Grace Allen oral history interview by Peter Klingman, July 16, 1999

Grace Allen discusses her life as the wife of University of South Florida\u27s first president, John F. Allen. Mrs. Allen has detailed remembrances of the beginnings and continued growth of USF, and the role she and her husband played in the University\u27s development. John Allen assumed leadership of the university in 1957 and guided USF through its early planning days, designing the Tampa campus and curriculum from the beginning. Grace Allen was active in bringing the community to the campus. One of her early accomplishments was developing the first organized group on campus, the USF Women\u27s club. It is important to note that President Allen felt that the library was the most important building to be constructed on campus, and the librarian was the first staff appointment