Karen R. Keesling
Karen Ruth Keesling (July 9, 1946 - July 4, 2012[1]) was the United States Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Manpower & Reserve Affairs) from 1988 to 1989.
Biography
Karen R. Keesling was born in Wichita, Kansas on July 9, 1946.[2] She was educated at Arizona State University, receiving a B.A. in 1968 and an M.A. in 1970.[2]
Keesling was Assistant Dean of Women at the University of Kansas for 1971-72.[3] From 1972 to 1975, Keesling worked in the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare as executive secretary of the Secretary's Advisory Commission on Rights and Responsibilities of Women.[4] From 1975 to 1977, she was Director of the White House Office of Women. She was then a women's rights analyst in the Library of Congress's Civil Rights Division.[4] She then attended the Georgetown University Law Center, receiving her J.D. in 1981. From 1979 to 1981, she was also a legislative aide of Sen. Nancy Landon Kassebaum (R–Kan.)[4]
In 1981, Keesling joined the United States Department of the Air Force, serving as Deputy for Equal Opportunity and Director of Equal Employment Opportunity, 1981–82; as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Manpower Resources and Military Personnel, 1982–83; Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Manpower, Reserve Affairs, and Installations, 1983–87; and as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Readiness Support, 1987-89.[2]
On September 7, 1988, President of the United States George H. W. Bush nominated Keesling to be Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Manpower & Reserve Affairs).[2] She held this position until 1989.[4]
In the early 1990s, she joined the United States Department of Labor, serving as Acting Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division.[5]
She moved to Sun City, Arizona in 2000 and practiced law there until her retirement in 2009. She died July 4, 2012 in Sun City.
References
- ^ "Karen Keesling Obituary: View Obituary for Karen Keesling by Sunland Memorial Park & Mortuary, Sun City, AZ". Obits.dignitymemorial.com. Retrieved 2012-08-08.
- ^ a b c d Nomination of Karen R. Keesling To Be an Assistant Secretary of the Air Force, Sept. 7, 1988
- ^ Profile from Ford Library
- ^ a b c d Barbara J. Love, Feminists Who Changed America, 1963-1975 (2006), p. 247
- ^ Federal Register
- 1946 births
- 2012 deaths
- United States Air Force personnel
- People from Wichita, Kansas
- Arizona State University alumni
- University of Kansas faculty
- Georgetown University Law Center alumni
- United States Department of Health and Human Services officials
- United States Department of Labor officials
- Women in the United States Air Force