doi:10.7916/0tx8-pf71Oral history interview with Jeri Laber, 2016Laber, Jerioral historiesmixed materialExecutivesWomen in higher educationHuman rightsSoviet Union Study and teachingRussia (Federation) Study and teachingSoviet Union Relations United StatesUnited States Relations Soviet UnionLaber, JeriHarriman InstituteHuman Rights Watch (Organization)Jeri Laber begins the interview discussing her childhood and early history. Her Russian heritage led to an interest in Russian culture, especially Russian literature. She discusses her experience as a student of the Harriman Institute (at the time called the Russian Institute) during the McCarthy era and of traveling in the Soviet Union in the 1950s. Laber then discusses her colleagues at the Harriman Institute and her experiences as a woman in academia. The first session of the interview ends with her introduction to the human rights field. In the second session, Laber discusses her experiences in the field of human rights and the growth of the field. She describes the early years of the Helsinki Watch and its amalgamation into the Human Rights Watch under her directorship. Laber also describes her experience with fact-finding missions, particularly to Czechoslovakia. Laber concludes by describing her efforts to stay in touch with the Harriman Institute across the years. She discusses the integration of human rights studies into the Institute's work and curriculum