Abstract In this interview, Dr. Teena Shetty, Brown University undergraduate class of 1995, MD 2000, discusses her experiences as a neurologist in New York City during the COVID-19 global pandemic. Shetty begins by explaining why she chose to participate in the oral history project, noting the value of capturing this moment, particularly as it relates […]
Women in Science
Morayo Akande, class of 2016
Abstract Morayo Akande grew up in Illinois with her three siblings. Her father is a Nigerian immigrant, and her mother is American. During her first year of high school, Akande moved with her father to Indiana where he was attending law school. During her high school career, Akande was extremely active in extracurricular activities, as […]
Delores A. Bennett, class of 1997
Abstract In this interview conducted as a result of the 2018 all-class Black Alumni Reunion, Delores A. Bennett, Brown University class of 1997, discusses her path to becoming Vice President of Cloud Sales at Oracle. To begin, Bennett reflects on her educational experiences that resulted from her move to Connecticut from Jamaica in 1989. She […]
Tejal Ashwin Desai, class of 1994
Abstract In this interview, Tejal Ashwin Desai, class of 1994, discusses her educational and professional path to becoming professor and chair of the Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences at University of California – San Francisco. She begins by sharing some personal background including the immigration of her parents to the United States from India […]
Resa Lewiss, class of 1992
Abstract In this interview, Resa Lewiss, Brown University class of 1992 and practicing emergency physician, shares her thoughts on COVID-19 in the early days of the virus’ outbreak in the United States. Lewiss begins by explaining why she anticipated that COVID-19 would spread outside of China and eventually appear in the United States. She describes […]
Sarah Fox, class of 1989
Abstract In this interview, Dr. Sarah Fox, gynecologist, Clinical Assistant Professor at Brown University’s Warren Alpert Medical School, and member of the Brown University class of 1989, discusses the challenges and changes she faced as a women’s health provider during the COVID-19 global pandemic. Fox begins by explaining her thoughts and feelings as news about […]
Karona Monica Mason, class of 1982
Abstract In this interview recorded during the 2018 All-class Black Alumni Reunion, Karona Monica Mason, Brown University class of 1982, discusses her experiences as a student on the Brown University campus. Mason begins by describing her childhood and early education in Washington, D.C. She emphasizes always having Black role models, including her mother and father […]
Ingrid Rodi, class of 1976 (MD’79)
Abstract In this interview, Ingrid Rodi, Brown University class of 1976, MD ’79, discusses the ways that the COVID-19 global pandemic impacted her work as an infertility specialist and reproductive endocrinologist. Rodi begins by detailing her family’s legacy at Brown including her grandfather, who was a member of the class of 1905, and her grandmother […]
Barbara E. Ehrlich, class of 1974
Abstract This interview was donated to the Pembroke Center Oral History Project by Lily Cohen, class of 2012. Cohen conducted an interview with her mother, Barbara E. Ehrlich, class of 1974, to discuss the history and future of women in science. At the time of the interview in 2017, Cohen was a scientist at University […]
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 […]
Mary Jane Mikuriya, class of 1956
Abstract Speaking 61 years after graduating from Pembroke College, Mary Jane Mikuriya, class of 1956, shares an exceptionally rich account of her experience as an American student and woman of Japanese and Austro-Hungarian descent in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. Mikuriya spends the first half hour of her interview describing her parents’ backgrounds and her […]
Christina Smith, Staff
Abstract In this interview, Christina Smith, Associate Director for Undergraduate STEM Development at the Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning at Brown University, shares her experiences as a scholar and member of Navajo Nation during the COVID-19 global pandemic. Smith begins by explaining that she first started hearing about COVID-19 during a trip to Oregon […]
Anne Fausto-Sterling, 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 […]
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 […]
Rachel Cassidy, Faculty
Abstract In this interview, Rachel Cassidy, Associate Professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences at Brown University, discusses her experiences leading up to and participating in one of the Black Lives Matter protests in Providence, Rhode Island, following the murder of George Floyd. Cassidy begins by recalling when she first heard George Floyd’s name and learned […]
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, class of 1979
Abstract In this interview recorded during the 2018 Black Alumni Reunion, Teresa Cheeks, Renee Hill, and Lori Hollins, members of the Brown University class of 1979, discuss their membership in the historically Black Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and how it impacted their lives during and after their time at Brown. The interviewees begin by explaining […]
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, […]
Alpha Kappa Alpha, class of 1976-1977
Abstract In this interview recorded during the 2018 Black Alumni Reunion, Arlean Leland and Lavdena Adams Orr, class of 1976, and Robyn Jones and Patricia Darlene Elliot, class of 1977, discuss their membership in the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority and how it impacted their lives during and after their time at Brown. Leland opens the […]
Anna C. Renzi, class of 1947
Abstract In her interview, Anna C. Renzi, Pembroke College class of 1947, discusses her path to becoming the first woman to receive a Bachelor of Science with a concentration in Civil Engineering from Brown University, her career in Washington, DC, highway planning, and her personal family life. She begins her interview by recounting how her […]
Esther Amelia Dick, class of 1934
Abstract Esther Amelia Dick begins this interview by speaking of her childhood in Reading, PA and struggling with Meniere’s Syndrome. She recalls her reasons for attending Pembroke College and discusses campus rules, requirements, clothing standards, alcohol and smoking restrictions, and access to the Brown campus. She gives her opinions of several professors and talks about […]
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 […]
Mary Carpenter Emerson, class of 1927
Abstract In this interview, Mary Carpenter Emerson tells of her family’s tradition of attending Brown University, which included her mother, her maternal uncles and her maternal grandfather. Like her mother, Emerson became a science teacher, teaching biology, geometry, general science, chemistry and physics. She speaks of her early life: losing her father at age 11 […]
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 […]
Jessica U. Meir, class of 1999
Abstract In this interview, Astronaut Jessica Meir, Brown University class of 1999, discusses her experiences as an undergraduate student at Brown, the steps she took to become a NASA Astronaut, and her life and work completing a mission on the International Space Station. Meir begins by sharing her family background including her parents’ immigration to […]