Russell A. Vacante is the Founder and President of the Oral History Research & Learning Center International. His interest in oral history began while he was a graduate student in the American Studies Program at the State University of New York at Buffalo (UB). The program afforded him the opportunity to conduct three years of “field” research in the Republic of Korea (South Korea), through which he earned a master’s degree. While studying abroad, he also obtained a master’s degree from Chung-Ang University in Seoul, Korea.
After returning from Korea, he pursued doctoral studies in Comparative Education through the Department of Social, Historical, and Philosophical Foundations of Education. He received his doctoral degree in 1986.
In May 2023, Dr. Vacante published a book entitled Japanese Colonial Education in Korea, 1910–1945: An Oral History. He currently has two oral history research projects in progress. One project examines the lived educational experiences of individuals in Korea during the post-colonial period (1945–1960). The second project focuses on military research and explores who becomes leaders in the U.S. military services, how they become leaders, and why.
Michael Frisch is Professor of History and American Studies and Senior Research Scholar at the University at Buffalo, SUNY. An American social and urban historian, he has long worked in oral and public history, collaborating with community organizations, museums, and documentary filmmakers. He is the author of A Shared Authority (1990) and, with Milton Rogovin, Portraits in Steel (1993), which won the Oral History Association’s Best Book Prize. Frisch has served as editor of Oral History Review, president of the American Studies Association, and president of the Oral History Association. His work on digital oral history and new media is developed through his consulting firm, The Randforce Associates, LLC, and includes leadership on multiple IMLS National Leadership projects. His recent publications examine the theory and practice of oral history in digital contexts.
Jolie Bonanti is a University of California, Berkeley gradute. She received two bachelor's degrees in political science and legal studies, and minored in public policy.