Pembroke College (Brown University)

Pembroke College was the coordinate women's college for Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1891 and closed in 1971.

Founding and early history

The founding of the Women's College at Brown in October 1891 marked the first time women had been allowed to attend the Ivy League institution. Men, meanwhile, continued to attend the male-only Brown College.

The coordinate college system at Brown was not uncommon for the time period, sharing in the gender segregation found at other Ivy League universities such as Columbia University (Columbia College for men, Barnard College for women); Harvard University (Harvard College for men, Radcliffe College for women); and Princeton University (College of New Jersey for men, Evelyn College for Women).This phenomenon was not limited to the Ivy League or New England. Until the 1970's the University of Mary Washington was "Mary Washington College of the University of Virginia", the women's division of that school. Randolph-Macon Women's College and the Hobart-William Smith partnership are other examples.

Brown's single-sex status had first been challenged in April 1874, when the university received an application from a female. The Advisory and Executive Committee decided that admitting women at the time was not a good proposal, but they continued to revisit the matter annually until 1888. Subsequent discussions led to the creation of the Women's College in 1891, and official recognition of the college as a body of the university in 1896. The college received its own faculty in 1903.

Later history and coeducation

In 1928, the college was renamed "Pembroke College" in honor of Pembroke College at the University of Cambridge in England. Roger Williams, one of the founders of Rhode Island, was an alumnus of Cambridge's Pembroke. Due to this, one of the buildings on Brown's campus had been named "Pembroke Hall." This was the building on the Brown campus where most "Pembrokers," as Women's College students were already known, attended classes. The Women's College had also already been using the coat of arms of Cambridge's Pembroke for formal decoration on programs and pins.

In 1969, students from Pembroke and Brown began living in shared dormitories. Since students had been attending classes and participating in extracurricular activities for some time, the Advisory and Executive Council proposed a merger between the colleges. On July 1, 1971, the merger became official, with all undergraduate students being admitted to and attending the same college.

In 1981, the Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women was established at Brown, billing itself as a "center for interdisciplinary research on gender and society." Its mission also includes the preservation of the history of women at Brown. Affiliated with the Sarah Doyle Women's Center, it is home to the university's Gender Studies program and publishes the academic journal "differences: A Journal of Feminist Cultural Studies".

Although Brown became a fully coeducational institution with the merger, the history of women at Brown was still evolving. On September 3, 1991, Jill Ker Conway, the president of the all-female Smith College, delivered the opening convocation address to the student body in celebration of Brown's 100 years of women on campus. A four-day symposium was also held in October of that year in order to discuss women's issues, with President of Ireland Mary Robinson delivering the keynote address.

By the 2005-2006 academic year, 51% of students at Brown University were female.

Notable alumnae

The first graduates were Mary Emma Woolley and Anne Tillinghast Weeden in 1894. In early graduation programs, the names of the female graduates were listed in a special section below those of men. By 1910, 40% of students were from outside Rhode Island.

* Ruth Hussey, an Oscar-nominated actor who appeared in "The Philadelphia Story"
* Marilynne Summers Robinson, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author
* Martha Sharp, a philanthropist who helped hundreds of Jews escape the Holocaust
* Albina Osipowich, a swimmer who won two gold medals in the 1928 Olympics
* Helen Johns, a swimmer who won a gold medal in the 1932 Olympics
* Dana Buchman, the fashion designer
* JoBeth Williams, an actor, director and producer, nominated for Academy, Golden Globe and Emmy awards.

References

* " [http://apps.collegeboard.com/search/CollegeDetail.jsp?match=true&collegeId=3746 Brown University: At a Glance] ." The College Board. 2006.
*" [http://www.ncrw.org/digest/brown.htm Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women] ." July 24, 2001. National Council for Research on Women.
* " [http://www.pembrokecenter.org/AboutTheCenter.asp Pembroke Center: About Us] ." Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women.
* Mitchell, Martha. " [http://www.brown.edu/Administration/News_Bureau/Databases/Encyclopedia/search.php?serial=P0090 Pembroke College] ." "Encyclopedia Brunoniana". 1993. Providence, RI: Brown University Library.
* Mitchell, Martha. " [http://www.brown.edu/Administration/News_Bureau/Databases/Encyclopedia/search.php?serial=S0090 Seal] ." "Encyclopedia Brunoniana". 1993. Providence, RI: Brown University Library.
* Kaufman, Polly Welts "The Search for Equity: Women at Brown University, 1891-1991" Brown University Press, Providence, RI 1991.

External links

* [http://www.pembrokecenter.org/ Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women]
* [http://www.brown.edu/Administration/News_Bureau/Databases/Encyclopedia/search.php?serial=P0090 Pembroke College] - Encyclopedia Brunoniana
* [http://concise.britannica.com/ebc/article-9016709/Brown Britannica]