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Tim and Cathy Tran Collection

 Collection
Identifier: MS-119

Content Description

The collection consists of material related to Tim and Cathy Tran, including a handmade camp stove from a refugee camp where they lived, and copies of photographs and news articles related to their life stories. The Trans donated the camp stove; the articles and other material were gathered by library staff on the occasion of the dedication of the Forest Grove campus library as the Tim and Cathy Tran Library on October 6, 2017.

Dates

  • 1970-2017

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Historical Note

Tim (Khiem) and Cathy (Thuy) Tran were international students from South Vietnam who attended Pacific University from 1970-1972. During that time, they befriended the family of Professor George Evans, and Pacific alumna Bobbi Nickels, who ran the Upward Bound program. After two years at Pacific, Tim finished his undergraduate degree at the University of California, Berkeley, and Cathy finished her degree at the University of Oregon. The two returned to South Vietnam in 1974. When the war ended and Saigon was overrun by communist forces, the family endured great hardships. Tim's sister escaped to the United States, where Bobbi Nickels helped her. In 1979, Tim and Cathy escaped via boat and were placed in a refugee camp in Malaysia. The camp stove in this collection was made by hand from food tins in that camp. Eventually the Trans were able to immigrate to the United States and became naturalized citizens in 1986. They remained in touch with their friends at Pacific University. Tim went on to become the Chief Financial Officer of Johnstone Supply, and Cathy worked for U.S. Bank then The Standard and became accounting manager. In 2017, the Trans established the Khiem "Tim" Tran '74 and Thuy "Cathy" Tran '74 Library Endowment Fund at Pacific University. In honor of their gift, the library building on the Forest Grove campus, which was built in 2005, was dedicated as the Tim and Cathy Tran Library in a ceremony on October 6, 2017.

Extent

0.25 Cubic Feet (1 box)

Language of Materials

English

Summary

Tim (Khiem) and Cathy (Thuy) Tran were international students from South Vietnam who attended Pacific University from 1970-1972. In 2017, they established an endowment for the Pacific University Libraries, and the Forest Grove campus library was renamed in their honor. This collection includes the handmade camp stove that they used while living in a refugee camp in Malaysia, as well as copies of news articles and photographs related to their life story.

Title
Tim and Cathy Tran Collection
Author
Eva Guggemos
Date
2018
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English.

Repository Details

Part of the Pacific University Archives Repository

Contact:
2043 College Way
Forest Grove OR 97116 United States