Abstract In this interview, Jaclyn Mason, Sarah Pierson, and Ninian Stein, members of the Brown University class of 1999, share memories of their time on campus in honor of their 25th reunion. The interviewees begin by sharing why they decided to attend Brown. Geography and the open curriculum were two of their biggest reasons. They […]
Feminism
Xochitl Gonzalez, class of 1999
Abstract In this interview, Xochitl Gonzalez, Brown University class of 1999, shares her memories of her time on campus on the eve of her 25th reunion. Gonzalez begins by discussing her childhood. She describes growing up in a working class Brooklyn neighborhood and being raised by her maternal grandparents. She explains that her mother, Andrea […]
Meghan Kallman, class of 2016, Ph.D.
Abstract In her interview, Meghan Kallman, Brown University class of 2016, PhD, speaks about her path into sociology and Rhode Island state politics — both of which stem from a deep interest in community and social organization. Kallman begins by describing her childhood in a rural school system in New Hampshire. She also discusses her […]
Joan Katz, class of 1973
Abstract In this interview, Joan Katz Betesh, Brown University class of 1973, reflects on her time on campus, her pathway to law school, and the development of her career in immigration law. Betesh speaks first about her initial attraction to Brown and to the New Curriculum as a college applicant, which she saw as a […]
Karen T. Romer, Staff
Abstract In this interview, Karen T. Romer, a Brown University administrator of 29 years, describes life for women on campus between 1972 and 2001, as well as her own experiences in postwar Europe in two separate years before college during the 1950s. Romer begins by discussing her family background including her father’s work in biology […]
Galia Siegel, class of 1989
Abstract In Part 1 of her interview, Galia Siegel speaks about her work with Project Birth – an advocacy, service, and educational program for pregnant and parenting teens in South Providence, and founding its corollary, Peer Sister, which matched women in Project Birth with women at Brown who would tutor them. In Part 2, Siegel […]
Lydia L. English, class of 1985
Abstract Lydia L. English came to Brown in 1981 as a resumed undergraduate education student, after having worked in banking in the U.S. Virgin Islands for eight years. In this interview, English states that her initial motivation to receive a liberal arts education was her newfound interest “in how cultures interact,” gathered from her extensive […]
Linda J. Peters, class of 1982
Abstract In Part 1 of her interview, Linda J. Peters begins by sharing some background information, including her multiracial identity and growing up in a Black neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois. She also recalls her reasons for choosing to attend Brown University. Peters details attending Third World Transition Week – a program that welcomes new students […]
Rita Duarte Marinho, class of 1979
Abstract In this interview, Rita Duarte Marinho discusses her experiences pursuing a doctoral degree in political science at Brown University from 1975 to 1979. Marinho begins by sharing some personal background. She describes growing up in New Bedford, Massachusetts, and being raised primarily by women. She sets herself in the context of the Second World […]
Maggie M. Wenig, class of 1978 (interview 2 of 2)
Abstract In her second interview, conducted in 2013, Maggie M. Wenig begins by discussing her admission to Brown University, where she was involved with the Brown University Women’s Minyan. She discusses the rigor of the Religious Studies Department, the strength of its professors and their mentorship, specifically Professor Jacob Neusner, and her subsequent inspiration to […]
Maggie M. Wenig, class of 1978 (interview 1 of 2)
Abstract In Part 1 of this interview, Maggie M. Wenig begins by sharing some family information including her parents’ careers as lawyers and her own high school education in Westport, Connecticut. Wenig explains that she knew she wanted to pursue Judaic Studies, despite her family’s lack of religiosity, and decided that Brown University was the […]
Margot Landman, class of 1978
Abstract In Part 1 of this interview, Margot Landman discusses her family background and their influence in her choice of college and major. She goes on to describe her nerve-wracking first day at Brown and her best and worst memories as an undergraduate. She shares memories of the Chinese and Asian history departments at Brown, […]
Kim A. Taylor, class of 1977
Abstract This interview with Kim A.Taylor, class of 1977, was captured during the 2018 Black Alumni Reunion. Taylor begins with her childhood and upbringing within a musical/artist community of Harlem, and how that led to her decision to attend Brown University. This segment of the interview includes an interesting recollection of meeting Dr. Martin Luther […]
Elizabeth B. West, class of 1973
Abstract In these interviews, Elizabeth B. West, Brown University class of 1973, discusses her experiences at Brown University during the Pembroke-Brown merger, the Vietnam War, and the Women’s Movement. She also talks about her thirty-year career in network news, her path to becoming a full-time documentary filmmaker, the inauguration of President Joseph Biden, and getting […]
Lucile K. Wawzonek, class of 1972
Abstract In Part 1 of this interview, Lucile K. Wawzonek discusses changing attitudes towards formal gender divisions on campus during the Pembroke-Brown merger. She begins by reflecting on the regulations at Brown in the late 1960s, including the male caller system and curfews. She speaks on the housing lottery and the advent of coed dorms, […]
Miriam “Mimi” Dale Pichey, class of 1972
Abstract Miriam Dale Pichey’s interview is an energetic insight into the politics of student life at Brown University in the late 1960s and early 1970s. She describes both the campus atmosphere of gendered social rules and struggling for equal representation after the Pembroke-Brown merger, the founding of Women of Brown United, and the broader political […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Susan Beth Adler, 1958
Abstract In this interview, Susan Beth Adler, Pembroke College class of 1958, recalls her decades of professional and volunteer service to Rhode Island and Brown University. Adler begins by describing her family’s long history within the Brown community, her mother being in the Pembroke class of 1925 and her father in the Brown class of […]
Rosemary Pierrel, class of 1953 Ph.D.
