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Transcript of interview with Dr. James Deacon by Mary K. Keiser, August 24, 2006

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Narrator

Date

2006-08-24

Description

James Deacon was born at home in White, South Dakota. For the first few years of his life, the family moved around a lot to accommodate his father's job as school superintendent. Their summers were spent in a cabin on a lake, where Jim helped his grandparents in their store, seining minnows, clerking, and putting up ice. From his eighth grade year through high school graduation, the family lived in Aberdeen, which was the largest city (population 25,000) they had lived in Jim attended college on a tuition scholarship in Wichita Falls, Texas. He majored in biology and education, and then went to grad school at the University of Kansas. His favorite undergraduate professor knew the fish expert there and encouraged Jim to study fish. Instead of completing a master's degree, Jim went straight into the Ph.D. program. He graduated in the summer of 1960, and started applying for jobs. He interviewed with Dean Bill Carlson for a job at UNLV, which was then called University of Nevada Southern Regional Division. In 1964, Jim and his family moved to Reno and he taught two summers at UNR. As professor of biology, Jim focused on getting students involved in field studies as well as classroom work. He was instrumental in organizing the Department of Environmental Studies, which started in 1992. He also helped develop a master's program and a Ph.D. program in biology. He is best known for his expertise and involvement in the study of the Devil's Hole pup fish, an endangered Nevada species of fish.

Digital ID

OH_00388_book
    Details

    Citation

    Dr. James Deacon oral history interview, 2006 August 24. OH-00388. [Transcript]. Oral History Research Center, Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada. http://n2t.net/ark:/62930/d1833r20h

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    This material is made available to facilitate private study, scholarship, or research. It may be protected by copyright, trademark, privacy, publicity rights, or other interests not owned by UNLV. Users are responsible for determining whether permissions are necessary from rights owners for any intended use and for obtaining all required permissions. Acknowledgement of the UNLV University Libraries is requested. For more information, please see the UNLV Special Collections policies on reproduction and use (https://www.library.unlv.edu/speccol/research_and_services/reproductions) or contact us at special.collections@unlv.edu.

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    Language

    English

    Format

    image/tiff

    An Interview with Dr. James Deacon An Oral History Conducted by Mary K. Keiser The UNLV @ Fifty Oral History Project Oral History Research Center at UNLV University Libraries University of Nevada Las Vegas 2007 ©UNLV@ FIFTY Oral History Project U