Call Number:

MC258

Repository:

Princeton University Library: Public Policy Papers

Extent:

38 boxes

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Nadine Strossen Papers, Box and Folder Number; Special Collections, Princeton University Library.

Date:

1979-2013 (inclusive)

Creator:

Strossen, Nadine 1950-

Form:

Correspondence, Speeches, Brochures, contact sheets, and photographs

Abstract:

Nadine Strossen, former national board president of the American Civil Liberties Union, is a well-known civil libertarian, law professor and author. This collection consists of records generated by Nadine Strossen in her leadership roles with the American Civil Liberties Union and as professor of law at the New York Law School.

Nadine Strossen was born August 18, 1950, to Sylvia Simicich Strossen and Woodrow John Strossen, in Jersey City, New Jersey. She attended Radcliffe College, where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1972. Strossen moved on to attend Harvard Law School, graduating Magna Cum Laude in 1975. She also served as an editor of the Harvard Law Review.

Following her graduation from law school, Strossen clerked for the Minnesota Supreme Court and practiced at private firms in Minneapolis and New York. In 1984, Professor Stossen accepted the position of Supervising Attorney at the Civil Rights Clinic and Associate Professor of Law at the NYU School of Law. In 1989, Strossen was hired as a Professor at the New York Law School.

Strossen became involved with the leadership of the ACLU in 1982, when she served at vice-char of the Due-Process committee. She was elected to the National Board of Directors in 1983, and began serving as General Counsel in 1986. In 1991, Strossen was elected National Board President, making her the youngest person and first woman to hold the position. Strossen continued teaching at New York Law School throughout her tenure as ACLU National Board President and after her resignation in 2008.

Strossen is considered an expert in constitutional law, civil liberties, and international human rights. She has focused much of her attention on the area of free speech, especially in the realm of pornography. Professor Strossen has written and lectured extensively in these areas, having authored more than 250 published works, including Defending Pornography: Free Speech, Sex, and the Fight for Women's Rights (Scribner, 1995; NYU Press, 2000), and Speaking of Sex: Hate Speech, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties (NYU Press, 1995). She has also served on the Boards of Directors of many other organizations, including Asia Watch, Coalition to Free Soviet Jews, The Fund for Free Expression, Human Rights Watch, Middle East Watch, National Coalition Against Censorship, and the ACLU's Reproductive Freedom Project.

This collection consists of records generated by Nadine Strossen in her leadership roles with the American Civil Liberties Union and as professor of law at the New York Law School. Strossen's work addressed the nomination of Clarence Thomas to the United States Supreme Court, police brutality against Rodney King, the appointment of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and twenty-first century national security and immigration policies. The collection primarily consists of correspondence, press clippings, conference materials, and notes and transcripts from Professor Strossen's public appearances and speaking engagements.

The collection is arranged in three series: correspondence, scrapbook files and speeches. Archivists at the ACLU re-arranged many series chronologically -- the arrangement of materials as they arrived at Princeton has been maintained.