Abstract In this interview, Marjorie Neifeld Grayson, Jane Heitman Green, Pamela Farrell Lenehan, Mary Aguiar Vascellaro, and Donna Erickson Williamson, members of the Brown University class of 1974, share their memories of their time on campus in honor of their 50th reunion. Interviewees begin by introducing themselves and their concentrations. They share why they chose […]
Vietnam War
Kathy Le, class of 1997
Abstract In this interview, Kathy Le, Brown University class of 1997, shares stories about her family’s emigration from Vietnam to the United States, and also details memories of her time at Brown. Le begins by talking about her parents’ educational and professional experiences and the ways in which the war in Vietnam impacted their lives. […]
Jeree Palmer-Bechkham, class of 1983
Abstract In this interview, Jeree Palmer-Beckham begins by discussing her time in Providence, where she lived with her first husband, and explaining her completion of a Brown University degree in theatre arts through the Resumed Education Program (RUE). Palmer explains how attending Brown impacted her life in theatre, particularly the production “Shades of Brown,” which […]
Ferelene Bailey, class of 1974
Abstract Ferelene “Nan” Bailey begins by discussing her childhood, the benefits of living overseas during her childhood, her experience applying to Brown University, and her expectations of her experience. She spends a significant amount of time discussing the various and bountiful activist groups she participated in, and more broadly, social turmoil during the seventies surrounding […]
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 […]
Gail Y. Mitchell, class of 1973
Abstract Gail Y. Mitchell begins Part 1 of this interview by discussing her sheltered upbringing in a very religious household, her desire to attend a school where she could feel more independent, and her decision to attend Brown University. Mitchell talks about working as a student assistant over the summer, and about living at Pembroke […]
Lillian Lim, class of 1973
Abstract This interview captures the oral history of Lillian Y. Lim, Brown University class of 1973 and the first Filipina American Judge in the United States. Lim begins by talking about her parents’ early lives in the Philippines and shares how they met during World War II. She explains that her two older brothers were […]
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 […]
Susan E. Graber, class of 1971
Abstract Susan E. Graber begins Part 1 her interview by sharing some family background information such as her mother’s college education and the expectation that her children would also attend college. She explains why she chose to attend Pembroke College and recalls some difficulties she faced as a woman pursuing science. Graber remembers her ambivalence […]
Susan Friedman, class of 1970
Abstract In this interview, Susan Friedman, Brown University class of 1970, describes her role as a leader in the creation of the open curriculum and details her professional trajectory since Brown. Friedman begins by briefly describing her childhood in Tennessee and talking about how she decided to attend Brown. She remembers being waitlisted at Brown […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Charlotte Lowney, class of 1957
Abstract In this interview, Charlotte Lowney, looking back on a 40-year career with Pembroke College and Brown University, details her upward trajectory through the ranks of the institution’s administration, beginning with her position as the secretary to Brown President Henry Merrit Wriston. In 1962, she became the director of career placement at Brown, during both […]
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 […]
Alison Palmer, class of 1953
Abstract In part 1 of this interview, Alison Palmer discusses her childhood, her decision to attend Pembroke College, and the Pembroke experience. In part 2 she discusses hazing at Pembroke, her summers while at college, working in New York City, her original interest in the State Department, and her time in Ghana. In part 3, […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
Anna Peña Hass, class of 1917
Abstract In the first part of the interview, Anna Peña Hass discusses early life on her family’s farm and the decision to attend Pembroke despite wanting to get married and become a nurse. Hass describes the courses she took in her two years at Pembroke and some of the formative people she met during that […]