Topic: Base Realignment & Closure Committee
Interview of Pat Roberts, October 14, 2025
Interviewed by Jackie Cottrell and Mike Seyfert
The interviewers were former staffers of the Congressman, and as such, were able to ask the right questions. The anecdotes are interesting and reflect much of the national and world news during his forty year tenure of service. Agriculture was a principal focus, since Roberts chaired the Agriculture committees in both the House and Senate. His anecdote about how the Freedom to Farm legislation came about is interesting, because the suggestion came from a farmer. Roberts also recounts a meeting with President Trump about crop insurance where he was able to convince Trump not to eliminate Show Moreit, which would have been a very negative policy for the President and America's farmers. There is an anecdote where Roberts had to tell President Bush that Saddam Hussein had no weapons of mass destruction. Roberts' role in national intelligence was critical. Roberts had tremendous influence in his 40 years of service. He describes politics this way: "The first thing you’ve got to learn in politics is to listen, and the second thing is there’s no “I” in politics. It’s a “we” thing." Show Less
Interview of Kathleen Sebelius, March 8, 2004
Interviewed by Bob Beatty
This 2004 oral history interview of Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius was conducted by Dr. Bob Beatty of Washburn University as part of the Kansas Governors Recorded History and Documentary Project. At the time if this interview she was halfway through her first term as governor. Sebelius described her political lineage as the daughter of an Ohio governor and her transition from a volunteer to a Democratic leader in a Republican-leaning state. Throughout the interview, she reflected on the visibility and intensity of the role of governor, emphasizing her commitment to consumer advocacy, bipartisan cooperation, and fiscal responsibility. Considered Show Moretogether, this interview, a set of interviews also conducted by Dr. Beatty in 2016, and interviews of Sebelius conducted by KOHP in 2022, 2023, and 2026 provide insights into the approach of Kansas' second woman governor and the state's political landscape in the first decade of the 21st Century.
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Interviews of former Kansas governors conducted by Dr. Bob Beatty of Washburn University during the early decades of the 21st Century provide a view of the lives, political philosophies, and priorities of governors who led Kansas from the late 20th to the early 21st Century. Beatty generously granted the Kansas Oral History Project (KOHP) permission to house the transcripts of these interviews conducted with former governors John Anderson, William Avery, John Carlin, Bill Graves, Mike Hayden, Mark Parkinson, and Kathleen Sebelius. These interviews are a significant addition to the Kansas Governors collection, and the KOHP Board is grateful to Dr. Beatty for making the transcripts available for posting here. Show Less
Interviews of Kathleen Sebelius by Bob Beatty, August 15 and September 22, 2016
Interviewed by Bob Beatty
In these 2016 interviews, former Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius describes her family heritage, entry into politics, and career as a public servant in Kansas. The interviews were conducted by Dr. Bob Beatty of Washburn University. Sebelius describes the influence of her father, John Gilligan, whose commitment to moral courage and civil rights provided a model for principled leadership and retail politics. Gilligan served in Congress and as governor of Ohio. Sebelius details her own political ascent, from serving in the Kansas Legislature to her election as governor. In this interview, Sebelius describes dealing with long-time Show Morestate issues such as school finance and economic development along with newer issues such as tribal gaming compacts and the increasingly complex the healthcare environment. Excerpts of this interview and 2004 and 2008 interviews of Sebelius by Washburn University faculty were published in Kansas History: A Journal of the Central Plains 40 (Winter 2017-2018): 262-289. Read together, this interview, the 2004 Beatty interview, and KOHP interviews of Sebelius in 2022, 2023, and 2026 present a unique look at Kansas policymaking.
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Interviews of former Kansas governors conducted by Dr. Bob Beatty of Washburn University during the early decades of the 21st Century provide a view of the lives, political philosophies, and governing styles of governors who led Kansas from the late 20th to the early 21st Century. Beatty generously granted the Kansas Oral History Project (KOHP) permission to house the transcripts of these interviews conducted with former governors John Anderson, William Avery, John Carlin, Bill Graves, Mike Hayden, Mark Parkinson, and Kathleen Sebelius. These interviews are a significant addition to the Kansas Governors collection, and the KOHP Board is grateful to Dr. Beatty for making the transcripts available for posting here. Show Less