Chet Orloff

Chester Lloyd "Chet" Orloff (February 22, 1949 – ) is a historian, writer and professor in Portland, Oregon, called "one of [Oregon's] favorite history teachers" by The Oregonian.^[1]

Early life

Orloff was born in Bellingham, Washington to business financier Monford Orloff and Janice Diamond Orloff, and raised in Washington and Portland, Oregon. His brother is physicist Jon Orloff. Orloff attended Lincoln High School,^[2] went to Boston University to prepare for law school,^[3] then transferred to the University of Oregon where he ran under legendary track coach Bill Bowerman. Orloff studied anthropology at University of Oregon,^[4] graduating in 1972 with a degree in archaeology.^[5] Orloff later received a masters degree in history and historical agency administration from Portland State University.^[5]

Personal life

Orloff lives in the Willamette Heights area of Portland.^[5] He is vocal about Portland history and politics, including the Walk of the Heroines at PSU,^[6] and 1994's landmark Oregon Death with Dignity Act.^[7]

Career

Orloff enlisted in the Peace Corps and lived and taught in Afghanistan with his wife until 1975. They returned to Portland where he interned at the Oregon Historical Society (OHS), then became assistant director from 1982 to 1986.^[8] In 1987 he left OHS and founded the Ninth Judicial Circuit Historical Society in Pasadena, California.^[9] In 1991 he returned to OHS,^[10] being appointed deputy director on January 1, 1992 to due to staff turmoil and mismanagement, which had led to the resignation of nearly 30 staff members and former director Bill Tramposch.^[11][12] He held this position for ten years, retiring at the end of 2000.^[1][12] Orloff was the founder and editor of the journal Western Legal History and was the Senior Editor of the Oregon Historical Quarterly.

In 2001, Orloff assembled a Columbia River maritime museum in a concourse at the Portland International Airport. It was "98 percent complete" as of the September 11 attacks, which limited visitors to ticketed passengers.^[13]

Orloff is an adjunct professor of Urban Studies and Planning at Portland State University and an instructor at the University of Oregon School of Architecture.^[10] He is also principal of Oregon History Works, a consulting firm for historical applications in design and development,^{[citation needed]} president of Museum of the City,^{[citation needed]} and has served on the Portland Planning Commission.^[8]

Selected publications

Author/editor

• Western Legal History Volume 2, Number 2, Chet Orloff, editor, 1989, Ninth Judicial Circuit Historical Society
• Portland's Public Art: A Guide and History, Norma Catherine Gleason and Chet Orloff, 1986, ISBN 0875950590
• Willamette Heights: a history, 1980
• Gifts that preserve Oregon's past for the future, 1980

Chapter and article contributions

• Museums of Cities and the Future of Cities, in Robert R. Macdonald's City Museums and City Development, 2008, ISBN 0759111804
• If Zealously Promoted by All: The Push and Pull of Portland Parks History, in The Portland Edge: Challenges and Successes In Growing Communities, 2008, Connie Ozawa, editor, ISBN 1559636955
• Maintaining Eden: John Charles Olmsted and the Portland Park System, in Yearbook of the Association of Pacific Coast Geographers 66, 2004

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "OREGON'S HISTORY TEACHER (editorial)". The Oregonian. 2000-11-13. 
2. ^ "THE DIRECTOR CHET ORLOFF". The Oregonian: pp. L10. 1995-12-03. 
3. ^ Rubenstein, Sura (1995-12-03). "THE FUTURE OF THE PAST". The Oregonian: pp. L01. 
4. ^ Wyant, Dan (1970-11-01). "Eugene's ecology-aware school kids keep Jaycee's anti-litter beast well fed". Eugene Register-Guard: pp. 13. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=NTsRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=IeEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4700,126781&dq=chet+orloff&hl=en. Retrieved 2010-01-12. 
5. ^ ^{a b c} Mershon, Helen L. (1997-09-17). "CHET ORLOFF, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, OREGON HISTORICAL SOCIETY, ON HIS BOOK-LINED LIBRARY". The Oregonian: pp. 27. 
6. ^ Orloff, Chet. "Community Supporters: Chet Orloff". http://www.woh.pdx.edu/about/support/orloff/. Retrieved 2010-01-12. 
7. ^ Bates, Tom; Mark O'Keefe (1994-11-13). "ON SUICIDE MEASURE, OREGON IS A MAVERICK ONCE AGAIN". The Oregonian: pp. A01. 
8. ^ ^{a b} Rubenstein, Sura (1991-11-11). "HISTORICAL SOCIETY PRAISES NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR". The Oregonian: pp. B05. 
9. ^ Pintarich, Paul (1990-01-23). "ROLE OF FAR-REACHING NINTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT SPAWNS PUBLICATIONS". The Oregonian: pp. D06. 
10. ^ ^{a b} Saker, Anne (2010-01-11). "Portland State prof takes on a new kind of museum: One on the Internet using a Wikipedia model". The Oregonian. http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2010/01/portland_state_prof_takes_on_a.html. Retrieved 2010-01-11. 
11. ^ Tomlinson, Stuart (1991-11-07). "FORMER ASSISTANT TO HEAD HISTORICAL SOCIETY". The Oregonian: pp. B03. 
12. ^ ^{a b} Leeson, Fred (2000-11-08). "ORLOFF WILL LEAVE JOB AT HISTORICAL SOCIETY". The Oregonian: pp. C09. 
13. ^ Stewart, Bill (2001-10-10). "MUSEUM IN A HUB OF INACTIVITY". The Oregonian: pp. D01. 

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