Abstract
Dorothy Ann Haus begins this interview by talking about her life before Pembroke College, growing up as a “Pollyanna” in Brattleboro, Vermont. Haus discusses many different aspects of life as a Pembroker including the rules and regulations, the gym requirement, dorm life, dating, freshman orientation, formal dinners and demitasse, and playing varsity sports. Haus recalls celebrations such as Father-Daughter Weekend, May Day, and Campus Dance. She also remembers posture pictures – a eugenics practice that included taking photos of nude students under the guise of checking for scoliosis, the later Pembroke-Brown merger.
Some interesting memories include Helen Hayes speaking at Chapel, Haus’ close relationship with Dean Gretchen Tonks, and bowling with Physical Education Director Bessie Rudd. Haus elaborates on her experience working for the school newspaper, the Pembroke Record, her memories of United States President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, the changing relationships between the Brown and Pembroke students, and the birth control pill.
The interview extends into her marriage and later career working in the Admissions Office at Brown, working for the Claremont Colleges in California, and being a speechwriter for Governor Ronald Reagan. At the time of the interview she looked forward to her daughter becoming a third generation Brown woman graduate.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Recorded on May 11, 1988
Interviewed by Kim Wade
Suggested Chicago style citation: Haus, Dorothy Ann. Interview. By Kim Wade. Pembroke Center Oral History Project, Brown University. May 11, 1988.
Biography
Dorothy Haus was born and raised in Brattleboro, Vermont. Her father was an uneducated millionaire and her mother was a Pembroke College graduate (class of 1922). It was expected that she and her siblings would attend college. Haus decided on Pembroke after she saw the campus and started in the fall of 1958. Her father died during her freshman year and when her mother died during her junior year, she moved back to Vermont to take care of her family. During that time, Haus met her husband, a Providence College graduate, and they married in 1963. She returned to Pembroke the following year and graduated in 1964. After graduation, Haus worked in Brown’s Admission Office for a few years before she and her husband moved to California for fourteen years where she worked for the Claremont Colleges in the Admissions Office and the Political Science Department. While working at Claremont, Haus had the opportunity of being a speechwriter for then Governor Ronald Reagan. Eventually, she had one daughter, moved back to Rhode Island, and worked in the Admissions Office at Brown University.