Top of page

Law Library to Host Former U.S. Representative Patricia Schroeder in Honor of Women’s History Month

Share this post:

The  National Women’s History Project has chosen “Celebrating Women of Character, Courage, and Commitment” as the 2014 theme for  National Women’s History Month in order to honor the extraordinary determination and tenacity of women.

In celebration of Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day, the Law Library of Congress will welcome former Representative Patricia Schroeder for an afternoon discussion.  Cosponsored by the Burton Foundation, the program will begin at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, March 4 in Room 119 of the Thomas Jefferson Building, located at 10 First Street S.E., Washington, D.C. The event is free and open to the public. Reservations are not required.

Law Librarian of Congress David S. Mao will interview Schroeder about her illustrious career as the first woman elected to Congress from Colorado, her tenure as former president and chief executive officer of the Association of American Publishers (AAP) from June 1997 to May 2009, and most recently as professor at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, where she co-teaches the course, “Equity Issues in U.S. Legislation” with Dr. Ryan Musgrave, director of the Rollins College Honors Program and chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religion..

Born in Portland, Oregon, Schroeder graduated magna cum laude  from the University of Minnesota and went on to Harvard Law School, one of only 15 women in the Class of 1964 which included more than 500 men.  She relocated to Denver shortly after law school and  became Colorado’s first female elected to Congress in 1972 when she won the House seat representing Colorado’s First District.  She left Congress in 1996 after 24 years of service.

During her tenure in the House, she served on the House Judiciary Committee, the Post Office and Civil Service Committee, National Security Committee, and was the first woman to serve on the House Armed Services Committee. As chair of the House Select Committee on Children, Youth and Families from 1991 to 1993,  Schroeder guided the Family and Medical Leave Act and the National Institutes of Health Revitalization Act.

Schroeder is the author of two books: Champion of the Great American Family (Random House, 1989) and 24 Years of House Work…and the Place Is Still a Mess (Andrews McMeel, 1998). She is in the National Women’s Hall of Fame and the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame.

We hope you can join us!  If you cannot attend this event in person, please follow our live tweets by going to the Law Library Twitter account, @lawlibcongress, using #WomensHistoryMonth.  If you are interested in finding out more information about Women’s History Month, please visit Margaret’s  Commemorative Observations Guide which includes background information and references to important legislation and Presidential Proclamations.

Update: The event video was added below.

 

Add a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *