Abstract In this interview, Ido Jamar (formerly Judith Fitzhugh), class of 1969, details her involvement as the face and voice of the 1968 Student Walkout – a civil rights protest against Brown University’s lack of commitment to students of color. Jamar begins first by discussing her family background and childhood growing up in Virginia, just […]
1960s
Susan Cowell, class of 1969
Abstract In this interview, Susan Cowell explains her reasons for choosing to attend Pembroke College, her expectations for campus culture, her roommate’s struggles with class differences, and the social life of Pembroke. She also discusses her own her peers’ efforts to protest the Girls School culture, including stealing the chimes, and a march to the […]
Constance Worthington, class of 1968
Abstract In this interview, Constance Worthington begins by talking about her family’s involvement in Brown University, and her eventual decision to transfer to Pembroke College. She then discusses her challenging time at Brown being a student, single mother, and a widow, and what it was like raising a son later diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome. Worthington […]
Gwyneth Van Anden Walker, class of 1968
Abstract This interview comes from a career forum for music students held at the Orwig Music Building with Gwyneth Walker in Providence, Rhode Island on December 5, 1997. Walker speaks primarily of her life in Vermont, her successful career as a composer, and the challenges of the art form, but does reflect occasionally on her […]
Susan A. Semonoff, class of 1968
Abstract In this interview, Susan A. Semonoff begins by talking about her family, her choice to attend Pembroke College, and the challenge of the academics once she arrived. She discusses her various classes and the tumultuous atmosphere at Brown/Pembroke in the sixties (The Vietnam War, the changing attitude towards women, and what inspired her to […]
Penelope A. Baskerville, class of 1968
Abstract Penelope “Penny” A. Baskerville begins Part 1 of this interview by recounting her family life and early education in New Jersey. She discusses the experience of being a racial minority at Pembroke (Baskerville was one of six Black women in her class) as well as the general novelty of the college social experience, stressing […]
Susan Elizabeth Geary, class of 1967
Abstract Susan Elizabeth Geary begins her interview by discussing her early education in Scituate, Rhode Island and her matriculation to Pembroke College where she was a commuting student. She goes on to discuss in detail the varying elements of her time at Pembroke, specifically focusing on her academic performance and experiences, dorm life, social life, […]
Meryl Smith, class of 1966
Abstract In this interview, Meryl Smith remembers life as an Orthodox Jewish Pembroker. She recounts how, even before she attended Pembroke, her mother would welcome to dinner any Pembroke or Brown students who were trying to keep kosher. She fondly remembers the friendships formed around playing bridge and smoking cigarettes, and participating in Question Club, […]
Elissa L. Beron, class of 1966
Abstract In Part 1 of this interview, Elissa L. Beron describes her enthusiasm for college life, having entered Pembroke College after her junior year of high school. She describes the social expectations of the time and how they began to change, her experience applying to medical schools as one of few female pre-med students, her […]
Cynthia Burdick, class of 1965
Abstract Cynthia Burdick grew up on a farm in Wilmington, Delaware and attended Westover boarding school in Connecticut. After graduation, she went to Bryn Mawr College for a year and half, during which she fell in love and got married. She then transferred to Pembroke College to be closer to her husband, who was working […]
Rochelle Miller, class of 1964
Abstract In this interview, Rochelle “Shelley” Miller begins with her decision to attend Pembroke College and the strong support she got from her family to do so. She bemoans feeling disconnected from campus life and girls who lived in dorms because she was a “townie,” or commuter student; however she fondly recalls spending time in […]
Dorothy Ann Haus, class of 1964
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 […]
