Roberta Caulfield came to Caldwell College in 1962 as a physical education lecturer and eventually became an associate professor. She also served as the athletic director, and coached the basketball team, including the 1966-67 squad that won all nine of their contests. During her time at Caldwell, the College fielded intercollegiate teams in basketball, fencing, equestrian and platform tennis, which Caulfield herself started in the late 1970s. But to the students, she was much more than a professor and coach.
"Mrs. Caulfield was like a second mother to a lot of the girls," said Helen Westervelt ’80, currently the Vice Chair of the Caldwell College Board of Trustees and a member of the platform tennis team as a student. "She was so focused on the students. There was a constant cycling of people coming in and out of her office asking for help with school, their personal lives, or anything, and she always offered her help."
Caulfield was extremely supportive of the students’ pursuit of athletic excellence, encouraging everyone to perform at their best. "Athletics for girls wasn’t popular at that time, and she strove to make it important for us and motivate us," said fellow inductee Louise Melleno Pastore. "We felt lucky to have her as a role model."
Caulfield retired from the College in 1984, and passed away in 1996 at the age of 75. She and her husband Jim have four children, James, Dennis, Linda and Bill, and five grandchildren.
