Oral history is a powerful tool for illuminating and preserving voices that are often absent from traditional historical records. By capturing lived experiences, personal reflections, and individual perspectives, oral histories deepen our understanding of the past while fostering connections between generations and communities. In higher education, oral history offers a valuable means of documenting the contributions, challenges, and achievements of women whose experiences have shaped institutional culture and change.
In this talk, Visiting Assistant Professor Melinda Marchand (History) and Digital Projects Librarian Katie Stebbins (Goddard Library) will examine the Women of Clark Oral History Project, an initiative launched through a 2025 grant from the Higgins Institute to document and preserve the stories of women associated with Clark University. Supported by faculty, students, alumni, and community partners, the project has collected dozens of interviews and has engaged more than 30 students as oral historians. This dialogue will highlight the project’s development, share stories and reflections from women who have participated, and discuss efforts underway to develop a digital repository that will make these oral histories accessible to future researchers, students, and community members.
Admission is free and open to the public, and lunch will be provided. Guests are encouraged to arrive at 1:15pm for refreshments.
Melinda Marchand is a Visiting Assistant Professor in the History department, and Director of the Honors Program. Her teaching and research focus on 19th and 20th century U.S. history, with particular emphases on women’s history, public history and New England history. Her public history initiatives engage students and community partners in archival research, oral history projects, physical and digital exhibit design, community archives, historic walking tours, and collaborative public events including lectures, panels and symposia. Recent collaborations include a permanent history wall exhibit for the Lincoln Square Boys and Girls Club, recreation/commemoration of the 1850 National Women’s Rights Convention with the Museum of Worcester and Worcester Women’s History Project, and a community presentation about Worcester’s “Music and Manufacturing” history for Preservation Worcester.
Katie Stebbins is the Digital Projects Librarian at Clark University. She began working at Goddard Library in 2018 and has been in her current position since 2024. She oversees Clark’s institutional repository, building long-term access to the diverse array of historic, scholarly, and creative output produced across the Clark community. She recently completed a long-term digitization project coinciding with Robert Goddard’s recent landmark launch centennial, while previous oral history work includes working with Chris Davey to present his Gatumba Survivors Project in Clark’s repository. Katie is a Clark alum, graduating in 2010 with a Bachelor’s degree in Screen Studies. She is guided by curiosity, curation, and discovery. Katie also writes about film and is a zine maker, podcaster, and collage artist.
