- Oregon State Representative, 1974-1995.
About Rep. Van Vliet
Tony Van Vliet was born in 1930 in San Francisco, California. He moved to Oregon in 1948 to study forestry at Oregon State College (now Oregon State University). After serving in the army during the Korean War, Van Vliet returned to Corvallis to teach in the Forestry Department. He remained employed by Oregon State University for 35 years, earning his master’s degree in Forest Products. He also took a sabbatical to earn a Ph. D. in Wood Industry Management from Michigan State University. During his time at OSU, he received two teaching awards.
Alongside his career at Oregon State University, Van Vliet also spent 20 years in the Oregon state legislature. He was elected to represent Oregon House district 16 in 1974, and reelected nine more times. He served on a number of committees, including the Joint Ways and Means Committee, which he co-chaired in 1991.
After his retirement from OSU and the legislature, Van Vliet remained active in his community. He served on Oregon’s Environmental Quality Commission, the Oregon Board of Higher Education and he was a member of the Corvallis Riverfront Commission, a group that successfully advocated for beautifying the downtown area of Corvallis.
– Interview recorded June 14, 2002