Interview with Jenijoy La Belle

JENIJOY LA BELLE (b. 1943) INTERVIEWED BY HEIDI ASPATURIAN February – May 2008, April 2009 ARCHIVES CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY Pasadena, California Subject area English literature, humanities Abstract Interview in eight sessions, February 2008–April 2009, with Jenijoy La Belle, professor of English, Caltech. La Belle talks about her childhood, education, and family influences growing up in Olympia, Washington, and her early love of literature and poetry. She recalls her undergraduate years at the University of Washington (B.A. 1965), including studying with poet Theodore Roethke, who became the subject of her doctoral thesis (Ph.D. 1968) at UC San Diego. She describes her early years (1969–1975) as Caltech's first female professor, her Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) colleagues, including division chair H. Smith and J. K. Clark, her friendship with physicist R. P. Feynman, her initial impressions of Caltech students, and her research on poet/artist William Blake. She discusses HSS's shift in emphasis toward the social sciences in the 1970s, the impact on the division, and the appointment of economic historian R. Huttenback as division chair in 1972. In 1975, La Belle's landmark Caltech tenure case begins when Huttenback overrules the English department's recommendation that she be granted tenure. She relates chronology and conduct of the case, detailing the involvement of HSS and other faculty, Caltech provost R. Christy, trustee L. Wasserman, numerous campus committees, and outside referees. She describes events leading to her http://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_LaBelle_J decision to file an official complaint with the EEOC, the agency's investigation and subsequent citing of Caltech for gender discrimination in faculty hiring, Caltech's reaction, and her satisfactory resolution of the case with Caltech in 1977. (Verbatim excerpts of relevant letters, articles, memos, and other documents are included in this section.) She outlines Huttenback's subsequent career as chancellor of UC Santa Barbara and his Santa Barbara trial and conviction for embezzling university funds in 1988, and reflects on its significance for her own case. She discusses her literary research into Blake, 17th-century poetry, and Shakespeare's plays, and the importance of the Huntington Library (San Marino, California) humanities collections in her work. She comments on her involvement with Caltech faculty committees, and her role as chair of Caltech's convocations committee (1986–1989). Interview concludes with her perspectives on teaching Shakespeare to four decades of Caltech students, team- teaching/staging the Bard in tandem with Caltech theater arts director Shirley Marneus, and a brief assessment of Caltech's presidents. Administrative information Access The interview is unrestricted. Copyright Copyright has been assigned to the California Institute of Technology © 2010. All requests for permission to publish or quote from the transcript must be submitted in writing to the Head of Archives and Special Collections. Preferred citation La Belle, Jenijoy. Interview by Heidi Aspaturian. Pasadena, California, February-May 2008, April 2009. Oral History Project, California Institute of Technology Archives. Retrieved [supply date of retrieval] from the World Wide Web: http://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_LaBelle_J Contact information Archives, California Institute of Technology Mail Code 015A-74 Pasadena, CA 91125 Phone: (626)395-2704 Fax: (626)395-4073 Email: [email protected] Graphics and content © 2010 California Institute of Technology. http://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_LaBelle_J Jenijoy La Belle teaching a class in Millikan Library reflective pool. “When the weather gets really hot, you’re liable to find anything in the water.” (Photo and caption courtesy of Engineering &Science, March 1971) http://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_LaBelle_J La Belle–i CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY ARCHIVES ORAL HISTORY PROJECT INTERVIEW WITH JENIJOY LA BELLE BY HEIDI ASPATURIAN PASADENA, CALIFORNIA Copyright © 2010 by the California Institute of Technology http://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_LaBelle_J La Belle–ii TABLE OF CONTENTS INTERVIEW WITH JENIJOY LA BELLE Session 1 1-16 Family background, childhood and adolescence in Olympia, Washington, and San Diego, California. Elementary and secondary education. Early affinity for poetry and literature. Undergraduate education at University of Washington; experiences in literature and poetry classes. Memories of classes taught by Theodore Roethke and other well-known poets; youthful poetic aspirations; decision to pursue a PhD in literature. Session 2 17-32 Graduate study at University of California, San Diego (UCSD); writing