Laurence N. Smith was the vice-president for University Marketing and Student Affairs at Eastern Michigan University. In 1998, he served as Chair of the Sesquicentennial Steering Committee, which sought to plan events celebrating the 150th anniversary of the University. Additionally, he conducted a series of oral history interviews with prominent members of the University community and authored the book Eastern Michigan University: a sesquicentennial portrait.

The Sesquicentennial Oral History collection has been arranged into two series: Transcripts and Audio Cassettes. Each series has been subdivided by interviewee and chronologically by interview date.