Charlotte Nell Cook, class of 1964
Abstract In Part 1 of this interview, Charlotte Nell Cook discusses her upbringing, her decision to attend Pembroke College with the help of scholarship aid, and her general academic experience during her college years. She then recalls an anecdote about dating, describes the dynamics between male and female students, and touches on the near-total lack […]
Carolyn Ann Converse, class of 1964
Abstract This interview was donated by Carolyn Converse, class of 1964. Converse asked her Strathclyde University colleague, Kathleen Kane, to interview her for this project. Converse begins by sharing some personal background including information on her hometown of Wilton, Connecticut, her family’s educational history, and her father’s early death. She goes on to explain that […]
Hilary Berger Ross, class of 1963
Abstract Hilary Berger Ross begins Part 1 of her 1988 interview by discussing her search for community at Pembroke College, and speaks about her experience as a city girl – a female day student who attended Pembroke but did not live on campus. She remembers Pembroke rules and studying women in Shakespeare. She explains that […]
Joyce Loretta Richardson, class of 1963
Abstract Joyce Loretta Richardson begins her interview by discussing the experiences and people that led her to apply to and attend Pembroke College. She cites experiences such as going to boarding school, having a high achieving family, rejection from Radcliffe, and her fear of swimming. She contrasts her experience at boarding school with her arrival […]
Beverly Irene Nanes, class of 1963
Abstract Beverly Irene Nanes begins Part 1 of her interview by sharing some general family background, her reasons for attending Pembroke College, and her first impressions of the campus. She explains that she had no preconceptions about what she wanted to do after graduation and that her economics concentration was enlightening. Nanes describes living in […]
Steven S. Krawiec, class of 1963
Abstract In this 1988 interview with his daughter, Rebecca Krawiec ‘90, Steven S. Krawiec contributes fascinating insights regarding both the social and academic relationships between Brown University men and Pembroke College women in the early 1960s. Krawiec begins by providing a short biography of his parents’ educations and careers, and explains how he came to […]
Katharine Curtis Pierce, class of 1962
Abstract On the occasion of her 50th Reunion, Katharine Curtis Pierce looks back on the highlights of her time at Pembroke College. She begins by explaining her expectations for Pembroke and the “finishing school for Episcopal girls” that she found in its stead. Pierce talks about dorm life, her dissatisfaction with that atmosphere, her time […]
Carol Ann Markovitz, class of 1962
Abstract In this interview, Carol Ann Markovitz begins by describing her involvement at Pembroke outside the classroom, at Brown Youth Guidance—an outreach organization, at the Pendleton-Bradley Hospital, and at the Pembroke College school newspaper, the Pembroke Record. She then tells of her dissatisfaction with the social life on campus, her very close group of friends […]
Wanni W. Anderson, class of 1962
Abstract In this interview, Wanni W. Anderson, class of 1962 MA, and Adjunct Professor Emerita of Anthropology, discusses her life and education in Thailand, her transition to American life, her graduate work, and the historical landscape of women’s work and roles in the academy. Anderson begins by discussing her early life in Thailand. She explains […]
Romaine Ahlstrom, class of 1962
Abstract In Part 1 of this interview, Romaine Ahlstrom discusses the many moves her family made as child, her reasons for choosing to attend Pembroke College, the difficulties living in the sexist culture of the 1950s, her personal challenges at Pembroke, and the academic curriculum. She also talks about the social culture of the campus, […]
Cynthia Lee Jenner, class of 1961
Abstract In Part 1 of this interview, Cynthia Lee Jenner begins by describing her family background. She talks about the contemporary stigma against a middle class wife with a career and the effect of this on her mother and herself. From this context, she attended an all-girls boarding school and Pembroke College, both of which […]
