Oral History Interview, Craig Olson (703)

Abstract

In his 2004 interview, Craig Olson speaks about his time at UW-Madison, both as a PhD student involved in the Industrial Relations Research Institute (IRRI), and as a professor from 1985 to 2000. As a faculty member, he was jointly appointed in the IRRI and the business school. Olson talks about his two experiences as director of the IRRI and directions the institute took under his leadership. He also speaks about the ultimate closure of the IRRI, and why he thinks it closed, which included inability to grant tenure, uncompetitive amount of financial aid given to PhD students, and lack of commitment to rebuilding the IRRI from the dean of Letters and Sciences. He also mentions how the IRRI had a good relationship with the business school, as it brought in high quality faculty to the management department of the school. This interview was conducted for inclusion into the UW-Madison Archives & Records Management oral history collection.