The Samuel Proctor Oral History Program (SPOHP) is the official oral history program at the University of Florida. With more than 10,000 interviews and sound recordings and more than 150,000 pages of transcribed material, it is one of the largest university based oral history programs in the United States. SPOHP's mission is "to gather, preserve, and promote living histories of individuals from all walks of life." The program involves staff, undergraduate and graduate students, and community volunteers in its operation.Samuel Proctor Oral History Program, "About", University of Florida, 2015.Oral History Association, "Featured Member Spotlight: The Samuel Proctor Oral History Program", November 4, 2015.
History
The program was founded by Dr. Samuel Proctor in 1967 as the University of Florida Oral History Program. Its original projects were collections centered around Florida history with the purpose of preserving eyewitness accounts of economic, social, political, religious and intellectual life in Florida and the South. Major projects focused on Native American, African American, military, and Florida county-specific history. Much of SPOHP's early work was initiated by grants and support from the Doris Duke Foundation.
Dr. Samuel Proctor, the UF Oral History Program's original founder, was a prominent scholar of Florida history and a pioneer in the field of oral history in the United States. Dr. Proctor taught in the History Department at the University of Florida for fifty years, serving as the first official University of Florida Historian and Archivist and holding chairs as Distinguished Service Professor of History and Julian C. Yonge Professor of History. He was also the Director of the Center for Florida Studies and the History Curator at the Florida Museum of Natural History.College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, "Remembering Dr. Samuel Proctor", University of Florida, October 16, 2005.Bob Arndorfer, "'Dean of state history' dies at Gainesville Home" , The Gainesville Sun, July 11, 2005.
Following Dr. Proctor's tenure, the directorship of the program was taken up by Dr. Julian Pleasants, who renamed the program in Proctor's honor and lead the program from 1996 to 2008. Dr. Paul Ortiz served as director of SPOHP from 2008 to 2023. During this period, the program's holdings increased from approximately 4,000 interviews to more than 8,500, alongside work involving civil rights, African American, environmental, Native American, and veteran's histories. Dr. Jamin Wells became the program's fourth permanent director in 2025.Dr. Paul Ortíz, "Oral history with Dr. Julian Pleasants", December 7, 2007.Dr. Paul Ortíz, "President's letter", Oral History Association, Newsletter, Winter 2014, Volume XLVIII Number 3.
Awards
In October 2013, the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program was recognized by the Oral History Association with the Stetson Kennedy Vox Populi ("Voice of the People") award for outstanding achievement in using oral history to create a more humane and just world.McComb Legacies Project, "Congratulations to Falana McDaniel and the Samuel Proctor Program", October 10, 2013.
In April 2014, UF's Institute of Hispanic-Latino Cultures awarded SPOHP "Best Cultural Event" at the annual Noche de Gala ceremony for the production of the documentary, "Siempre Adelante: A Look at Faith and the Immigrant Struggle."Aida Mallard, "Samuel Proctor Oral History Program wins awards, The Gainesville Sun, August 17, 2014.
In August 2015, the Society of American Archivists recognized the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program and its Latina/o Diaspora in the Americas Project with the 2015 Diversity Award, for demonstrating significant achievement in archival activism, education, outreach, and service, based on long-term impacts improving and promoting diversity.2015 Fellows and Award Recipients, "Diversity Award: Samuel Proctor Oral History Program, Society of American Archivists, 2015.
Field Research, Public Programs, and Education Initiatives
The Samuel Proctor Oral History Program strives to promote the thousands of oral narratives entrusted in its care, making existing and emerging collections accessible to a wide audience by uploading transcripts of interviews, maintaining digital archives, creating educational podcasts, and organizing public programs and events. SPOHP also produces a newsletter, featuring new research and student work, that is published each semester.Samuel Proctor Oral History Program, "Newsletters", University of Florida, 2015.University of Florida Digital Collections, "Samuel Proctor Oral History Program Collections Podcasts", University of Florida, 2015.Dr. Jack E. Davis, "Honors students keeping history fresh", History @ UF - The Official Blog of the UF History Department, University of Florida, February 19, 2015.
SPOHP promotes the craft and intellectual traditions of oral history through university seminars, classes, and community-based workshops. SPOHP offers an internship class for 12-16 undergraduate students each semester, involving training in oral history practices and fieldwork experience, and also operates a program for volunteers on a rotating semester basis. The program consults on an ongoing basis with local historians, civic leaders, and educators across the country interested in initiating oral history projects in their towns and municipalities.Florida Division of Historical Resources, "Florida Folklife Program & Samuel Proctor Oral History Program Internship", Florida Department of State, 2015.Samuel Proctor Oral History Program, Mission, University of Florida, 2015.University of Florida News, "New UF summer program lets high school students get hands-on with Florida's past, present, and future", "Inside UF," February 24, 2015.Eastside High School, "IB Oral History Project", Alachua County Public Schools.
