[From the Winter, 1997 issue of The Harvard Gay & Lesbian Newsletter]
by Thomas Lee
A milestone has been reached for gay, lesbian and bisexual alumni and affiliates of Harvard: openly lesbian California State Assembly member Sheila Kuehl JD 78 is one of eight candidates for Harvards Board of Overseers. Kuehl and her fellow candidates were chosen by a nominating committee from a pool of approximately 225 individuals. Five of the candidates are to be elected by alumni in April.
Kuehl is a pioneering civil rights attorney and law professor who represents the 41st District of the California State Assembly and is currently Speaker Pro Tem. Co-founder and former managing director of the California Womens Law Center, she is a national trainer on domestic violence issues for judges, prosecutors, law enforcement officers, and womens advocates. At Harvard, she was the second woman in the schools history to win the Moot Court competition. Currently she teaches Gender and Law and Employment Discrimination at both Loyola and UCLA Law Schools in Los Angeles. (And most Baby Boomers know her as the irrepressible Zelda Gilroy of the 1960s television series The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.)
Kuehl recognizes the significance of her nomination, saying that she hopes it will appeal to peoples sense of what it means to live and work in a truly diverse society. She also believes that her experience in law, politics, and public policy will serve her well as a Harvard Overseer.
I work for a vastly diverse constituency as a state assembly member, she says. And I look forward to seeing Harvard through the many changes and challenges faced by an educational institution that also serves people from a broad range of backgrounds.
Kuehl notes that her coming out in the national spotlightshe spoke at last years Democratic National Convention, appeared on Oprah Winfreys TV show, and is considered one of the 20 most fascinating women in politics by George magazinewas fueled partly by her experience at Harvard Law School. When I first entered law school at Harvard in 1975, there were very few, if any, who were truly out, she recalls. In fact, it was a time of fledgling feminismto be a woman was to struggle for full citizenship. Kuehl is encouraged by the signs of change at Harvard, but feels that the institution has a way to go to reach itsfull growth of consciousness. She adds, I think its terrific to be recognized as an out Overseer candidate and I hope that my influence might make an impact on the way Harvard deals with issues affecting any of us struggling for access and equality.