AURA - Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Incorporated, 1983-1984
A Guide to the Collection of Oral History Interviews at
Indiana University Bloomington
Finding aid prepared by the staff of the Center for the Study of History and Memory with a grant from the National Endowment
for the Humanities Division of
Preservation and Access, 2000-2002
Overview of the Collection
Repository
Indiana University Center for Documentary Research and Practice
Indiana University
Franklin Hall 0030B
601 E. Kirkwood Avenue
Bloomington, IN 47405
Phone: 812/855-2856
Fax: 812/855-0002
E-mail: ohrc@indiana.edu
https://cdrp.mediaschool.indiana.edu
Creator
Indiana University Center for Documentary Research and Practice
TitleAURA - Association of Universities for Research in
Astronomy, Incorporated, 1983-1984
Project No.
ohrc002
Interviews
4 interviews.
Audiotapes, transcripts, and collateral materials.
Physical Location
Interviews are housed in Franklin Hall, Room 0030B. Copies of interview transcripts are also held by the IU Libraries University
Archives.
Contact archives@indiana.edu for more information. For other locations housing the interviews
from this project, please contact the Center for Documentary Research and Practice office.
Language
Materials are in English
Abstract
These interviews discuss the construction of the Kitt Peak Observatory in Arizona and the negotiations that took place with
the Papagos Indian Tribe in order to obtain the lease of the land. The issues of mineral rights and university and community
relations are discussed in theseinterviews.
Scope and Content Note
This collection consists of four interviews collected over the course of three years. The interviews are eighteen, sixty-nine,
one hundred-four, and forty-five minutes respectively. All interviews consist of audiotapes and typed transcripts.
Administrative Information
Acquisition Information
Oral history interviews conducted by the Indiana University Center for the Study of
History and Memory from 1968 to the present, with particular focus on the history of
twentieth-century America and the Midwest.
Usage Restrictions
The archive of the Center for Documentary Research and Practice at Indiana University is open
to the use of researchers. Copies of transcript pages are available only when such copies
are permitted by the deed of gift. Scholars must honor any
restrictions the interviewee placed on the use of the interview. Since some of our earlier
(pre-computer) transcripts do not exist in final form, any editing marks in a transcript
(deletions, additions, corrections) are to be quoted as marked. Audio files may not be copied for
patrons unless the deed of gift permits it, and a transcript is unavailable for that
interview. The same rules of use that apply to a transcript apply to the audio interview.
Interviews may not be reproduced in full for any public use, but excerpted quotes may be
used as long as researchers fully cite the data in their research, including accession
number, interview date, interviewee's and interviewer's name, and page(s).
Preferred Citation
[interviewee first name last name] interview, by [interviewer first name last
name], [interview date(s)], [call number], [project name], Center for Documentary Research and Practice, Indiana University,
Bloomington, [page number(s) or tape
number and side if no transcript; if digital audio and no transcript, cite time when quote occurs].
Interview List
Interviewee
Borgmann, Carl
November 10,
1983
Call Number
84-031
Physical Description
12 pages; 1 cassette, 1 7/8 ips, 18 minutes
Interviewer
Edmondson, Frank
Access Status
Restricted - no DOG, can be used with permission of
interviewee
Scope and Content Note
Carl Borgmann discusses astronomy and the creation of the Kitt
Peak Observatory. He talks about the individuals and organizations that helped
to fund the observatory and how the site was chosen.
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Keywords
-
-
Corporation Names
- American Association for the Advancement of Science
- Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy,Incorporated
- Carnegie Institution of Washington
- Columbia School of Engineering
- European Southern Observatory
- Ford Foundation
- National Science Foundation
- Oxford University
- Purdue University
- United States Congress
- Yale University
-
-
Geographic Names
- Australia
- Chile
- South Africa
-
-
-
Personal Names
- Babcock, Horace
- Carey, William D.
- Gustafson, Reuben
- Hiltner, Al
- Johnson, Lyndon Baines
- Koonine, Tom
- Roberts, Bill
- Stone, Shepard
- Wells, Herman B
-
-
Subjects
- astronomy
- Carso proposal
- Palomar telescope
- radio heliograph
- Rhodes Scholar
- rugby
- telescopes
- Yale astrograph
Interviewee
Denton, John
December 3,
1984
Call Number
84-032
Physical Description
34 pages; 2 cassettes, 1 7/8 ips, 69 minutes; photocopied
sheet about mineral rights and Papago Indians
Interviewer
Edmondson, Frank
Access Status
Restricted - must obtain interviewee permission
Scope and Content Note
John Denton tells about the Arizona Papago Indians' struggle to
obtain mineral rights for the land on their reservation. He also details how
there came to be an observatory on Papago land and the struggle between the
developers and the astronomers over light pollution from nearby developments.
Denton talks about local politics and how local philanthropists impacted
developments in the area over the years.
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Keywords
-
-
Corporation Names
- American Friends Service Committee
- Arizona Council on Civic Unity
- Arizona state legislature
- Association for Papago Affairs
- Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Incorporated
- Columbia University
- Delphi University
- Hughes Aircraft
- Kingman Chamber of Commerce
- NAACP
- Papago Non-profit Development Corporation
- Seton Hall University
- Tucson Community School
- United States Bureau of Indian Affairs
- United States Congress
- United States House of Representatives
- United States Senate
- University of Arizona
- University of California, Berkeley
-
-
Geographic Names
- American Flag, Arizona
- Chapel Hill, North Carolina
- Flagstaff, Arizona
- Kingman, Arizona
- Kitt Peak, Arizona
- Mexico
- New York
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Phoenix, Arizona
- Pima County, Arizona
- Seattle, Washington
- Tempe, Arizona
- Tucson, Arizona
- Washington, DC
-
-
-
Personal Names
- Boyle, Jim
- Brown, E. J.
