Records of the Oral History of Radcliffe College during the Horner Years, 1998-2014

Matina S. Horner served as the sixth president of Radcliffe College from 1972 to 1989. Before her arrival, a tenuous merger with Harvard had begun, leaving Radcliffe College in a state of flux. Many responsibilities regarding students and administration had been delegated to Harvard, while Radcliffe still operated its own College admissions department, as well as its own educational affairs, alumnae relations, and research endeavors. One of President Horner's major efforts during her tenure was the creation, with Harvard President Derek Bok, of a committee designed to address the complicated issues of admission at the two institutions. By 1975 the committee had decided to merge Harvard and Radcliffe admissions into a single office, and to abolish gender quotas for admission at Harvard. By 1977, President Horner had significantly stepped back from the merger with Harvard, regaining Radcliffe's control of its own administration and finances. This increased independence led to ambitious projects like the expansion of both the Radcliffe Institute, renamed the Mary Ingraham Bunting Institute in 1978, and the Schlesinger Library, as well as the creation of the Radcliffe Research and Data Center, later renamed the Murray Research Center. These initiatives contributed to a period of intellectual growth and expanded research efforts that continued through the rest of Horner's time as president.

Efforts to develop an oral history project documenting the history of Radcliffe College during the Horner years began in the 1990s. Several Radcliffe Institute employees were responsible for its creation, including Cecily O. Morse, Director of Development and Alumnae Affairs, and Aida Kabatznick Press, Director of Public Information. The Schlesinger Library played a role in this project and both Ruth Hill, the Oral History Coordinator of the Schlesinger Library, and Jane Knowles, Radcliffe College Archivist, served as consultants. The stated mission of the project was to accurately record a specific period in Radcliffe history during which many foundational changes took place, and to combat the perception that those changes had been inevitable or required little effort. Project coordinators sought to collect information in three key areas--participants' biographical information, stories about decision-making structures at Radcliffe, and specific examples of growth and development at the college. Interviews commenced in 1998, and forty-three participants were interviewed over the next several years. Participants were primarily Radcliffe or Harvard employees who had contributed to decision-making processes that affected the structure and development of the college during Horner's presidency. The project was never fully completed.