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The Daily lowan - Iowa City, Iowa - Monday, February 17, 2003 - 5A NEWS Women recall integrating dorm CURRIER Continued from Page 1A who earned a B.A. in zoology in 1954. According to the women, liv¬ ing in Currier Hall was a courageous act, but their tran¬ sition to dorm life was smooth. "I went to school with whites so I was used to being around them," Davis said. "It wasn't like the integration of Little Rock, Ark., Central High in 1957." There were no National Guard troops to escort the women into the building, and students were friendly, she said. "I remember kids next door would sing Working All Day on the Mississippi,' " she said. "I would go to their rooms and sing with them." The women shared brownies and cookies from care packages and made many new fiiends. "I had a white friend," said Henry, who earned B.S degrees in health and physical educa¬ tion and science in 1950. "She and I would get the trays from the cafeteria, and we would sKde down the snowy Old Capi¬ tol hill on the trays." After integrating Currier Hall, the women went on with their lives, garnering many other personal achievements. Walls completed her educa¬ tion at Columbia University in New York, earning a M.S. in library science in 1951. Before retiring in 1988 in New York City, she served as the associ¬ ate director of libraries at the State University of New York- Stony Brook for 14 years. She said the most fulfilling moments in her life came from traveling the world 24 times to promote reading to children of different countries. After conducting research for NASA, Davis worked as a sci¬ ence teacher for the New York City public-school system. She is now retired in New York City. Before her death in 1997, Harper was a renowned lowan celebrity, serving diligently to protect and restore human rights. In 1971, she was the first black woman appointed to serve on the Iowa State Board of Pub¬ lic Instruction. Likewise, she was the first black woman appointed to the Iowa Board of Parole. In 1992, she was induct¬ ed into the Iowa Women's Hall of Fame. Henry taught high-school physical education and science in Kansas City, Mo., for 44 years before retiring in 1995. She now resides in Raytown, Mo. She is planning on going back to school to finish work toward a master's degree in education. Howard, a native of Fort Dodge, could not be reached for comment. E-MAIL Dl Reporter Brandon Campbell at Brandon-campbell@uiowa.edu