50th Reunion, class of 1960
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. […]
Joan Caryll Hoost, class of 1960
Abstract In Part 1 of this interview recorded the week of her 55th reunion, Joan Caryll Hoost describes her experiences at Pembroke College and her work as an advocate for women’s causes. She shares stories about Freshman Week and her participation in the Pembroke Double Quartet, teaching fourth grade in Greensboro, North Carolina after graduation, […]
50th Reunion, class of 1961
Abstract This interview with members of the Pembroke College class of 1961 captures the undergraduate experiences of Emily Arnold, Margaret Katherine Ellickson, Elizabeth Francis Diggs, Sandy Barnell, Wendy Friedman Brest, Chelsea Remington, Ann Dolores Matteodo, Carol Gotes Moreland, Beth Arlene Burwell, and Ellen Jane Shaffer, at their 50th reunion. The interviewees begin by explaining why […]
50th Reunion, class of 1962
Abstract This interview with members of the Pembroke College class of 1962 spotlights the undergraduate experiences of Letha Brooks Smenton, Diana Lee Wilkoc, Jane Alice DeCourcy, Roberta Jean Adams, Dale Ronda Burg, Joan Ferris Baker, Helene Enid Schwarts, and Joyce Klaber, at their 50th reunion. The interviewees begin by introducing themselves and sharing where they […]
50th Reunion, class of 1963
Abstract This interview with members of the Pembroke College class of 1963 summarizes the undergraduate experiences of Martha Jean McCauley, Judith Margaret Watman, Jennifer Williams, Nancy C. Scull, Elaine Patterson Piller, Jean Amatneek, Carol Marcia Spindler, Linda Jane Brody, Judith Ann Neal, and Barbara Mae Smith, at their 50th reunion. The interviewees begin by introducing […]
Ingrid Ellen Winther, class of 1964
Abstract In this interview, Ingrid Ellen Winther begins by discussing her childhood and early education. She reflects on her memories of the first day at Pembroke College, her active social life, and her academics, pausing to note the lack of female role models at Pembroke. She felt that women were being educated to be good […]
50th Reunion, class of 1964
Abstract This interview with members of the Pembroke College class of 1964 highlights the undergraduate experiences of Linda Sue Mason, Ann Newhouse Welsh, Susan Frances Sinykin, Susan Margaret Bloch, Berit Christina Spant, Susan Rosenfeld, Ingrid Ellen Winther, Mara Gailitis, and Rhoda Pearlman Nagin, at their 50th reunion. The interviewees begin by introducing themselves, stating their […]
50th Reunion, class of 1965
Abstract This interview with twenty members of the Pembroke College class of 1965 captures the political, social, and academic issues on campus as remembered by Nancy E. Kilpatrick, Pamela B. Edwards, Elinor B. Bachrach, Pamela Thompson, Nancy L. Buc, Kay Berthold, Anne Doswell, Molly Perkins, Jean C. Hay, Claudia T. Nash, Elizabeth A. Glass, Jessica […]
Phyllis A. Kollmer, class of 1966
Abstract In this interview, Phyllis A. Kollmer discusses the general course requirements for obtaining a degree from Pembroke College in Brown University as well as some of her favorite courses, including Ancient History, Classical History, and Economics. She mentions her musical contributions to the Chattertocks and the social dynamics of coeducational courses. Additionally, Kollmer details […]
Carol Rita Dannenberg, class of 1966
Abstract In this interview, Carol R. Dannenberg begins by explaining her decision to attend Pembroke College. She discusses dating life, and student/professor relationships, as well as her involvement with student government, tension over curfews, the lack of role models on campus, and being involved in the Peace Corps during summer break. Dannenberg also discusses her […]
Kristie E. Miller, class of 1966
Abstract Kristie E. Miller, an award-winning biographer, begins her interview discussing the controversy surrounding her decision to attend college. Her mother, a supporter of Joseph McCarthy, always discouraged her academic interest and wanted her to go to a politically conservative school, while her father wanted her to go to a prestigious university. In Part 1, […]
50th Reunion, class of 1966
