Anna C. Renzi was born and raised in Rhode Island and decided to pursue engineering at Pembroke College, the women’s college in Brown University, after taking several mechanical drawing and drafting classes at Mount Pleasant High School. On June 16, 1947, Renzi became the first woman to receive a Bachelor of Science with a concentration in Civil Engineering from Brown University. Within months, Renzi moved to Washington, DC where she began her first job as a statistical clerk, working in the planning department to develop a strategy to connect Virginia and Maryland highways to DC. She moved up through the department and left in June 1963 as chief of the District Highways and Traffic Department’s programming division.
Renzi married Ross Wallace Wright, Commander in the United States Navy, in the early 1960s, and the couple had two daughters, Cathy and Julie. They followed Wright’s assignments all over the country, including Hawaii, Virginia, Washington, DC, and Rhode Island, and they eventually settled in Wakefield, Rhode Island. Renzi continues to stay engaged as a Pembroke College alumna, attending Kent County Alumnae Association meetings and speaking at Brown.
There are no restrictions on access, except that the collection can only be seen by prior appointment. Some materials may be stored off-site and cannot be produced on the same day on which they are requested.
Although Brown University has physical ownership of the collection and the materials contained therein, it does not claim literary rights. Researchers should note that compliance with copyright law is their responsibility. Researchers must determine the owners of the literary rights and obtain any necessary permissions from them.
Anna C. Renzi, Ms.2018.013, Christine Dunlap Farnham Archive, Brown University Library.
This collection consists of the personal papers of Anna C. Renzi, Pembroke College alumna from the class of 1947. Renzi was the first woman to receive a Bachelor of Science with a concentration in Civil Engineering from Brown University. She went on to become chief of the District Highways and Traffic Department's programming division in Washington, DC. Papers document Renzi’s time at Pembroke and her subsequent career. Materials include Junior Promenade, May Day, and commencement programs; photos of senior prom, senior sing, and parties hosted by Renzi’s coworkers; and clippings regarding Renzi’s graduation and career. The collection spans from 1945-1997 and is arranged into one series by record type.
This collection is arranged alphabetically by record type.
Gift of Anna C. Renzi in 2018.
Please note that Anna C. Renzi is the donor's name at graduation from Brown University. She also goes by Anne Wright.
The Brown University Library also holds the Pembroke Center Oral History Collection (OH.1S.2013.002) that captures the experiences of women faculty and students at Pembroke College and Brown University from 1911 to the present. View finding aid here: https://www.riamco.org/render?eadid=US-RPB-oh.1s.2013.002 Renzi contributed an interview to this collection in 2018 that you can view here: https://www.brown.edu/initiatives/pembroke-oral-histories/interview/anna-c-renzi-class-1947