In May of 1992, Carolyn Heilbrun left Columbia University in protest after teaching there for 32 years. As Joan Ferrante notes, Carolyn had vowed not to return to the Columbia campus, and the University did nothing to honor her “retirement.” On October 30th of that year, her friends, colleagues and students gathered to honor her remarkable career in a conference held at CUNY, “Out of the Academy and Into the World with Carolyn G. Heilbrun.”
In the following video, Carolyn comments on her relationship to Columbia and her decision to leave the institution. Mary Ann Caws introduces colleagues Joan Ferrante, Susan Winnett and Jean Franco who offer their perspectives on Carolyn’s important struggles with and contributions to the University. Finally, Carolyn’s students Susan Heath, Susan Nerheim, Jonathan Gill, Miranda Sherwin and Margaret Vandenburg honor Carolyn’s unique pedagogy and its influence on both their academic careers and personal lives.
