Biographical Note
Bill Wilkins was a faculty member and administrator at Oregon State
University from 1961 until his retirement in 1994. He was appointed an
Assistant Professor in the Economics Department in 1961 and served as Dean of
the College of Liberal Arts from 1982 to 1994.
A native of Texas, Wilkins earned his bachelor's and master's degrees
from Texas A & I University and his Ph.D. from the University of Texas. His
college education was interrupted by four years of active duty in the Air
Force, including a combat tour in Korea. He remained in the Air Force Reserve
until his retirement in 1982 as a colonel.
Wilkins was active in politics and served as chair of the Benton County
Democratic Party and co-chair of the 1968 Robert Kennedy presidential campaign
in Benton County.
During several leaves from OSU, he worked as a staff economist for the
U.S. House Ways and Means Committee and as an associate administrator for
policy and international aviation affairs with the Federal Aviation
Administration. He served as president of Council of Colleges of Arts and
Sciences.
Content Description
The Bill Wilkins Papers consists of materials generated and collected by
Economics Professor Bill Wilkins that document his research, teaching, and
administrative career at OSU as well as his posts as administrator with the
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and as a staff economist with the U.S.
House of Representatives. The bulk of the materials were assembled by Wilkins
in the process of his research and writing and include certificates, conference
papers, correspondence, nametags, newspaper clippings, manuscript drafts,
meeting minutes, photographs, plaques, posters, publications, speech
transcripts, and studies. The Papers also document Wilkins' participation in
professional and aviation-oriented organizations and political campaigns. The
photographs are primarily portrait images of Wilkins and also include a
photograph album documenting Wilkins' visit to Russia in 1980 for the FAA.