on Physical Plant's Grounds Crew five years before Myers and so offers recollections of changes in campus landscaping priorities and operations through four presidencies. He tells a story about Myers showing him a book of English garden plants and how he was unable to explain to Myers that they were not suited to Central Illinois environmental conditions. Killian viewed his work as a craftsman does--more satisfied with ensuring good structures in the landscape on the campus as a whole. He offers views on changes in campus culture, shifting from a community atmosphere before the Myers' era, to a hierarchical or class-based emphasis. His final anecdote describes changes made to the plantings for The Ames Library's landscape plan at his and Ken Detloff's insistence.

Streaming Media

Duration

01:12:15

Keywords

books, personal characteristics, gardens, plants, management, leadership, Portrait of a Collector, Staff

Disciplines

United States History

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