Sarah Harder

By Marci Korb, WMNS 490

As I awoke to the sound of my alarm, and the haze of sleep drifted away, my stomach turned. It was Feb. 27, 2009, and today I was interviewing Sarah Harder. The excitement and nervousness was too much to bear, so instead of hitting snooze like I usually do, I pushed back the covers and started to get ready. I was interviewing Sarah Harder. I had to say it again just to remind myself. The Sarah Harder, the very woman who served as the National Women’s Conference Committee-Co-Chair, participated on the National Peace Foundation board of directors, contributed significantly to national initiatives sponsored by the American Association of University Women, and helped establish the women’s studies program at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

When I arrived at Professor Harder’s apartment for the interview, she greeted me at the front door. I took off my boots, which were full of snow, and she immediately offered me a pair of her house slippers
to wear. I knew instantly that I was going to like this woman. After a brief and somewhat formal introduction, we settled in at the kitchen table and began the interview…

Sarah Harder was born on Sept. 9, 1937, in Chicago. She was born to a Swedish father and an Irish mother; both of whom recognized her brilliant and strong spirit while she was still very young. Her boldness was
not always appreciated, and she admits, “I was always way too outspoken and could be counted on to say or do… sort of always the wrong thing at the wrong time.”

Because of her outspokenness she always had a stormy relationship with her parents. This is best portrayed in a story of her young childhood. When Harder was just two years old, her Aunt Lucile came for a visit. When she arrived, two-year-old Harder was in her room with the door shut, screaming at the top of her lungs.

After some time, her Aunt asked her father, “Aren’t you scared you are going to break her spirit?” To which he replied matter-of-factly, “No, but she sure is likely to break ours.”

Although Harder had been knocking heads with her parents from the time she was a toddler, they were extremely proud of her for what she accomplished. Both of Harder’s parents encouraged and fostered her community activism. Her father ran a small town hardware store and was always an active member of the Lions Club. Harder recalls her father as, “a great community supporter, a great community activist.” Her mother, an extremely talented ballerina, founded her own dance school and later on helped with the family’s hardware store. However, Harder recognizes that her mother’s visibility really came from the work she did in the community. She often traveled around suburban Chicago towns and put on local school operettas with the kids; “extravaganzas,” as Harder recalls them. Obviously, in Harder’s case, the apple did not fall far from the tree.

Education played a significant role throughout Sarah Harder’s life. She did well in school, but moving to a small town when she was nine threw her off balance. While understanding teachers gave support, she did not have many friends. Harder recalls feeling like an “outsider” in high school despite her active participation; something many intelligent adolescent women can relate to in our society.

Sarah Harder went to college at the University of Iowa. She attended college for just over two years and in 1958 married her first husband. She then moved to La Crosse, Wis. After the birth of two children and the dissolution of her marriage, Harder went back to finish her undergraduate work at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse; earning a B.S. and B.A.with double-majors in history and English in 1963. This was a significant feat for any woman of the time period, much less a young single mother. In 1966, Harder earned her Master’s degree in English at Bowling Green State University, where she’d met and married her second husband and had another child. In 1968 Harder and her husband joined the English department at UW-Eau Claire—she as a temporary instructor; he on a tenure track. Harder notes that this time marks the beginning of her “awakening” to feminism.

In 1971 Sarah Harder faced her first challenges. While pregnant with her fourth child, Harder requested two weeks’ sick leave for the birth. The request was denied, as pregnancy was not accepted within the UW System sick leave policy. Harder contacted acting UWEC chancellor to challenge this ruling but was still denied sick leave for childbirth. She and her husband decided to appeal that policy to the UW System. The issue dragged on and on, and with her due date quickly approaching she decided to take matters into her own hands. She went to the acting Chancellor again and this time said, “I just want you to know that if nothing changes before I go into the hospital, I will be calling the local press and will be returned by ambulance to my classroom with the press corps on my heels.” Harder recalls that things suddenly changed after this encounter, and it was not long until the UW System’s entire maternity leave policy changed.

