DescriptionConstitutional Convention Research Analyst and legal counsel Roger Barber started to work for the Montana Constitutional Convention Preparatory Commission just days after graduating from law school and being sworn in as a practicing attorney in the State of Montana. A year earlier, Roger had written a story for the University of Montana public information office about the movement to call for a constitutional convention in Montana, and he vowed at that time to try and get a job at the historic event. He ended up writing the research document on revenue and finance issues in state constitutions, and was hired by the Convention itself to work as an aide and consultant to the Revenue and Finance Committee.
Roger grew up on a dry land farm near Denton, Montana. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Montana, and worked for the Western News in Libby, Montana, as its managing editor before going to law school. After completing his work at the historic Montana Constitutional Convention, he spent a year and a half in Washington, D.C., where he served as the Montana Intern in the office of the Honorable Lee Metcalf, U.S. Senator for Montana, and worked for the Indian Civil Rights Task Force in the Department of the Interior.
In 1974, Roger returned to Montana to begin his 32-year career as a teacher and administrator with the Montana University System. He spent four years as an assistant professor in the School of Business Administration at the University of Montana. In 1978, Roger moved to Havre, Montana, when his wife took a job with a Havre law firm. Two years later, he was hired by Northern Montana College (now Montana State University-Northern) as an assistant professor in its newly-authorized business program. He returned to the University of Montana to earn a Masters of Business Administration and spent 28 years at the Havre university.
During his years at MSU-Northern, Roger rose through the ranks of the faculty to become a full professor. He also served as chair of the business department, dean of its technical programs, provost of the University, and even spent a few months as acting chancellor of the institution.
In 2003, Roger was asked to fill the position of Deputy Commissioner for Academic and Student Affairs in the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education for the Montana University System. He completed almost five years in that position, and retired in 2008.
Roger has been married for 43 years to Mary VanBuskirk, whom he met at the Montana a Constitutional Convention. Mary’s mother, Edith VanBuskirk, was a delegate to the Convention and Mary had served as her campaign manager. Roger and Mary currently live in Whitefish, Montana, where they are both happily retired.
In this episode, Roger discusses his background and how he ended up at the Constitutional Convention as well as his work in crafting the research for the Revenue & Finance Committee. He discusses the special tax privileges and administrative weaknesses of the tax system under the 1889 Constitution, the taxation philosophy the committee applied in drafting the Revenue and Finance Article and the taxation relationship between the State of Montana and local taxing jurisdictions, including local governments and schools.TypeMoving ImageCreatorHelena Civic Television and Orphan Girl ProductionIntervieweeRoger BarberInterviewerBarrett, EvanGenredigital videoLanguageengDate2022SubjectConstitutionConstitutional ConventionsGovernmentLegislative bodies--CommitteesContributing InstitutionOrphan Girl ProductionsGeographic CoverageMontanaTime Period Represented1971-1972Digital CollectionLast Best Constitution - Montana's 1972 Constitutional Convention & Constitution: a Video RetrospectiveDigital Formatvideo/mp4Digitization SpecificationsIntegrated Studio:
Three camera system designed around the Panasonic AW HE130 p PTZ camera platform. Kino Flo set lighting. Sony ECM 44B lapel microphones. Mackie audio mixer. Ross Carbonite source A/V switcher with Expression CG package. Blackmagic Designs Hyper deck A/V recorder set to capture the Apple ProRes codec.
Postproduction:
Audio and video edits, Final Cut Pro Studio package deployed in the iMac system. Graphics designs and editing, Adobe Photoshop. Open animation and closing credit creation, Adobe After Effects. Transcoding, Adobe Media Encoder and Final Cut Pro.
Zoom interface capture:
Blackmagic Designs ATEM mini switcher Date Digitized2022
Helena Civic Television and Orphan Girl Production, Episode 12 - Fair Taxes Finally (2022). Montana History Portal, accessed 07/12/2023, https://www.mtmemory.org/nodes/view/110619
