By Cassie Ferguson

Gazette Staff

Several hundred alumnae, students, faculty, and friends gathered Saturday to mark the 25th anniversary of co-residential living in the Yard, and to celebrate the contributions that women have made to Harvard.

The event-filled afternoon included the dedication of Harvard's newest gate to women at Harvard, and a series of panel discussions addressing women's experiences in various fields.

Balloons whipped around as more than 300 people gathered at the gate, near the Science Center, to remember the fall of 1972, when women undergraduates officially moved into the Yard dormitories. Several members of the pioneering Class of 1976 were on hand for the festivities.

"It's fitting that we are here today to commemorate this remarkable event with the dedication of a gate," said Lamelle Rawlins '99, the first female student body president. "We have come so far because the gate was opened and women came in."

(Radcliffe women started attending classes at Harvard in 1946, and they began receiving Harvard degrees in 1963, but it was not until 1972 that the dormitories became co-residential.)

"The 200 women in the Class of '76 were faced with challenges I can't imagine," Rawlins said. "We're breaking glass ceilings; they confronted brick walls."

Dean of Harvard College Harry R. Lewis said, "We are celebrating not merely the anniversary of co-residence, but all of the changes that have occurred for women over the years since 1972, a period of change that will not be matched by anything likely to happen over the next 25 years of Harvard's history."

Lewis recognized those who were instrumental in causing the changes, including the leadership of Radcliffe College.

Joining Lewis onstage were Harvard President Neil L. Rudenstine; Radcliffe President Linda S. Wilson; Renée Landers '77, former president of the Board of Overseers; Helen Vendler, the A. Kingsley Porter University Professor; Jeremy R. Knowles, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS); and Cambridge Mayor Sheila Doyle Russell.

Also on stage were Marie Kargman, AM '51, who had originally suggested the dedication of a Harvard gate to women, and Joanne Kronauer, a direct descendant of Anne Bradstreet, the early American poet whose prose is inscribed on a new plaque at the gate (see related story).

The dedication ended with the singing of a revised version of "Fair Harvard," whose first line, "Fair Harvard, thy sons to thy jubilee throng," has been officially changed to the inclusive, "Fair Harvard, we join in thy jubilee throng."

At the discussions held in Sever Hall, panelists -- who included female faculty members, alumnae, and students -- discussed the roles and experiences of women in science, literature, volunteerism, athletics, journalism, popular culture, and other fields.

A panel on law and business, for example, was moderated by Susan Pharr, Edwin O. Reischauer Professor of Japanese Politics and Associate Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences; and featured Anne-Marie Slaughter, J. Sinclair Armstrong Professor of International, Foreign, and Comparative Law at Harvard Law School; Judge Margaret H. Marshall; portfolio manager Lisa Hess '76; and Carliss Baldwin, William I. White Professor of Business Administration at the Business School.

Many of the women described the career paths they have followed, often meandering from the routes they had expected, and offered advice to those in the audience -- such as Hess' recommendation, "Never accept the first salary offer you receive; always ask for more."

Panelists stressed the value of having mentors who provide both support and criticism. "I would not be where I am without mentors," said Slaughter. "They've been invaluable, and I now mentor lots of people, both men and women."

The women on the science panel addressed the difficulties of raising a family while working long hours, and the successes that women have had in landing jobs in academe.

At a reception marking the end of the day's events, Dean Knowles offered a toast. "Today we celebrate women at Harvard," he said. "The era of the incompletely opened gate is over."

Among the attendees was Susan Vacca '76, associate director of the FAS Office of Career Services.

Although she did not live in the Yard -- she commuted and belonged to Dudley House -- she remembers the challenges faced by the first group of women who inhabited the previously all-male Yard dormitories in 1972.

"For me, it's really gratifying to see that Harvard recognizes the importance of the women pioneers 25 years ago and recognizes that it was not always easy for them. One of the reasons we did it was for those who would follow. Seeing students like [student body president] Lamelle Rawlins thriving here makes everything worthwhile."