This was not the only significant change Harder made during her 34 years of employment at UW-EC where she wasvery involved with activism on behalf of international, national, and community causes. On the community level, Harder co-created the “Choices and Challenges Program,” which was directed towards young girls who benefited from the program’s emphasis on an array of career opportunities. The program encouraged pre-adolescent and adolescent girls to “try on” three or four different occupations by shadowing real career women. The program allowed them to see the opportunities that abounded in addition to the roles of “wife” or “mother.”

Another population Harder fought for in Eau Claire was “non-traditional” students who attended the University. She helped numerous programs sprout in order to help returning students transition back into the academic realm. Harder found this program especially useful for women who, like herself, had dropped out of college to get married. It created a life-line for those who wanted to rise above poverty and economic dependence but simply did not have the support system to do so.

When referring to this issue Harder stated, “I am convinced that everybody has the capacity to contribute to society, but too often existing barriers just do not let people get to that point.”

While Sarah Harder was striving to make the community of Eau Claire a better place for women, she was also doing extensive work outside of Eau Claire. In 1977 she attended her first national convention of the American Association for University Women (AAUW). That year she was also an elected delegate for the National Women’s Conference in Houston sponsored by the U.S. Congress. This official U.S. conference identified changes needed to assure the full participation of women in American life, with its results reported to President Carter and Congress.

In 1979 Harder was elected co-chair of the National Women’s Conference Committee (NWCC), and with university support, started running the committee out of her office of Affirmative Action and Educational Opportunity at UW-Eau Claire.

She helped to found the Wisconsin Women’s Network in 34 state capitols with NWCC, then was appointed by Governor Earl as first chair of the Wisconsin Women’s Council.

Harder pushed to create the women’s studies program at UW-Eau Claire, based upon her understanding of public resistance to feminist change, “this emerging academic discipline contributed first by constructing a statistical base from which to demonstrate the need for changes women activists were arguing for and to construct a theoretical base
to give these changes full legitimacy.”

In 1985, Sarah Harder was elected national President and Board Chairman of the AAUW’s Educational Foundation and served in this position until 1989. At one time she was responsible for 150,000 members located in 1,900 different branches around the country. In 1989, when her term as President of AAUW came to an end, she returned to the NWCC which she still chairs today.

Sarah Harder was also making waves internationally during this time. In 1989 she joined the Board of Directors for the National Peace Foundation in Washington, D.C, and still serves as President. During her 20 years with this foundation, Harder’s work in Russia has emphasized social projects, women’s political and civic forums, as well as coalition building, peace-building and conflict resolution. She has worked extensively throughout Russia and still remains active there today.

According to Harder, the biggest thing she accomplished throughout her years of activism was to show the power of coalition building and to construct a set of principles which can help National Government Organizations determine where best to direct activism in order to produce political change. These principles adopted by the AAUW are still used today.

When asked about the purpose and direction of present day feminism, Sarah Harder offers some vital wisdom. She believes we need to encompass the broader issues, pull together, and include men. Harder coined the term “feminization of power” in order to make a distinction between stereotypical male power that tends to exclude or impose. Harder states, “feminization of power uses the power of inclusion and engagement with the understanding that the more you bring together, the more energy you create.”

Although Harder understands that male-model power tends to look and act differently, she proudly states that some of the best feminists in her life, some who have made the greatest difference, have been men.

She has a lot of faith in the women’s studies program at UW-EC and in the university as a whole. She believes that the direction the women’s department is headed is “terrific.”

She states, “The women’s studies faculty are brilliant people … incredible resources for the university.” When referring to UW-EC’s overall ability to educate she says, “What is obvious to me is that this university can turn out the best and the brightest, especially when the best and the brightest are students that nobody ever expected to achieve.”

Determination to turn out the best students is key to Harder’s career and her passion for making change. She has truly brought an incredible source of change to the UW-EC.

I am extremely proud to be graduating as a women’s studies major in the program Sarah Harder helped found 25 years ago. I had the privilege of meeting with and interviewing Sarah Harder and by the time our interview ended, I had learned an unspeakable amount about life, community, and activism. We met as strangers that day, but parted as friends--with a hug and future plans for a vegan lunch.

Sarah Harder currently lives in Eau Claire. She is the mother of four children and grandmother to 11 grandchildren. She still remains active in her community at the age of 71.

 

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