- Francisco, Enos
- Gammage, Grady
- Gerber, Sid
- Goldwater, Barry M.
- Gonzales, Grace
- Hagman, Chet
- Jones, Alden
- Jose, Juan
- Juerta, Lawrence
- King, Bill
- Lander, Clifton
- Lopez, Ruiz
- Manuel, Mark
- McInnes, John
- Mile, Hayden
- Pasco, Juan
- Roosevelt, Franklin Delano
- Segundo, Tom
- Smith, William
- Spicer, Ned
- Strauss, Charlie
- Udall, Stewart Lee
-
-
Subjects
- 1978 Mineral Rights Bill
- astronomical observatory
- dental clinic
- Indian reservation
- journalism
- Mexican Indians
- mineral rights
- Navajo reservation
- Papago Indians
- philanthropy
- religious beliefs
- San Xavier reservation
- segregation
- Seri Indians
- telescopes
- tribal council
Interviewee
Lee, Gilbert
October 30,
1983
Call Number
84-030
Physical Description
39 pages; 2 cassettes, 1 7/8 ips, 104 minutes
Interviewer
Edmondson, Frank
Access Status
Restricted - no DOG, permission must be obtained from
interviewee prior to use.
Scope and Content Note
Gilbert Lee talks about the creation of Association of
Universities for Research in Astronomy in 1957 and 1958 and the difficulty he
experienced in setting up the administration of the program as it transitioned
from being run by the University of Michigan to a self-sufficient, federally
funded project. October 28, 1957 was the incorporation date of AURA. Kitt Peak
in Arizona was dedicated as their observatory site on March 15, 1960. Lee also
talks about various trips to South America in the nineteen sixties and nineteen
seventies to evaluate sites for another observatory.
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Keywords
-
-
Corporation Names
- Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Incorporated
- Carnegie Institution of Washington
- Conagra Airlines
- Ford Foundation
- National Science Foundation
- Price-Waterhouse
- University of Arizona
- University of Chicago
- University of Chile
- University of Michigan
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-
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Geographic Names
- Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Bloomington, Indiana
- Caldera, California
- Chicago, Illinois
- Chile
- Copiapo, Chile
- Coquimbo, Chile
- Detroit, Michigan
- Kitt Peak, Arizona
- La Serena, Chile
- Lowell, Massachusetts
- Mequon, Wisconsin
- Phoenix, Arizona
- Santiago, Chile
- South America
- Tererro, New Mexico
- Tololo, Chile
- Tucson, Arizona
- Vicuna, Chile
- Washington, DC
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-
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Personal Names
- Beecher, Bob
- Blanco, Victor
- Dunlop, Bill
- Edmondson, Margaret
- Franklin, Joe
- Goldberg, Leo
- Haidi, Ralph
- Miller, Jim
- Moore, Minton
- More, Dean
- Morgan, Bill
- Patrick, Jim
- Shane, Donald
- Smith, Alex G.
- Stock, Bergan
- Wallace, Larry
- Waterman, Ellen
-
-
Subjects
- Climate Technology Initiative
- federal government
- grants
- incorporation
- mass solar telescope
- observatory
- solar energy
- space program
Interviewee
Pascoe, Juan
March 23,
1985
Call Number
84-033
Physical Description
25 pages; 1 cassette, 1 7/8 ips, 45 minutes
Interviewer
Edmondson, Frank
Access Status
Restricted - No DOG - must obtain permission from
interviewee
Scope and Content Note
Juan Pascoe details his involvement with the Papago Indians in
Arizona during their fight to obtain the mineral rights to the land their
reservation sits on. He also tells about the negotiation between AURA,
Congress, and the Papagos about placing an observatory on Kitt Peak.
After working for the Papagos, Pascoe worked for the United Nations and Planned
Parenthood in Africa and Latin America. After he retired he moved back to
Arizona and resumed working with the Papagos.
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Keywords
-
-
Corporation Names
- American Friends Service Committee
- Bureau of Indian Affairs
- Papago Affairs Association
-
Papago Indian
News
-
The Papago
News
- Southwest Indian Program
- United Nations
- United States Congress
- United States Department of the Interior
- University of Arizona
- University of California, Los Angeles
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-
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Geographic Names
- Bolivia
- California
- Caribbean
- Central America
- Costa Rica
- Ecuador
- Gila River, Arizona
- Illinois
- Kitt Peak, Arizona
- Massachusetts
- Mexico
- Mexico City, Mexico
- Montana
- Nepal
- New York
- Oklahoma
- Pasadena, California
- San Jose, California
- Sells, Arizona
- Sudan
- Topawa, Arizona
- Tucson, Arizona
- Washington, DC
-
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Occupations
- attorney
- International Planned Parenthood Federation program
director
- United Nations resident representative
-
-
Personal Names
- Carpenter, Edwin
- Denton, John
- Eisenhower, Dwight David
- Estrada, Elizabeth
- Segundo, Tom
- Gilmore, Harry
- Goldwater, Barry M.
- Hagman, Chet
- Jones, Alden
- King, Bill
- Mandez, Don
- Manuel, Mark
- Meinel, Aden
- Norris, George
- Spicer, Ned
- Stevens, Harry
- Udall, Stewart
-
-
Subjects
- 1934 Indian Reconstruction Act
- astronomical observatory
- cyclotron
- Papago Indians
- telescopes
- tribal council