Members in the News

To celebrate the 19^th Amendment centennial, Penn State Library Press has re-released  A Matter of Simple Justice: The Untold Story of Barbara Franklin and A Few Good Women by Lee Stout. 

The book records a chapter of women's history from the early 1970's. It is the story of the Nixon White House when Barbara Franklin was the recruiter of women for high level government jobs and the White House point person for the President's effort to advance women in the federal government.

"The majority of women appointed were 'firsts', and they all performed admirably," Barbara Franklin wrote when sharing the news of the book's re-release. "Barriers came down and stayed down. This success and the example set by the federal government back then rippled through our society and opened many other opportunities for women.  I'm honored to have played a part and salute all the women and some men who helped to make it happen."

As Secretary of Commerce, Barbara Franklin was the highest-ranking woman in the George H.W. Bush administration and the 13th woman to serve in the U.S. Cabinet.