Sally Katzen

Collection: Perspectives on Modern Regulatory Governance
Dates of interview: October – November 2012
Interviewer: Edward Balleisen and Jonathan Wiener
Interview length: ~8 hours
Transcript: (PDF)
Location of interview: Kenan Institute for Ethics, Duke University, Durham, NC

Brief biography: Sally Katzen was the administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) during the Clinton Administration from 1993 to 1998.  Katzen completed her undergraduate degree at Smith College and went on to the University of Michigan School of Law, where she served as editor-in-chief of the Michigan Law Review.  Katzen was the first woman to hold such a position on any major law review.  After completing law school, Katzen became a partner at Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering, where she specialized in administrative law and regulation.  Katzen first entered government service as the General Counsel of the Council on Wage and Price Stability from 1979 to 1981, and later returned to public service as the administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) from 1993 to 1998.  Since leaving OIRA, Katzen has held various positions in academia, government service, and the private sector; she is currently a Senior Advisor at the Podesta Group and a visiting professor at the New York University School of Law.

Brief summary: These interviews survey an incredibly broad range of topics in regulatory governance and law, spanning from the early days of television regulation to air quality standards to food safety rules, and outlining key institutional connections between the Council on Wage and Price Stability and the modern OIRA.  In addition to its value to scholars interested in the process and possibilities of effective regulatory policymaking, these interviews (particularly the first one) provide a valuable account of the experiences of women in the legal profession in the mid-twentieth century.

Time range of discussion: 1963-2012

(Keywords coming soon)

Oral History of the Texas Oil Industry

Project description: This collection consists of 179 interviews transcribed and indexed interviews recorded with participants in the Texas oil industry. The finding aid characterizes interviewees as “roughnecks, drillers, promoters, financiers, contractors, leasemen and law officers.”

Regulatory significance: Difficult to assess given that the collection is not available online. If you are familiar with this collection, please contact us with more information.

RepositoryUniversity of Texas – Austin

Interview dates: 1952 – 1958

Digital access: No online access.

Physical access: For access to interview materials, visit the Briscoe Center for American History at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas. Finding aid says that audio recording is by appointment only at archive, but seems likely from description of project that transcripts are available.

Linkhttp://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/utcah/00282/cah-00282.html

Nevada Test Site Oral History Project

Project description: This program consists of 150 interviews that document the history of the Nevada Test Site during the Cold War. Interviewees include: national laboratory scientists and engineers; support staff; inspectors; AEC/NRC officials; US Department of Energy officials, US Public Health Service officials; and EPA officials.

Regulatory significance: A brief examination of these interviews suggest that some interviews cover environmental and nuclear safety rules and regulations, from lab to federal levels. They possibly cover land use regulation, and jurisdictional questions regarding tribal lands. This is a robust collection, and a broader survey is required to take full stock of its regulatory richness.

Repository: University of Nevada at Las Vegas

Interview dates: 2003 – 2008

Digital access: Full transcripts available online; limited audio and video clips available online.

Link: http://digital.library.unlv.edu/ntsohp/

Farm Safety Oral History Project

Project description: Thirty two interviews with farmers in Mississippi, Alabama, North Carolina and Tennessee, focused on occupational health concerns. Topics include chemical use, work-place accidents, and availability of medical care in rural areas.

RepositoryUniversity of Kentucky

Digital access: Only brief abstracts available online.

Physical access: For access to transcripts and audio, visit the Special Collections Library at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky.

Link: http://www.kentuckyoralhistory.org/series/18936/farm-safety-oral-history-project

Tobacco Production Technology and Policy Oral History Project

Project description: This project contains 55 interviews concerning the production of tobacco in Kentucky. Topics include tobacco farming practices, tobacco marketing, commercial farming, subsistence farming, farm mechanization, agricultural technology, government programs, division of farm labor, raising livestock, farm specializations, land use, family histories, education, and health issues.

