Oral history interview with Russell Gabier, November 8, 1990
Oral history interview with Russell L. Gabier, conducted by Lewis Carlson on November 8, 1990. Gabier discusses his childhood and education in Mesick, Michigan, and his introduction to track at Cadillac High School. A state champion in the one-mile track event, Russ graduated from Cadillac High School in 1946, joined the army that same year, and served in Japan. At Western Michigan University, Gabier won the MAC championship in track, held the record for the mile, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1991. He worked as a high school teacher and cross-country coach for the Hidden Valley school system before returning to WMU where he worked as assistant director of admissions starting in 1958. Gabier discusses in depth the fund raising processes in the private sector and his enjoyment of the work. He retired as WMU Director of Alumni Affairs and Development in 1986. Later that year, Gabier became the first executive director of the Irving S. Gilmore Foundation until his retirement in 1992. He died on February 18, 2018 in Kalamazoo, Michigan.