Description:
Sandra "Sandee" Petway started the women’s track and field program at Rutgers-New Brunswick in 1974, a year after joining the University as a physical education instructor. She was the first Black head coach at Rutgers and led the track team until 1980. In 2022, she was inducted into the Rutgers Athletics Hall of Fame in recognition of her contribution to women’s sports and the many successes that her track team achieved during her tenure. Born in 1950 in Plainfield, Petway grew up in Vineland. She attended Trenton State College, now The College of New Jersey, where she developed her leadership experience by creating a women’s varsity track team as an undergraduate. In her interview, she discusses her memories of Rutgers athletics in the 1970s and the changes that Title IX brought to the University. She also discusses her family history and the impact that her mother, teacher and principal Pauline Petway, had on the community in Vineland. This interview was conducted by Professor Deborah Gray White for the Scarlet and Black Research Center.
