Ruckelshaus was born and grew up in
Indianapolis,
Indiana. She is a graduate of
Indiana University, where she obtained her undergraduate degree, and also of
Harvard University, where she received a master's degree in English. The couple's national political career started in 1968, where Ruckelshaus's husband,
William Ruckelshaus, ran against incumbent senator
Birch Bayh in the
United States Senate election of that year. In the following year, he was appointed as a
U.S. Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Rights division by President
Richard Nixon. She would serve as the NWPC spokesperson to the
1972 Republican National Convention. Through the convention, she was influential in the adoption of a women's rights
plank in the party's 1972 platform. In this capacity, she was a leading advocate for congressional funding that would support the
1977 National Women's Conference. She was also one of the four representatives in the U.S. Delegation to the
United Nations World Conference of the International Women's Year in Mexico City, which was from June 19 to July 2, in 1975. She resigned from her position as presiding officer in June 1976 as her family moved to Washington state, remaining as an ordinary member for the rest of the year. speaks during
ERAmerica fundraiser gala during 1977 Conference. Ruckelshaus is pictured far right.
National Women's Conference She attended the
1977 National Women's Conference in
Houston as the former presiding officer of the commission that would be the organizing body of the conference. Although part of the organizing committee for the Washington State Conference for Women and a candidate for national delegate, she withdrew her nomination during the state conference before voting began. Her participation included leading delegates in a collective pledge from the opening ceremonies. She was photographed by
Diana Mara Henry as part of her participation in the conference. After the conference, she was named as one of the members of the President's
National Advisory Committee for Women, co-chaired by
Bella Abzug and
Carmen Delgado Votaw. She, along with 24 other members, resigned from the committee in January 1979 in response to Abzug's firing.
Civil Rights Commissioner In 1980, she was appointed as a commissioner for the
United States Commission on Civil Rights by President
Jimmy Carter. with
President Reagan nominating a replacement in 1982. This nominee would ultimately not be taken up by Congress for approval. As a member of the commission, she joined the majority membership frequently criticizing the administration's positions on women and minority groups. She would hold the position through late 1983. she was ultimately replaced in that year. In a 2005 interview, she alleged this was because of her moderate political views. Indeed, in an internal White House memo, she was characterized as a "thorn" for the administration, given her popular support in Congress and her critical position of the administration's policies. the membership moved from congressional approval of presidential nominees to an even split of four presidential appointees and four congressional appointees. While some had expected Ruckelshaus to be named as one of the congressional appointees by the
House Minority Leader (then a Republican), she was not put forward for renomination along with fellow
Republican feminist
Mary Louise Smith. Within a month of her replacement and the reconstitution of the commission, the new members would reverse previous positions held by the old membership on
affirmative action and would become substantially more susceptible to the political whims of the presidency.
Last stand on Equal Rights Amendment She attended the
1980 Republican National Convention in Detroit, leading a march of roughly 4,500 supporters of the Equal Rights Amendment to rally for the Republican Party's reaffirmation of support for the proposed amendment. Although unsuccessful in preserving her party's support for the ERA, she was part of a group of feminist women Republicans who secured a private commitment from then-nominee
Ronald Reagan to appoint the first woman to the
Supreme Court of the United States. A year later into his presidency,
Sandra Day O'Connor was appointed to join the court. == Personal life ==