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Allen Avner Oral History Interviews

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The born digital content of the Allen Avner Oral History Interviews consists of nineteen interviews with Richard Allen Avner conducted by Alexander Scheeline between December 2022 and January 2023. In these interviews, Avner discussed his family, military service, work at the University of Illinois’ Computer-Based Education Research Laboratory, and involvement with Jewish organizations in Champaign-Urbana.

Born in 1937 in Fort Sheridan, Illinois, Richard Allen Avner earned a bachelor’s degree in Applied Psychology from Georgia Tech in 1961 and master’s degree in Experimental Psychology from the University of Illinois in 1964. From 1964-1966, Avner served in the United States Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory at Fort Novosel (previously Fort Rucker), Alabama. From 1967-1993, he was a principal research scientist at the University of Illinois Computer-Based Education Research Laboratory. Active in Champaign-Urbana’s Jewish community, Avner is a longtime member of Sinai Temple and has served on the board of directors of the Champaign-Urbana Jewish Federation.

Alexander Scheeline is a professor emeritus of chemistry at the University of Illinois, having joined the faculty in 1981. He is also a member of Sinai Temple and has served on the board of directors of the Champaign-Urbana Jewish Federation.

The born digital content includes MP3 audio files of interviews and PDF files of interview transcriptions.

The Illinois History and Lincoln Collections unit at the University of Illinois Library manages the items of Allen Avner Oral History Interviews (MS 1178). The born digital content was migrated from a USB flash drive in 2023. For more information, contact an archivist at ihlc@library.illinois.edu.

This collection is managed by the Illinois History and Lincoln Collections and does not feature precise descriptive information for each item. Discover its contents by browsing the folders and files. For more information, contact an archivist at ihlc@library.illinois.edu.