An oral history conducted by Susan Resnik, Ph.D. with former San Diego State University Professor Eugene Ray on January 29, 2014. Eugene Ray began teaching Environmental Design at San Diego State in 1969. He founded and developed a unique program, which hosted guest lectures by prominent architects including Bruce Goff, Reyner Banham, Buckminster Fuller, and Archigram's Sir Peter Cook. The program generated many successful and notable professionals. Several students even assisted Ray in building his famous home, "The Silver Ship," in La Jolla, California. The professor's architectural works are influenced by the synchronicities of nature, a UFO sighting he had as a teenager, the many cultures represented in Louisiana, and an aspiration to develop affordable homes. In his oral history, Ray discusses his development of the curriculum for the Environmental Design program. He emphasizes teaching students leadership, and also talks about how affordable architecture set him apart from other architects and led his students to win awards. This oral history was made possible by a grant from the John and Jane Adams Endowment for the Humanities and is part of the University Archives Multimedia Files Collection. Names mentioned during the interview include: Gene Ray, Edgar Degas, Gladys Marie Staigg Ray, Elise Ray, Lucy Ray, Robert Heck, Patrick Staub, David Fobes, James Burke, de Gruy family, Marianne Conway Ray, Odilon Redon, John Lloyd Wright, Kotaro Nakamura, Chikado Terada, Ralph Bowman, George Staigg, Marianne Laub, Bill Laub, Randolph J. Ray, Jr., Ilsa Roco, Lloyd Roco, Derek Ray, Marian Ray, Ronald Eaton, John Messina, Tanya Messina, John Ray, and Francois Mignon., San Diego State University