of PhD thesis on Roethke's poetry. Applies to and is hired in 1969 as first female professor at Caltech. First impressions of campus and Literature faculty. Early experiences—positive, negative, comic, and not so comic—as Institute's first female professor. Early experiences with and impressions of Caltech students. Recalls first meetings with science faculty Richard Feynman and Seymour Benzer. Initial impressions of Humanities and Social Sciences Division (HSS) and of Humanities chair, Hallett Smith; admission of first female undergraduates Session 3 33-54 Memories of Richard Feynman; Feynman's views of literature and the humanities. Impressions of Humanities professor J. Kent Clark and other HSS colleagues. Evolution of division in the 1970s and gradual shift in emphasis and power structure toward the Social Sciences. Completes first book, The Echoing Wood of Theodore Roethke, which offers new interpretation of literary influences on Roethke's poetry. Reflections on Roethke personally and as professor and poet. Research on William Blake as poet and artist; collaboration with fellow Blake scholar Robert Essick on Blake book and articles. Teaching literature to Caltech students in the seventies, and their varied reactions and responses to literature classes and literary analysis. http://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_LaBelle_J La Belle–iii Session 4 55-77 Unanimously recommended for promotion and tenure in 1974 by HSS literature faculty, but denied tenure by HSS tenure committee, composed 5:1 of SS faculty, including division chair Robert Huttenback. Literature department and other humanities faculty protest decision to Caltech provost, Robert Christy. The great tenure saga begins. La Belle holds first meetings with Christy re tenure issue. Christy recommends and enlists outside arbitration from distinguished literature professor. Huttenback continues to oppose tenure, and enlists Yale Professor of Literature Harold Bloom in cause after outside arbitrator recommends granting tenure. La Belle's perspectives on and responses to Christy, Bloom, and Huttenback. La Belle's personal and professional relationship with Huttenback; how Huttenback felt "La Belle [was] not on my team." Tenure debate intensifies within HSS faculty; reactions of individual colleagues within division. Matter referred to Institute Administrative Council (IAC), which upholds HSS tenure committee decision. How absence of defined policies and procedures on tenure decisions in that era shaped the debate. More outside scholars weigh in, and Professor of Literature J. Kent Clark writes hilarious letter to Provost Christy and President Harold Brown on tenure deliberations within HSS [lengthy excerpt included verbatim]. Princeton University Press accepts La Belle's Roethke book for publication. Huttenback refuses to reconsider tenure decision in light of acceptance. More outside opinions solicited. Session 5 78-100 Tenure controversy goes public 2/76 in California Tech; debate ensues over next few weeks in paper. La Belle publishes front-page statement in Tech on February 20 outlining her position and lamenting imminent departure from Caltech [included in large part verbatim]. Feynman subsequently publishes letter in Tech supporting La Belle [verbatim in its entirety]. Other campus faculty weigh in. La Belle files formal complaint at state (FEPC) and federal (EEOC) level, alleging gender discrimination; hires attorney; and submits case to Caltech Academic Freedom and Tenure Committee (AFT). AFT finds "deficiencies in process" and recommends reforms, but upholds tenure decision. La Belle seeks advice from and is treated to power lunch with Caltech trustee and Hollywood mogul Lew Wasserman. In summer '76, La Belle, now terminated, leaves Pasadena for temporary teaching job at Cal State Northridge; remains in contact with Caltech literature faculty. Jan. '77, EEOC issues detailed finding in support of La Belle; upholds allegation of gender discrimination under Title VII, and indicates that class-action lawsuit against Caltech may follow http://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_LaBelle_J La Belle–iv [portions of EEOC report included verbatim]. Wasserman offers to act as arbitrator between La Belle and Caltech. Session 6 101-118 EEOC expresses interest in taking Caltech to court. Wasserman meets with Caltech provost (and now acting president) Christy, seeking to broker compromise. La Belle and Caltech react to EEOC findings. Institute lawyers urge an out-of-court resolution. Faculty Board holds rather contentious meeting on tenure case and "serious" implications of EEOC findings. La Belle describes fair and balanced positions taken by Christy and Faculty Board Chair Rochus ("Robbie") Vogt throughout the case. Christy and La Belle provisionally agree to her reinstatement at associate professor

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