History professor emeritus celebrates 100th birthday

Charlie White, pictured in 1986, celebrates his 100th birthday on Nov. 3. He taught at PSU for 57 years. (Portland State University Archives Digital Gallery)

Charlie White, a professor emeritus of history who's been around Portland State since its early years, is turning 100 years old this weekend. And to celebrate, the History Department is raising money in his honor, encouraging donations of $100 for his milestone birthday and $57 for the number of years he taught at PSU.

For White, the number is just another year.

"I'm getting some congratulations in the mail already," he said. "So I have to tell them, 'It's another year,' and to hang on and send me greetings for my 101st."

He shared some words of wisdom for reaching the centennial mark: "It takes relaxing and not worrying about the small things."

White was born Nov. 3, 1924, in Mackinaw City, Michigan. In 1941, he started at Michigan State College, where he participated in ROTC, but his undergraduate studies were interrupted by the outbreak of World War II. After attending Midshipman's School at Columbia University, he served as a navigator on a landing ship tank, earning three battle stars in the Pacific theater.

After the war, White returned to Michigan State to finish his bachelor's before going on to complete a master's in history and political science with distinction. He earned his doctorate in history from the University of Southern California in 1959.

White joined the faculty of what was then Portland State Extension Center in 1952 - the year the college found its new home in downtown Portland after the devastating Vanport flood.

He taught courses in history, social science, methods of teaching, current affairs and geography and was among the first faculty to pilot television teaching in 1960. He and two other historians taught a History of Western Civilization course that aired live at 6:30 a.m. Despite the early start time, enrollment was strong and few dropped the course.

White says he enjoyed both styles of teaching and was always looking to stay current with the content.

"Teaching is absolutely interesting. I enjoyed every class, and made it a rule to make new notes for each presentation," he said. "It was most fun watching the people develop."

Multiple generations of students passed through his classroom and he even taught students whose parents he taught years prior. He still remains in contact with one student from his first class.

For 20 years, White served as director of the Summer Session, which under his leadership, grew into one of the 12th largest in the U.S. He introduced a broader range of course offerings and provided a variety of schedules, making it possible for students to complete a year's study of a subject in an intensive summer session - something that continues today.

White was also integral in introducing study abroad programs to Portland State. In 1962, he teamed up with a Lake Oswego High School teacher to create a program for students from Portland State, Willamette University and the University of Washington. In the fall and winter, students studied Western Civilization and World Language at their home institutions and in the spring, studied in London with a summer continuation in Paris. He served as director of International Education for 16 years.

He taught his last class in 2009 on Canadian history, among his favorite subjects to teach because he says it was something Americans knew little about.

White saw his milestone birthday as an opportunity to drum up support for a department he says has always been outstanding. Gifts will go toward the general fund, which can be used to support faculty and student research, guest lecturers and other expenses that come up during the year.

Katy Barber, professor and chair of history, says she's appreciative of the gesture and has remained in contact with White through the years after he audited some of her classes.

"He must have been an incredible teacher," she said. "He was an awesome senior auditor and was really thoughtful about how he interacted with students. Even though it made me a little nervous because he knew so much and I was a very new teacher, he was very supportive."

A birthday celebration for White on campus is also in the works.

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