Pembroke College (Brown University)
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Pembroke College was the women's college of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1891 and closed in 1971.
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[edit] 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).
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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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.
Notable alumnae over the years included:
- Ruth Hussey, an Oscar-nominated actor who appeared in The Philadelphia Story
- Marilynne Robinson, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author
- Martha Sharp, a philanthropist who helped hundreds of Jews escape the Holocaust
[edit] See also
- Chattertocks, a women's a cappella group founded at Pembroke
- List of current and historical women's universities and colleges
[edit] References
- "Brown University: At a Glance." The College Board. 2006.
- "Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women." July 24, 2001. National Council for Research on Women.
- "Pembroke Center: About Us." Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women.
- Mitchell, Martha. "Pembroke College." Encyclopedia Brunoniana. 1993. Providence, RI: Brown University Library.
- Mitchell, Martha. "Seal." Encyclopedia Brunoniana. 1993. Providence, RI: Brown University Library.