Repository: University of Kentucky

Digital access: No online access

Physical access: For access to all transcripts and audio, visit the Special Collections Library at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky.

Link: http://www.kentuckyoralhistory.org/series/18828/tobacco-production-technology-and-policy-oral-history-proJect%20%0d

Environmental Activism in Los Angeles

Project description: This collection consists of 19 interviews conducted from the 1970s to the present documenting environmental activism in the Los Angeles area.  Most interviewees were founders or “major participants” in important regional environmental organizations.

Regulatory significance: Interviews touch on both local and federal regulations and provide insight into the development and activities of local environmental groups and national advocacy organizations with substantial presence in the LA area (especially the American Lung Association). These groups’ efforts to influence regulatory policy and participate in negotiated rule making processes are key to several interviews in the project.

RepositoryUniversity of California – Los Angeles

Interview dates: 2006 – 2009

Digital access: Transcripts and audio for these interviews are available online.

Physical access: For access to all transcripts and audio, visit UCLA’s Charles E. Young Research Library Department of Special Collections.

Link: http://oralhistory.library.ucla.edu/viewItem.do?ark=21198/zz0008zh0f&title=Oral%20History%20Collection

Ronald Reagan Gubernatorial Era

Project description: This is the catch all for interviews housed at the Regional Oral History Office (ROHO) at UC – Berkeley related to Ronald Reagan’s gubernatorial administration from 1967 – 1975. ROHO also lists relevant interviews housed at other California repositories.

Regulatory significance: Interviews cover a variety of regulatory topics, including consumer affairs, financial regulation, health care, and farm labor conditions.

RepositoryUniversity of California – Berkeley

Interview dates: 1980 – 1989

Digital access: Transcripts for interviews housed at ROHO are available online.

Physical access: For access to all transcripts and audio, visit the Bancroft Library at UC-Berkeley, California.

Link: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/ROHO/collections/subjectarea/pol_gov/reagan.html

Forest History Project

Project description: These five interviews on forestry and logging contain material on conservation, woods safety, fire-fighting and the development of protective associations, old Minnesota logging camps, logging methods and machinery, and the development of the Paul Bunyan legends.

Regulatory significance: Difficult to determine, as the abstracts for these interviews are not revealing. It appears that some of them may address issues of forest management and labor regulation.

RepositoryColumbia Center for Oral History

Interview dates: Circa 1957

Digital access: Only abstracts. No online transcripts or audio.

Physical access: For transcripts and audio, researchers may visit the Columbia Center for Oral History.

Linkhttp://oralhistoryportal.cul.columbia.edu/document.php?id=ldpd_4074540

Interviewees: Charles S. Cowan; George W. Dulany; Inman F. Eldredge; Royal S. Kellogg; Donald MacKenzie; Maggie Orr O’Neill; P. J. Rutledge; James Stevens.

Brea-Olina Community History

Project description: The Bera-Olina Community History project has approximately 50 interviews with residents of the community in southern California. Many interviewees spent their careers in the local oil fields.

Regulatory significance: Four interviews discuss inspections, safety regulations, and local government as it pertained to oil extraction.

Repository: Center for Oral and Public History, California State University – Fullerton

Interview dates: Late 1970s – early 1980s

Digital access: No online availability for transcripts. Online listing includes brief description of each interview.

Link: http://coph.fullerton.edu/breaOlinda.asp

Colorado Coal Mining Project

Project description: The Colorado Coal Mining Project consists of approximately 20 interviews focused on the mining of coal and on coal mining communities in Colorado. Of primary concern are the 1914 coal miners’ strike and the Great Depression.

Regulatory significance: Three interviews discuss working conditions, mine safety, and the effect of mining regulations on worker safety.

Repository: Center for Oral and Public History, California State University – Fullerton

Interview dates: 1970-1971

Digital access: No online availability.

Link: http://coph.fullerton.edu/coloradoCoalMining.asp