The College of Saint Rose Archives - Oral History Collection

The College of Saint Rose - Neil Hellman Library

Marjorie Dougherty Gendron, The College of Saint Rose Class of 1929 - Image Source

Collection Facts

Extent:

Dates of Original:

c. 1970 - 2020

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Historical Context

The College of Saint Rose was founded in 1920 by the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Carondelet as a Roman Catholic college for women. Its founders selected the name of Saint Rose to honor the first canonized saint in the Americas. An evening division was developed in 1946 to meet the needs of World War II veterans and, in 1949, a graduate school was added to provide master's degree programs. Men were admitted to both the original evening and graduate divisions, and in 1969 the College became fully co-educational. In 1970, the Board of Trustees was expanded to include laypersons in addition to the Sisters of Saint Joseph. Thus, The College of Saint Rose became an independent college.

Scope of Collection

The Oral History Collection consists of audio recordings of interviews that were conducted from 1979 to 2012. The women interviewed were students, professors or employees at the College. Many of them were Sisters of Saint Joseph. The interviews document college life, the changing views around higher education for women, and the experiences of women religious before and after Vatican II. With the support of their order, many of the sisters interviewed received Ph.Ds. or took high level administrative jobs, which was unusual for women at that time. Most of the interviews are accompanied by a biography, summary of the interview, and list of topics covered in the interview.