Abstract
This interview with members of the Pembroke College class of 1960 focuses on the undergraduate experiences of Barbara Ruth Little, Joanne Phyllis Tenedine, Rosemary Ann Smith, Carolyn Marie Hanson, Minna Claire Saxe, Suzanne Elaine Werber, Joan Caryll Hoost, Linda June Blackman, Barbara Jane Hajjar, Jane Marilyn Doane, and Carol Maclennan at their 50th reunion.
The interviewees begin by introducing themselves with their names, majors, and a summary of their life after graduating from Pembroke. Many of the alumnae hold graduate degrees and pursued careers in the sciences and they discuss the uniqueness of those paths in the 1950s and 1960s and the discriminations they experienced as women in the workforce at that time. They go on to recall Pembroke’s policy of religion-based roommate assignments for those who lived in the dormitories as well as the feelings of difference experienced by those who commuted to campus.
The interviewees do recall camaraderie felt among the Pembroke women; learning about “gracious living;” and respecting the honor and dress codes. This leads to more sobering memories of the double standards for male Brown University students and the female Pembroke students in addition to a lengthy recollection of posture pictures. The interview closes with remembrances of Pembroke Dean Nancy Duke Lewis, compulsory Chapel, favorite courses, and various on-campus jobs.
See also: An individual interview with Joan Caryll Hoost, class of 1960
Recorded on May 29, 2010, Pembroke Hall, Brown University, Providence, RI.
Interviewed by Jane Lancaster
Suggested Chicago style citation: 50th Reunion, class of 1960. Interview. By Jane Lancaster. Pembroke Center Oral History Project, Brown University. May 29, 2010.
Biography
The Pembroke College class of 1960 graduated under Dean Nancy Duke Lewis and Brown University President Barnaby Keeney. Popular student organizations included The Pembroke Record, the Student Government Association, and the Honor Council. Some favorite celebrations were Christmas Weekend, May Weekend, and Father-Daughter Weekend. During their senior year, Alaska and Hawaii earned statehood and the first sit-in of black students at the segregated Woolworth lunch counter in North Carolina incited hundreds of sit-ins across the country.