Women in Science and Engineering at UW-Madison Oral History Project

This series relates the experiences of women who have worked in science, engineering, medicine and mathematics at the University of Wisconsin from the 1920s to the present day.

Oral History Interviews

The interviews below are not all the oral histories with women who are or did work in science or engineering at UW-Madison. If interested in who else has been interviewed, contact Oral Historian Troy Reeves (troy.reeves@wisc.edu).

• Interview #749: Bahr, Jean (2006)
• Interview #665: Bender, Margaret (2004)
• Interview #589: Bennett, E. Maxine (2002)
• Interview #644: Denton, Denice (2003 (2 sessions))
• Interview #58: Irwin, Margaret H. (1973)
• Interview #782: Kalil, Katherine (July 10, 2006)
• Interview #666: Namenwirth, Marion (2004)

Podcast

• Listen to the Women in Science and Engineering podcast.
• View the Women in Science and Engineering podcast transcript. [pdf]

Watch Women in Science and Engineering at UW-Madison on YouTube

View the Women in Science and Engineering transcript [pdf]

Clips

The Oral History Program staff has complied a series of  clips describing experiences of women in science and engineering. The name of the narrator and the Oral History Number follow the link. Clips 1-3 are pre-World World II experiences, clips 4-6 describe World War II experiences, clips 7-21 describe experiences during the women’s movement, clips 22-27 are post-women’s movement experiences, and clips 28 & 29 are summaries.

1. “Helping” in Lab: Allen, Ethel K. (236)
2. Perceptions from Women in Department: Allen, Ethel K. (236)
3. Writing the Milk Bulletin: Irwin, Margaret H. (58)
4. Curtiss-Wright Scholarship: Greenfield, Lois (517)
5. Intradepartmental Marriage: Hirschfelder, Elizabeth (465)
6. Discrimination: Irwin, Margaret H. (58)
7. Unpopular to be Smart: Turner, Monica (860)
8. Women Studying Chemistry: Burgess, Ann (766)
9. Sexism & Expectations: Dahl, June (758)
10. Equal Pay: Wiegand, Nancy (654)
11. Entering the Job Market: Namenwirth, Marion (666)
12. Assigned Research Topic Discrimination: Namenwirth, Marion (666)
13. Teaching Expectations: Namenwirth, Marion (666)
14. Lack of Tenure Support: Namenwirth, Marion (666)
15. Marion Namenwirth Lawsuit: Seavey, Beverly (751)
16. Association of Faculty Women: Namenwirth, Marion (666)
17. Tenure Discrimination: Namenwirth, Marion (666)
18. Tenure Appointment: Rudin, Mary Ellen (149)
19. Lack of Women Professors: Wiegand, Nancy (654)
20. Women Serving on Committees: Kalil, Katherine (782)
21. Getting Women into Science: Kalil, Katherine (782)
22. Why Women Leave Science: Craig, Elizabeth (786)
23. Discrimination in Lab: Seavey, Beverly (751)
24. Dropping out of Graduate Program: Seavey, Beverly (751)
25. Locked out of Research Lab: Denton, Denice (644)
26. Tenure Process: Denton, Denice (644)
27. Law Regarding Tenure Discrimination: Denton, Denice (644)
28. Campus Climate for Women: Kalil, Katherine (782)
29. “Not Great, Not Bad”: Craig, Elizabeth (786)

For more information about women in Science and Engineering at UW-Madison contact the UW Archives at (608) 262-5629 or email uwarchives@library.wisc.edu