In November 2014, the Museum of Florida History in Tallahassee, Florida opened its first-ever civil rights exhibit, "Civil Rights in the Sunshine State," taking a frank look at African American history from the 19th through the 21st centuries.Events, Museum of Florida History Exhibit Civil Rights In the Sunshine State, Visit Tallahassee, 2015. SPOHP's African American History Project contributed oral history recordings and related materials to the exhibit, and Dr. Ortíz played a role in two successive civil rights panels hosted by the museum during Black History Month in February 2015.Samuel Proctor Oral History Program, African American History Project, University of Florida, 2015.
As of Spring 2015, over 60 original SPOHP podcasts are available to a global audience through the University of Florida Digital Collections and iTunes. These podcasts are created by staff, undergraduate and graduate students, and community volunteers with the intention of making oral histories shareable in an easy-to-access format. Most podcasts are under 15 minutes or less to facilitate easy access to local history for students, teachers, and the general public.Samuel Proctor Oral History Program, Podcasts, University of Florida, 2015.
BA/MA 4+1 Combined Degree Program
In October 2013, the UF History Department announced a new combined Bachelor's and Master's Degree Program in oral history. The program, open to students working in any field of modern history, is designed to train students in oral history practice to make history accessible to a broad audience and connect scholars and departments to their local communities. The track is open to students beginning in Spring 2014.History Department, 4+1 Program in Oral History, University of Florida, 2015.
Events and Public Programs
In the 2012–2013 school year, SPOHP hosted a variety of public events, including "Inside the Activists Studio: A Sit-in with Margaret Block," "Near Andersonville: Winslow Homer's Civil War" with Dr. Peter Wood, "Rebels and Runaways: Slave Resistance in 19th Century Florida" with Dr. Larry Rivers,University of Florida News, "The Wonder of Their Voices: The 1946 Holocaust Interviews of Dr. David Boder" with Dr. Alan Rosen,University of Florida News, "The Feminine Mystique at 50/Madmen, Working Girls, and Desperate Housewives: Men, Women, and Marriage in 1963 and 2013" with Stephanie Coontz.University of Florida News, Samuel Proctor Oral History Program, Events Archive, University of Florida, 2015.
In Fall 2013, SPOHP premiered the original documentary "Siempre Adelante: A Look at Faith and the Immigrant Struggle" on October 1, produced using interviews from the immigrant communities of Alachua County and Gainesville. It is SPOHP's third full-length documentary, featuring narratives of four immigrants from Mexico, El Salvador, and Guatemala who share the struggle of living undocumented in Alachua County, and have been supported by their faith in the face of fear and discrimination in the United States.Emily Nyren, Siempre Adelante Official Premier Screening, Samuel Proctor Oral History Program, University of Florida, October 22, 2013. In connection with UF Libraries' Department of Special & Area Studies Collections, SPOHP celebrated the donation of Stetson Kennedy's personal papers to the University of Florida on October 22.Jeff Schweers, UF to become home to Stetson Kennedy's written legacy, The Gainesville Sun, October 21, 2013. The all-day event concluded with an evening panel in Pugh Hall featuring FIU professor Marvin Dunn, folklorist Peggy Bulger, and sociologist Lucy Anne Hurston, niece of Zora Neale Hurston, in a discussion of Kennedy's legacy moderated by Ben Brotemarkle, with an introduction from UF First Lady Chris Machen.Jeff Schweers, Coming home at last: Stetson Kennedy's work to reside at UF, The Gainesville Sun, October 22, 2013.
In Spring 2014, SPOHP hosted three public programs. On January 15, 2014, renowned documentary filmmaker Tia Lessin screened award-winning film, "Trouble the Water" and hosted a symposium event. Through "Trouble the Water," New Orleans residents Kimberly Rivers Roberts and her husband Scott documented the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina with their own original footage, as well as their struggle to recover in the following months.Emily Nyren, Trouble the Water Film Screening Symposium, Samuel Proctor Oral History Program, February 7, 2014. On March 12, 2014, SPOHP hosted a presentation by Vietnam veteran and political activist Scott Camil, who discussed his involvement in the Gainesville Eight trials and the donation of personal papers and documents related to the event to SPOHP and UF.Eugenia Hawk, Scott Camil: "Resistance & Liberation" Panel, Samuel Proctor Oral History Program, March 20, 2014. Also on March 12, SPOHP organized a panel discussion with civil rights veterans to honor the 50th anniversary of the modern civil right movement in Florida. Students read excerpts from SPOHP's African American History Project (AAHP), providing the audience with more stories of others involved in the movement.Jeff Schweers, UF students get immersed in the history civil rights, The Gainesville Sun, March 9, 2014.Jeff Schweers, Several give stark accounts of segregation-era racism, The Gainesville Sun, March 12, 2014.Emily Nyren, The Florida Civil Rights Struggle Past & Present, Samuel Proctor Oral History Program, March 26, 2014.
For the 2015–16 year, SPOHP will be organizing a series of public programs and events surrounding Latino history in Florida, funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities and American Library Association's "Latino Americans: 500 Years of History" $10,000 grant. Sarah McNamara, SPOHP alumna and PhD candidate in history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, will coordinate the programming in connection with SPOHP's Latina/o Diaspora in the Americas Project.Samuel Proctor Oral History Program NEH LDAP Grant Release, University of Florida, August 19, 2015.
Fieldwork Research Trips