Abstract In this interview, Dr. Rosemary Pierrel Sorrentino describes her leadership as Dean of Pembroke from 1961 through 1972. Dr. Sorrentino, or Dean Pierrel as she was known to Pembrokers, reviews the rapidly changing societal norms, her perceptions of the demands upon Pembroke and upon her role as Dean, and the failure of leadership that […]
Sylvia Rosen, class of 1955
Abstract In Part 1 of this interview, Sylvia Rosen reflects on her freshman year at Pembroke College, the dormitories, dating, and meeting her husband. In Part 2, she expands on the “thrilling” academic atmosphere at Pembroke, as well as her experience as one of the few Jewish students on campus. In Part 3, Rosen considers […]
Marjorie Alice Jones, class of 1954
Abstract Marjorie Alice Jones speaks as a member of the silent generation and considers the busy, active life she’s lead despite the fact that nobody expected anything from the women of her generation. She begins Part 1 of her interview by discussing her family background and reasons for attending Pembroke College. She describes her experience […]
Gail Cohee, Staff
Abstract In this two-part interview, Gail Cohee, former Associate Dean of Students and Director of the Sarah Doyle Center for Women and Gender, discusses her life in academia, women’s center work, changing circumstances at Brown during the late 2010s, and retirement during the COVID-19 pandemic. She begins with an overview of her teaching in English […]
Louise Lamphere, Faculty
Abstract An assistant professor of Anthropology and the only woman in her department when she was hired in 1968, Louise Lamphere was denied tenure in 1974. The Anthropology Department claimed that her scholarship was theoretically weak. Lamphere claimed she was the victim of sex discrimination and argued that the small number of women on the […]
Wendy Edwards, Faculty
Abstract In this interview, Chair and Professor of Visual Arts, Wendy Edwards, describes her journey to becoming a professional painter and discusses her 40-year tenure at Brown University. Edwards begins by briefly mentioning her parents’ educational backgrounds and then detailing her early life living on a farm in Virginia outside of Washington, DC, and visiting […]
Helen FitzGerald Cserr, Faculty
Abstract This interview was conducted with Ruth Cserr on behalf of her mother Helen FitzGerald Cserr who was a professor of biomedical sciences at Brown University and who was one of four plaintiffs in the Louise Lamphere vs Brown University sex discrimination lawsuit. Ruth begins the interview by sharing some personal background including her education […]
Northrop/Forman Family, 1954, 1981, 2013
Abstract Conducted in 2013, this interview records three generations of Brown University graduates who share their individual and collective experiences at Brown from the 1950s to 2013. Interviewees include Diane Lake, class of 1954, her daughter Melanie Northrop, class of 1981, and granddaughter Sarah Forman, class of 2013. The interview begins with Diane explaining that […]
Socialist Feminist Caucus at the 40th Anniversary of Sojourner House, class of 1970s
Abstract This interview with Brown University alumnae Tracy E. Fitzpatrick (1976), Catherine J. Lewis (1976), Linda M. Kramer (1977), and Christina Crosby (Ph.D., 1982), chronicles their experiences in the Socialist Feminist Caucus and the founding of Sojourner House, a domestic violence agency based in Providence, at its 40th anniversary celebration. The interviewees begin by sharing […]
Tanya C. Lumpkins, class of 1985 and Sarah Marion, class of 2019
Abstract In this interview recorded during the 2018 Black Alumni Reunion, Tanya Lumpkins, class of 1985, and her daughter, Sarah Marion, class of 2019, share their thoughts on a Brown University family legacy and current events as they compare their experiences on campus. The interview begins by Lumpkins explaining a bit of her family background, […]
Elizabeth Weed, Staff
Abstract An assistant professor of Anthropology and the only woman in her department when she was hired in 1968, Louise Lamphere was denied tenure in 1974. The Anthropology Department claimed that her scholarship was theoretically weak. Lamphere claimed she was the victim of sex discrimination and argued that the small number of women on the […]
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, […]
Polly Adams Welts, class of 1951
Abstract Polly Adams Welts begins this interview by recounting her family life in Haverhill, Massachusetts before and after World War II. In Part 1, she also talks about dating among freshmen at Pembroke College, her work as a waitress, the participation of city girls – female day students who attended Pembroke but did not live […]
Edna Frances Graham, class of 1950
