FounderΓÇÖs Day Celebration, Honoring Strauss ΓÇÖ64
12 November 2018 Founders Day Celebration, Honoring Strauss 64
During the annual William Smith Founders Day celebration, the William Smith Alumnae Association will present its highest honor to Susan R. Strauss64 for her long career, both in and out of government, devoted to social change and social justice.
One of the oldest HWS traditions, Founders Day brings together students, alums, administrators and faculty members to celebrate the establishment of William Smith College and the achievements of its students and graduates.
The Alumna Achievement Award recognizes William Smith graduates who, by reason of outstanding accomplishments in their particular businesses, professions or community service, have brought honor and distinction to theiralma mater.
The award presentation ceremony will begin on Wednesday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. in the Vandervort Room, followed by a Founders Day discussion with Strauss,Chevanne Graham DeVaney 95, P21, Jacqueline Fisher 18 and Maeve D. Kline 19.
Find more information about Founders Day 2018 and RSVP.
Graduating from William Smith in the midst of the Vietnam War, Strauss joined the American Friends Service Committee, serving as the Midwest Director of a summer project called Vietnam Summer that sent young people all over the country knocking on doors about the war and registering people to vote. She was subsequently invited to Washington to work out of the Institute for Policy Studies, a think tank founded by Paul Barnett and Marcus Ruskin, where she worked with Arthur Waskow, a fellow, and began reaching out to federal employees about the Vietnam War.
Later, Strauss worked for the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, focusing on discrimination and institutional racism. At the same time, she helped found an organization called Federal Employees for Peace which called for employees to oppose the Vietnam War and take broader responsibility for their actions.
Strausswent on to teachfor several yearsatMontgomery Community College inRockville, Md., before enrolling ingraduate schoolat SUNY Binghamtons sociology department.After completing three years of Ph.D. coursework and oral exams, shecame to Boston, where shebegan a lifelong interest in learning about and researching women in the world of work, particularly in non-traditional occupations.
For part of her career, Strauss was a pioneer in what was then considered a job for men, employed as a skilled machinist making jet engines at General Electric in Lynn, Mass. She was active in the labor union movement as a steward and served on the legislative and womens committees, helping to bring about needed change for workers. During retirement, she has taught classes on the experiences of women in blue collar jobs, women rising to leadership roles in labor unions, and the historical fight for womens equality, all seen through the lenses of class, gender and protest.
Strauss has continued taking classes and teaching at the Lifelong Learning Institute affiliated with Salem State University and serves on the board of the Historic Derby Neighbor Association. She is currently participating in a task force called Salem for all Ages, which fosters a supportive community for people of all ages, abilities and interests.
Strauss graduated from William Smith magna cum laude in English and Phi Beta Kappa. She was the managing editor of The Herald, a member of French Club, the Reconstructionist Study Group, the Northern Students Movement, and a natural science and mathematics tutor.Sheholds masters degrees from the University of Wisconsin and SUNY Binghamton. Sheapplied her academic training and research backgroundin the midst of her activism and throughouther professional career,publishingresearchintheJournal of Public Social Serviceand contributing tothe1970US. Commissionon Civil Rightsreport on students perceptions of the publiceducation system.While at GE, sheauthoredthechapterStrategy for Failure: Affirmative Action in a Mass Production Context forthe bookUnion Voices: Labors Responses to Crisis,edited by Glenn Adler and Doris Suarez.
Astrongbelieverin the importance of helping future students attend HWS, Straussestablished the Susan R. Strauss 64 Endowed Scholarship Fund.