Ruth Burt Ekstrom was born Ruth Elizabeth Burt on July 2, 1931, a single child raised by her parents and maternal grandfather in Bennington, Vermont. She graduated from Pembroke College in Brown University in 1953 with her A.B. in psychology. She later earned a master's and PhD in educational psychology from Rutgers University in the early 1960s.
In 1957, Ruth Ekstrom married Lincoln Ekstrom, Brown University class of 1953, who was a chemist and environmental scientist. The two moved to Princeton, New Jersey where Lincoln Ekstrom accepted a job at RCA Laboratories. Ruth Ekstrom took the opportunity to pursue her dream of working for the Education Testing Service where she enjoyed a successful four-decade career conducting research on assessments of human talents and experiential learning. She retired from the Educational Testing Service in the 1990s.
Throughout her career and volunteer life, Ruth Ekstrom remained committed to Brown University as an active alumna and fundraiser, becoming an early woman elected to Brown University's Corporation in approximately 1972. She served as a Trustee, Fellow, and finally Secretary from 1982-1988. Ekstrom dedicated her work on the Corporation to increasing the acceptance of women serving there; women's involvement with Brown University leadership overall, and to the advancement of women, minorities, and people with disabilities, in education.
This collection consists of the papers of Ruth B. Ekstrom, education testing researcher and early woman member of the Brown Corporation. The collection documents Ekstrom's student life, career, and participation in establishing the Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women at Brown University and to the advancement of women in education. Materials include correspondence, clippings, Pembroke College ephemera, subject files, and published works by Ekstrom, dating from 1924-1988. The collection is arranged alphabetically by record type into 1 series.
All researchers seeking to publish materials from the collections of the John Hay Library are requested to complete a Notice of Intent to Publish, available on the John Hay Library website or by request, prior to reproducing, quoting, or otherwise publishing any portion or extract from this collection. Although Brown University has physical ownership of the collection and the materials contained therein, it does not claim literary rights. It is up to the researcher to determine the owners of the literary rights and to obtain any necessary permissions from them.
Ruth B. Ekstrom papers, Ms.2019.004, Box [#], Folder [#], Pembroke Center Archives, John Hay Library, Brown University.
This collection is arranged alphabetically by record type into one series.
There are no restrictions on access. 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.
Gift of Ruth B. Ekstrom in 2016.
This collection was part of the Pembroke Center's Christine Dunlap Farnham Archive until 2024 when collections were recataloged. All collections previously grouped under that title are now searchable under the subject headings "Women and Gender at Brown University" or "Feminist Activism in Rhode Island."