Abstract In Part 1 of this interview, Edna Frances graham discusses her family background and then elaborated on preparing for Pembroke at Classical High School, attending classes with “mature” veterans who had just returned from WWII, her dating experiences, and traveling with the Glee Club. She speaks briefly about her work as a teacher and […]
Alice Mary Clark, class of 1946
Abstract Alice Mary Clark begins her interview by briefly describing her childhood on Charlesfield Street in Providence, Rhode Island. There is some trouble with the recording and Clark picks up with an anecdote of a post-graduation opportunity in the speech department with Sock and Buskin director, Janice Vanderwater. She explains her love of speech and […]
Beverly Adele Moss, class of 1945
Abstract In this 2018 interview, Beverly Adele Moss, Pembroke College class of 1945, discusses her family upbringing, time at Pembroke College during World War II, and subsequent career. A trailblazing woman for her time, Moss discusses her experience serving on planning and preservation commissions in New York City, and thusly how Pembroke was an influential […]
Penelope Claire Hartland, class of 1940
Abstract Penelope Claire Hartland begins this interview by focusing on her education. She describes her academic achievements at Pembroke College, as well as the significance of being the only Pembroke student to concentrate in economics. She details her educational and social experiences at both Pembroke and Radcliffe, where she received her Ph.D. The interview then […]
Katherine Virginia Faulkner, class of 1936
Abstract In this interview, speaking nearly fifty years after graduation from Pembroke College, Katherine Virginia Faulkner begins Part 1 of her interview by describing the intellectual difficulty she encountered in her transition from public schools in Henderson, North Carolina. She explains choosing to attend Pembroke for the different culture it fostered compared to that in […]
Ethel Colvin Nichols, class of 1934
Abstract Ethel Colvin Nichols begins her interview discussing her plans for the future and speaking of her wish to return to the workforce despite discrimination based on ageism. Also in Part 1, she reflects on classes at Pembroke College, her relationship with Dean Margaret Shove Morriss, training to become a dean herself, as well as […]
Ruth Lilian Wade, class of 1933
Abstract In this interview, Ruth Lilian Wade begins by sharing her biographical and family background. She talks about her mother who was a supporter of female suffrage and determined that her daughter should attend Pembroke College. In Part 1, Wade also describes her experience at as a “city girl” from Central Falls and the attitudes […]
Katherine May Hazard, class of 1933
Abstract In Part 1 of this interview, Katherine May Hazard begins by discussing daily life at Pembroke College. For her, this meant commuting to campus and becoming used to the regimented life at Pembroke. She explains some of the requirements, what it was like to date mathematicians, and her involvement on campus. Outside of class, […]
Margery Chittenden Leonard, class of 1929
Abstract Margery Chittenden Leonard’s 1982 interview reflects her tireless passion for the Equal Rights Amendment. While she discusses her classes at Brown and her dormitories, the majority of her oral history is dedicated to discussing the fierce discrimination women faced because of their gender, and the necessity of the Equal Rights Amendment as the only […]
Helen Elizabeth Butts, class of 1928
Abstract In this interview, Helen Elizabeth Butts starts by discussing life at Pembroke College, the academic arena, Silver Bay (a Christian summer conference), higher-level science classes, post-graduate life, and the career/family dichotomy. She goes on to talk about her experience with Dean Margaret Shove Morriss, marriage ideals, and transition to computer usage. Butts finishes the […]
Eleanor Francis Sarle, class of 1928
Abstract In this interview, conducted sixty years after her graduation, Eleanor Francis Sarle, class of 1928, explains that there was never any question that she would become a school teacher and receive her education at Brown University – known then as the Women’s College at Brown University – because her father, three uncles, and cousins […]
Doris Madeline Hopkins, class of 1928
Abstract In Part 1 of this interview, Doris Madeline Hopkins begins by discussing her early education and family life in Rhode Island. She talks about the expectations for “nice girls” at Pembroke College in the 1920s, about the curriculum, and the classes she took. She talks about 1920s fashion, dancing and bootleg liquor, including clubs […]
Charlotte Ferguson, class of 1924