Abstract This interview with members of the Pembroke College class of 1966 captures the undergraduate experiences of Kristie E. Miller, Ulle Viiroja, Carol R. Dannenberg, Phyllis A. Kollmer, Lisa S. Manfull, Beverly Heafitz, and Leah W. Sprague, at their 50th reunion. The interviewees begin by introducing themselves with synopses of their lives after graduating from […]
50th Reunion, class of 1973
Abstract In this interview, Martha Banks, Joan Betesh, Nancy Clarke, Jane Desmond, Lynda Durfee, Phyllis Fineman Schlesinger, Lillian Lim, Patricia McMillen, Nina Peskoe Peyser, Marian Weber, and Lucy Winner, members of the Brown University class of 1973, share their memories of their time on campus in honor of their 50th reunion. The first half hour […]
50th Reunion, class of 1967
Abstract This interview with members of the Pembroke College class of 1967 documents the undergraduate experiences of Carol Lemlein, Susan Haas, Brenda Hubbard, Karen Wolk, Sharon Drager, and Judith Minno, at their 50th reunion. The interviewees begin by introducing themselves, explaining what drew them to Pembroke, and sharing some of what their lives entailed after […]
Roswell Johnson, M.D., Staff
Abstract In this interview, Roswell Johnson, MD, discusses his time at Brown University as the director of health services in the 1960s and the controversy surrounding his willingness to prescribe birth control to Pembroke students in 1965. He explains how his first request for birth control came from Brown’s chaplain on behalf of an engaged […]
Ancelin M. Vogt, class of 1968
Abstract In this interview, Ancelin M. Vogt discusses her parents’ backgrounds as intellectuals and graduates of Harvard University and Radcliffe College. She notes that Radcliffe was her first-choice school but after being denied there it was a scholarship to Pembroke College that influenced her decision to attend. She explains the lack of support she felt […]
50th Reunion, class of 1968
Abstract This interview with members of the Pembroke College class of 1968 documents the undergraduate experiences of Virginia R. Heinbockel, Sally R. Kusnitz, Bernicestine E. McLeod, Helaine Benson Palmer, Elizabeth S. Remage, Carole L. Sayle, Rochelle R. Sender, Jean K. Trescott, Nancy B. Turck, and Ancelin M. Vogt, at their 50th reunion. The interviewees begin […]
Rita Ann Chao, class of 1969
Abstract In this interview, Rita Ann Chao, class of 1969, discusses growing up in Vietnam, arriving in Maine, studying applied math at Brown University, and her career in software development, management consulting, and organization transformation. She begins by describing her experience growing up in Vietnam as a person of Chinese descent during the French Indochina […]
50th Reunion, class of 1969
Abstract This interview with members of the Pembroke College class of 1969 documents the undergraduate experiences of Kathryn H. Au, Rita Ann Chao, Maria Garcia, Kathryn Troyer, and Lucy Jane Wollaeger, at their 50th reunion. Interviewees begin by introducing themselves, mentioning where they come from geographically, their parents’ educational backgrounds, and what attracted them to […]
Black Alumnae at their 25th Reunion, class of 1968
Abstract This oral history features three members of the class of the Pembroke College class of 1968: Marcia D. Lloyd, an artist and professor of Painting at the Massachusetts College of Art; Bernicestine E. McLeod, an information management consultant; and Sandra L. Richards, a professor of African American Studies and Theatre at Northwestern University. Lloyd […]
Black Alumnae at their 50th Reunion, class of 1968
Abstract This interview with Black alumnae of the Pembroke College class of 1968 documents the undergraduate experiences of Marcia D. Lloyd, Bernicestine McLeod, Sandra L. Richards, and Sharon P. Wilkinson, at their 50th reunion. The interview begins with each interviewee introducing themselves, sharing some family background, and explaining what drew them to Pembroke. The group […]
Women of Brown United, classes of 1972-1973
Abstract In this interview recorded on the eve of the Supreme Court’s overturn of Roe v. Wade, eight Brown University alumnae discuss the factors that led them to found the women’s liberation student group, Women of Brown United (WBU) in 1970. They detail campus life and group activism in the midst of the sexual revolution, […]