Berenice Anita Carroll (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Jacobs; December 14, 1932 – May 10, 2018) was an American political scientist and activist specialized in

peace and conflict studies Peace and conflict studies is a social science field that identifies and analyzes violent and nonviolent behaviours as well as the structural mechanisms attending conflicts (including social conflicts), with a view towards understanding those pro ...

feminist theory Feminist theory is the extension of feminism into theoretical, fictional, or philosophical discourse. It aims to understand the nature of gender inequality. It examines women's and men's social roles, experiences, interests, chores, and feminist ...

, and

women's studies Women's studies is an academic field that draws on feminist and interdisciplinary methods to place women's lives and experiences at the center of study, while examining social and cultural constructs of gender; systems of privilege and oppress ...

. Carroll led the creation of the women's studies program at

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

and served as director of the

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

women's studies program. She initiated the establishment of the

Coordinating Committee on Women in the Historical Profession The Coordinating Council for Women in History is a national professional organization for women historians in the United States. It was founded in 1969 as the Coordinating Committee on Women in the Historical Profession to promote recruitment and s ...

in 1969.

Early life and education

Carroll was born December 14, 1932, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

to Margaret and Morris Jacobs. Carroll volunteered and lived in a

kibbutz A kibbutz ( he, קִבּוּץ / , lit. "gathering, clustering"; plural: kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1909, was Degania. Today, farming h ...

during the early 1950s. She attended

Queens College, City University of New York Queens College (QC) is a public college in the Queens Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City. It is part of the City University of New York system. Its 80-acre campus is primarily located in Flushing, Queens. It has a student body ...

from 1949 to 1953, graduating in September 1953 with a B.A. in history,

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some So ...

. She was elected to

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

and held a University of the State of New York scholarship. At

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

, Carroll completed a reader graduate assistantship from 1953 to 1954 and a teaching assistantship from 1954 to 1955. She held the Miss Abbott's School Alumnae fellowship and a graduate assistantship from 1955 to 1956. She studied modern European history, history of science, renaissance and reformation, English medieval constitutional history, European economic history, and American political history since 1783. Carroll was awarded a

Fulbright Award The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

and studied at the

University of Frankfurt am Main Goethe University (german: link=no, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main) is a university located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It was founded in 1914 as a citizens' university, which means it was founded and funded by the wealt ...

from 1956 to 1957 and

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...

in 1957. In 1957, she received another Miss Abbott's School Alumnae fellowship to research German records in Alexandria, Virginia. As a result, from December 1957 to July 1959, Carroll joined the microfilming project staff of the

American Historical Association The American Historical Association (AHA) is the oldest professional association of historians in the United States and the largest such organization in the world. Founded in 1884, the AHA works to protect academic freedom, develop professional s ...

's committee for the study of war documents at Alexandria. Carroll completed Ph.D. from

in 1960. Her June 1960 dissertation was titled ''Design for Total War: The Contest for 'Wehrwirtschaft' under the Third Reich''. Donald G. Rohr was her doctoral advisor.

Career

Carroll was the chair of the division of

general studies General Studies is a multidisciplinary subject offered at different levels of education. Its scope varies by country. North America Some North American universities offer the Bachelor of General Studies degree. England, Wales and Northern Ireland ...

(UIUC) from 1966 to 1969. The

was founded in 1969 after Carroll circulated a letter urging women who were going to attend the

's annual meeting in Washington, D.C., in December to come together and discuss creating their own affiliate organization. From 1969 to 1970, Carroll and

Gerda Lerner Gerda Hedwig Lerner (née Kronstein; April 30, 1920 – January 2, 2013) was an Austrian-born American historian and woman's history author. In addition to her numerous scholarly publications, she wrote poetry, fiction, theatre pieces, screenp ...

served as co-chairs. Carroll was the chair in 1971. Carroll worked as the UIUC director of the department of gender and

from 1983 to 1987 and led the creation of the women's studies program. The women's studies minor was also approved during her tenure. Carroll became the director of the

women's studies program in 1990. She was awarded the Violet Haas Award "for developing an educational program that promoted the advancement of women and their rights" while at Purdue University.

Campaign for the Equal Rights Amendment

Carroll was an outspoken supporter of the

Equal Rights Amendment The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution designed to guarantee equal legal rights for all American citizens regardless of sex. Proponents assert it would end legal distinctions between men and ...

(ERA). In 1981, Carroll co-founded a group called Grassroots Group of Second Class Citizens alongside activists Mary Lee Sargent. Georgia Fuller, an activist from the

National Organization for Women The National Organization for Women (NOW) is an American feminist organization. Founded in 1966, it is legally a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization. The organization consists of 550 chapters in all 50 U.S. states and in Washington, D.C. It ...

in Virginia, was also involved in this campaign as was notable ERA supporter

Sonia Johnson Sonia Ann Johnson, (''née'' Harris; born February 27, 1936) is an American feminist activist and writer. She was an outspoken supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) and in the late 1970s was publicly critical of the position of the Chur ...

. These women planned a series of non-violent actions to raise awareness for the amendment which failed to see ratification by the 38 states necessary by 1982.

Personal life

Carroll was married to Robert Carroll. They had two sons. She later married social psychologist . Carroll died on May 10, 2018, in

Lafayette, Indiana Lafayette ( , ) is a city in and the county seat of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, located northwest of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. West Lafayette, on the other side of the Wabash River, is home to Purdue University, whi ...

Selected works

* * * *

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Carroll, Berenice A. 1932 births 2018 deaths American women political scientists American political scientists Queens College, City University of New York alumni Brown University alumni University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign faculty Purdue University faculty Women's studies academics 20th-century American women scientists 21st-century American women scientists Scientists from Indiana Scientists from New York City Activists from New York City Activists from Indiana Equal Rights Amendment activists Women's rights activists