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Sarah Goddard Power (June 19, 1935 – March 24, 1987) was a United StatesDemocratic Party activist andUniversity of Michigan Regent. She was aDemocratic National Convention delegate in 1976 and she was a DeputyAssistant Secretary of State for Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs in 1980 and 1981. She died by suicide on the University of Michigan campus in 1987.
Born in Detroit in 1935 and a graduate ofVassar College, Goddard also received a diploma in French at the Alliance Francaise in Paris and a master's degree in politics and international relations fromNew York University in 1965.
After serving as an executive assistant on the personal staff of GovernorNelson A. Rockefeller (the leadingliberal Republican) from 1959 to 1963, she marriednewspaper publisher Phillip Power. From 1966 to 1969, Sarah Power was executive director of theNew York City Commission for theUnited Nations and Consular Corps in the administration of MayorJohn V. Lindsay. She chaired the U.S. national commission forUNESCO, and was a delegate to four worldwide United Nations-related conferences.
Elected a University of Michigan Regent in 1974, she was a supporter ofJimmy Carter and served as a delegate to Democratic National Convention in 1976. In 1980, Carter named her deputy assistant secretary of state for human rights and social affairs, U.S. Department of State, a position she held until 1981, when she returned to the university.
On March 24, 1987, Sarah Goddard died by suicide by jumping to her death from the eighth floor of the 212-foot-highBurton Tower. Allegedly, she had been suffering from physical problems and depression and was under the care of one of the University's top psychiatrists.[1][2]
After her death, the Burton Tower's structure was modified, with the addition of stops to prevent windows from opening more than a few inches.
Michigan governorJames Blanchard appointed Phil Power to his wife's Regents seat; he served in that capacity until he was defeated in a close four-way election in 1998. Phillip's father,Eugene B. Power, had also served as a U of M Regent, from 1955 to 1971.
TheSarah Goddard Power Distinguished Service Award is given every year at the University of Michigan for "significant achievement in contributing to the betterment of women in the following areas: distinguished leadership, scholarship, or other activities related to their professional lives."
Sarah Power was inducted into theMichigan Women's Hall of Fame in 1988.[why?][3]