Abstract In this interview, Ferguson tells why she chose to attend Pembroke College over Wellesley College; how following a woman she admired, she wanted to become a Boston insurance agent; and that she never felt she needed to be liberated. She discusses the remnants of Victorianism; marching for suffrage before age ten, and always having […]
25th Reunion, class of 1985
Abstract This interview with members of the Brown University class of 1985 summarizes the economically, socially, and racially diverse undergraduate experiences of Frances S. Lee, Suzanne Beth Goldberg, Margaret E. Rosen, Karen Smith, Allyson Tucker, Katherine Sabin Melchoir, and Jill Anne Hereford, at their 25th reunion. First, the interviewees are asked why they chose to […]
25th Reunion, class of 1986
Abstract This interview with members of the Brown University class of 1986 highlights the undergraduate experiences of Lisa M. Caputo, Linda M. Sanches, Marcy A. Sandler, Judith Anne Williams, Pamela B. Weiler, Janet L. Kroll, and Christa M. Champion, during their 25th reunion in May 2011. First, the group discusses their reasons for attending Brown […]
25th Reunion, class of 1987
Abstract This interview with members of the Brown University class of 1987 encapsulates the undergraduate experiences of Carol M. Snow, Kim S. Reuben, Mary Lou Jepsen, Valerie T. Tutson, Trinita E. Brown, Baishali Rinku Sen, Stephanie L. Grace, Rebecca M. Zeigler, and Pamela D. Gerrol, at their 25th reunion. The interviewees begin by briefly sharing […]
Martha Gardner, class of 1988
Abstract In Part 1 of this interview, Martha Gardner discusses the women’s march and speakout held in the spring of 1985. She describes fraternity activities and campus conditions that prompted female students to plan a day of events that addressed sexual violence, gender discrimination, and homophobia at Brown. In Part 2, Gardner focuses on the […]
25th Reunion, class of 1991
Abstract This interview with members of the Brown University class of 1991 captures the undergraduate experiences of Sharon Louise Besser, Christina Anne Valeo, Pamela Bass, Prudence Carter and Triane Chang, at their 25th reunion. The interviewees begin by introducing themselves, sharing their majors, and briefly describing what attracted them to Brown. They laud the university’s […]
25th Reunion, class of 1992
Abstract This interview with members of the Brown University class of 1992, captures the diverse undergraduate experiences of Aelish Marie Joyce, Rhonda Cherie Boyd, Resa Ellen Lewiss, Cristina Marie Lopez, Deborah Jane Pearlman, Samantha Lauren Fine Schreiber, Linda Jill Siegel, Jessika Sorrosa, and Karen Young, at their 25th reunion. The alumnae begin by introducing themselves […]
25th Reunion, class of 1993
Abstract This interview with members of the Brown University class of 1993 documents the undergraduate experiences of Kenya F. Crumel, Holly Gordon, April Parker Hersh, Kathleen Lenihan, Anne Sudduth, and Sarah Vidal, at their 25th reunion. The interviewees begin by sharing brief personal backgrounds, primarily with reference to geographical, parental, and academic factors that led […]
25th Reunion, class of 1994
Abstract This interview with members of the Brown University class of 1994 documents the undergraduate experiences of Jessica Rachel Arons, Daphna Caperonis Cox, Gladys Mendez, Ava Natasha Nepaul, and Gladys Xiques, at their 25th reunion. The alumnae begin by introducing themselves and where they grew up. They continue to discuss what made them decide to […]
25th Reunion, class of 1998
Abstract In this interview, Theresa Atta Ifogah, Willow Darsie, Sandy Kent Carielli, Mary Swerczek Sparacello, and Meredith TenHoor, members of the Brown University class of 1998, share their memories of their time on campus in honor of their 25th reunion. The interviewees begin by explaining what drew them to Brown. TenHoor mentions the Brown/RISD dual […]
Diane Eileen Scola, class of 1959
Abstract Diane Eileen Scola’s oral history is an example of autonomy and feminist conviction despite gender discrimination. She begins her interview discussing her Italian-American family background, applying to college, academics at Pembroke, and commuting to school. In Part 2, Scola focuses on gender expectations in academia and the professional world, and the lack of women […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 1972
Abstract This interview with members of the Brown University class of 1972 documents the undergraduate experiences of Joan McDonald DeFinis, Karen Leggett Abouraya, Sarah Lloyd Wolf, Lucy Meadows, Linda Papermaster, Eileen Rudden, and Ann Seelye, as they look back in honor of their 50th reunion. The interviewees begin by introducing themselves and sharing information such […]
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, […]