photo by: Courtesy of Jeff Burkhead

Kathleen Sebelius, former U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services and former Kansas governor, will be featured on a panel celebrating the 50th anniversary of the University of Kansas' February Sisters.

A series of events at the University of Kansas will celebrate the 50th anniversary of a group’s historic stand for gender equality.

That group of about two dozen women would come to be known as the February Sisters, and they’ve been credited with numerous changes at KU in the five decades since they occupied KU’s East Asian Studies building, including the establishment of Hilltop Day Care Center, the development of a women’s studies program and major, the offering of birth control pills and gynecological services at Student Health Services and the hiring of more female campus leaders, among other changes.

Last week, the Journal-World spoke with two of the featured speakers for the upcoming panel “Women & Politics,” former Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and former lawmaker and insurance commissioner Sandy Praeger, who shared their thoughts about the February Sisters’ influence on their careers and the significance of their actions. At the panel, they’re set to talk about their political journeys and what young women considering running for office today might consider in pursuing their own goals.

Sebelius told the Journal-World that she finds it interesting to “connect the dots” from the past to the present. She described the February Sisters as “way ahead of the curve” in regard to the demands they made back in 1972.

“A whole variety of issues that, frankly, we are still talking about today, 50 years later,” Sebelius said. “I think for a lot of people, knowing that those of us who were elected to office in many ways stood on the shoulders of people who started this march with the suffragettes and continue on, that focus is continuing in both the state and federal legislative process in trying to level the playing field for women so they can make their own choices, control their own bodies, have equal pay for equal work, have an opportunity to both be mothers and workers at the same time … all of those issues that were raised in 1972 are still very much part of the dialogue and debate today.”

Sebelius said there’s no doubt the national women’s rights movement had an influence on her political career, illustrated by a record of support for health care reform — especially for women. Sebelius served as the U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services under President Barack Obama.

Her steps in life also illustrate how the efforts of groups like the February Sisters weren’t just taking place in Lawrence but across the country. In 1972, Sebelius wasn’t even in Kansas; she was in Washington, D.C., and was involved in the women’s movement nationally from there. She and her husband wouldn’t move to Kansas until two years later, in 1974.

“A lot of the issues and demands (of the time) were very similar, so I was working and interested and involved in those issues more on a national scale until I came to Kansas,” Sebelius said. “Learning about this particular group of women at KU, it is remarkable to me what they accomplished in a one-day sit-in — and not only the list of their demands but the response of the university to those demands is really something that is quite unusual.”

photo by: Courtesy of Sandy Praeger

Sandy Praeger is pictured at the White House during her last year in office as Kansas insurance commissioner in 2014.

Praeger told the Journal-World that for her the February Sisters’ influence hit close to home because of her Lawrence connection. She’d finished her degree at KU in 1966, moved away and then returned to Lawrence in the late 1970s. That’s when she fostered a friendship with Emily Taylor, who served as KU’s dean of women from 1956 to 1975.

“When I think of KU and the activism movement for women, I think of Emily Taylor,” Praeger said. “She was awesome.”

Though not a February Sister, Taylor, who died in 2004, was a trailblazer for women, Praeger said. She advocated for more independence for women and had a hand in redirecting the focus of the university’s Associated Women Students organization from social activities to career planning, academic learning and leadership. That friendship also introduced Praeger to some of the February Sisters.

“These (women) saw things that needed to change and were willing to try to bring about the change for women in education,” Praeger said.

Praeger said it was women like this who paved the way for greater opportunities in her own career. She was the fourth woman to serve as mayor of Lawrence, and she said it was a much easier role to take on because of the women who came before her.

Sebelius and Praeger shared a similar list of issues they think still need to be addressed, namely pay equity. They also pointed to access to affordable child care as another area that demands attention, as well as paid parental leave.

Sebelius and Praeger will join current lawmakers at 6:30 p.m. Thursday in a panel discussion titled “Listening to All Voices: Women & Politics” in the Lawrence Public Library auditorium. Kansas Rep. Barbara Ballard and Rep. Christina Haswood will join them; Congresswoman Sharice Davids, who represents Kansas’ 3rd Congressional District, will appear by video.

Other panels honoring the 50th anniversary, all of them from 6:30 to 8 p.m., include:

• “Celebrating 50 years of the February Sisters at KU” — set for Tuesday in the Centennial Room at KU’s Memorial Union. February Sisters Christine Leonard Smith, Elizabeth Schultz, Jo Andersen and Channette Alexander will feature as panelists, as well as fellow February Sister Robin Morgan joining virtually.

• “We Demand: The Call for Healthcare, Childcare, Affirmative Action & Leadership Reforms at KU” — set for April 12 in the Centennial Room at KU’s Memorial Union. It will feature authors like Beth Bailey and Kelly Sartorius; Jenny McKee, the associate director of KU’s Health Education Resource Office; and both the current director of Hilltop Child Development Center, Jeremy Fite, and former director Joan Reiber.

• “50 Years Later: Current Student Activism at KU” — set for April 14 in the Centennial Room at KU’s Memorial Union. It will feature a panel of current KU students.