A Woman’s Place Is in the Professor’s Chair
Dawn Clark Netsch
Dawn Clark Netsch (1926-2013) was the first woman to serve on the research and teaching faculty at Northwestern Law.
Born and raised in Cincinnati, Netsch diverged from her conservative family at an early age, demonstrating an interest in progressive politics in high school. She moved to Illinois and attended Northwestern University as an undergraduate, where she first became involved in activism. For example, as part of the Daily Northwestern editorial board, she led campaigns to desegregate the campus dormitories in 1946-1947. Graduating with a degree in political science in 1948, Netsch then enrolled at Northwestern Law. She was the only female student in her class, and graduated at the top in 1952.
After law school, Netsch worked with several Northwestern Law alumni. First she volunteered for the re-election campaign of then-Illinois governor Adlai Stevenson (JD ’26) in 1952. Although this campaign was unsuccessful, it began Netsch’s career-long dedication to political causes she believed in (whether or not they were, ultimately, politically viable). Moving to D.C. to establish her legal career after this campaign, Netsch worked for the firm of Covington & Burling for two years, then served as a clerk to District Court Judge Julius Hoffman (JD ’15) from 1954-1956. Her dedication to state politics soon drew her back to Illinois, and she became involved in Otto Kerner’s (JD ’34) gubernatorial campaign of 1960 as his legal counsel. From 1961-1965, Netsch served as Governor Kerner’s chief aide.
In 1965, Netsch made history by becoming the first female faculty member at Northwestern Law School; she remained a dedicated and active part of Northwestern Law throughout her life, first as a professor and, later, an emeritus member.
In 1962, she met esteemed architect Walter Netsch while arranging a democratic fundraiser; Walter Netsch was recommended to host the event at his Lake Shore Drive apartment. The couple married in 1963, and Walter Netsch supported his wife as her political career continued to grow.
In 1969, as an elected member of the Illinois Constitutional Convention, Netsch helped establish the state’s constitution. Soon after, she campaigned to be an Illinois State Senator; she was elected in 1969 and served for the next eighteen years as a Democrat on the General Assembly.
Throughout this time, Netsch gained a reputation for her liberal beliefs: she vocally supported abortion rights, gay rights, the Equal Rights Amendment, tenants’ rights, and handgun bans, while standing in opposition to the death penalty. Beginning around 1974, Netsch was involved in a group of Illinois senators known as “The Crazy Eight,” a diverse group dedicated to researching and educating one another on political issues. The Crazy Eight were known for their efforts to change the organization and leadership of the state senate, which was usually controlled by powerful and well-connected Chicago Democratic Organization, including the Daley family. Especially through her involvement with this group, she was involved in many efforts for ethical reform in the state senate.
After her service in the state senate, Netsch was elected as the Illinois Comptroller in 1990; this was the highest-ranking position that a woman had ever held in the state’s government. In 1994, Netsch again made history in her successful primary campaign to be governor of Illinois. That year, she ran against incumbent Republican governor Jim Edgar on a platform to restructure and increase funds for public education. Her opponents attacked her support of increased taxes and her “soft on crime” approach to the death penalty, and her campaign was ultimately unsuccessful. Nevertheless, Netsch remained a beloved politician and teacher through the rest of her long life. After a battle with Lou Gehrig’s disease, Netsch passed away in 2013, five years after her husband, Walter, had died.
Beyond their storied careers, Walter and Dawn Clark Netsch are also remembered for their remarkable collection of modern and contemporary art. Indeed, the generous bequest from Dawn Clark Netsch’s estate to Northwestern Law included three works of art from their collection. One of these works, “Wallpaper With Blue Floor Interior” by Roy Lichtenstein, currently hangs on the first floor of the law school, standing as a reminder of Netsch’s great contribution to the institution.
Recommended Resources
Bowman, Cynthia Grant. Dawn Clark Netsch : A Political Life. Evanston: Northwestern University Press, 2010.
“Dawn Clark Netsch Estate Trust Bequests $5 Million for Public Interest Scholarships, Loan Repayment.” Northwestern Pritzker School of Law (online resource). August 2015: https://www.law.northwestern.edu/campaign/gifts/netsch/.
Ford Pearson, “Dawn Clark Netsch 1926-2013: An Illinois Trailblazer; Unabashed Liberal Was a Woman of Firsts — in Law Class, as State Officeholder, as Governor Candidate,” Chicago Tribune, March 6, 2013.
Netsch, Dawn Clark. Oral history conducted 2010-2011 by Mark DePue. Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Illinois Statecraft Oral History Project: https://www2.illinois.gov/alplm/library/collections/oralhistory/illinoisstatecraft/legislators/Pages/NetschDawnClark.aspx.
“Prof. Leigh Bienen interviews Dawn Clark Netsch.” Northwestern University Libraries (online resource). 2012: https://media.northwestern.edu/media_objects/jd472z03q/section/td96k410d.
Reisz, Matthew. “Obituary – Dawn Clark Netsch, 1926-2013: People.” Times Higher Education 2093 (2013).
