Phyllis A. Kollmer, class of 1966

Phyllis A. Kollmer, class of 1966

Phyllis A. Kollmer was born in Providence, Rhode Island while her father was in Europe during World War II. She grew up in Manhasset, New York where she attended public school until she continued the family legacy of attending Brown University. She graduated from Pembroke College in 1966 with an A.B. in classics. Kollmer went on to obtain a master’s degree in urban planning from New York University and a law degree from Rutgers University.

In this interview, Phyllis A. Kollmer discusses the general course requirements for obtaining a degree from Pembroke College in Brown University as well as some of her favorite courses, including Ancient History, Classical History, and Economics. She mentions her musical contributions to the Chattertocks and the social dynamics of coeducational courses. Additionally, Kollmer details the different rules for men and women living on campus and how an infraction involving a visit to a fraternity house resulted in her and her boyfriend being expelled for one semester.

Kollmer attended Pembroke during the Vietnam War era and she remembers the effects that the conflict had on campus and the anti-war activism it provoked. Kollmer recalls Students for a Democratic Society and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, as well as the effects of the draft on male students. She concludes her interview by discussing the struggles she faced as a female in the workforce after she graduated from Pembroke and the need for continued feminist activism.     

One Part
Recorded on Apr 27, 2016

New York, New York

Interviewed by Christy Law Blanchard