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Interviews by Decade: 1960s

Interviews from the women who attended Pembroke College in 1960s include discussions of the changing social expectations of the times; the Civil Rights movement; institutional inequalities between men and women; social culture on campus; attitudes toward sex, birth control, and abortion; creation of the Pembroke Pandas women's ice hockey team in 1964; the effect of national student movements; and political action on campus. The women also share stories about their families, local communities, and their lives before and after college. 

Image: Black Student Walkout, 1968. In December 1968, women from Pembroke College led a walk-out in which 65 of the 85 African American students then enrolled at Brown University marched down College Hill to the Congdon Street Baptist Church, where they stayed for three days. For more about this event, see the videos from the 2009 alumni reunion forum "The 1968 Walkout: A Turning Point in Brown's History"  and the short documentary "1968 Walk Out." Image source: University Archives Photograph Collection.

50th Reunion, class of 1967

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.

Susan Elizabeth Geary, class of 1967

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, and social codes. She then outlines her career path, which included earning a Ph.D. in American civilization from Brown and working in University Development. 

50th Reunion, class of 1968

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.

Ancelin M. Vogt, class of 1968

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 from Pembroke administrators when her mother died during her sophomore year, and the general inequality she witnessed between services and activities offered to female versus male students.

Black Alumnae at their 25th reunion, class of 1968

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.

Black Alumnae at their 50th Reunion, class of 1968

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.

Constance Worthington, class of 1968

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.

Gwyneth V. Walker, class of 1968

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 impactful time spent at Pembroke College. She notes that she initially entered Pembroke with the intention of studying physics and following in her physicist father’s footsteps, but then quickly changed to pursue her love of music.

Penelope A. Baskerville, class of 1968

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 the strength of the friendships she developed. Baskerville recounts her extracurricular involvement, the founding of the Afro-American Society, and the unique nature of college in the 1960s.

Susan A. Semonoff, class of 1968

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 become president of the Student Government Association). Semonoff also discusses at length the social life on campus.

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