Elinor Raas Heller (October 3, 1904 – August 15, 1987) was an American academic administrator. From 1961–1976 she was a Regent of the University of California. She served as Chair in 1975–1976, and Vice-Chair in 1968–1969 and 1971–1972. In 1973 she was appointed to serve on California's Postsecondary Education Commission. She received the Clark Kerr Award in 1976.

Biography

Heller was born in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. She graduated from Mills College in 1925. At the time of the Berkeley Free Speech Movement in 1964, another regent, Edwin Pauley, with the covert assistance of the FBI, attempted to remove her from the board. She was one of six regents who voted against the firing of

Angela Davis Angela Yvonne Davis (born January 26, 1944) is an American Marxist and feminist political activist, philosopher, academic, and author. She is Distinguished Professor Emerita of Feminist Studies and History of Consciousness at the University of ...

in 1969. Heller was also a member of the

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the principal executive leadership board of the United States's Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party. According to the party charter, it has "general responsibility for the affairs of the ...

(1944–1952) and the World Affairs Council of Northern California. She was an alternate delegate to the 1944 Democratic National Convention, and a delegate in

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

and

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

. In the 1952 presidential election, she was a candidate for

Presidential Elector In the United States, the Electoral College is the group of presidential electors that is formed every four years for the sole purpose of voting for the president and vice president in the presidential election. This process is described in ...

in California on behalf of

Adlai Stevenson Adlai Stevenson may refer to: * Adlai Stevenson I Adlai Ewing Stevenson (October 23, 1835 – June 14, 1914) was an American politician and diplomat who served as the 23rd vice president of the United States from 1893 to 1897 under President Gr ...

. In 1974, Heller was elected a Fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

. She was awarded the

UCSF The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is a public land-grant research university in San Francisco, California, United States. It is part of the University of California system and is dedicated entirely to health science and life ...

medal in 1978.

Personal life

In 1925, she married financier Edward Hellman Heller, grandson of banker Isaias W. Hellman. The couple resided in

Atherton, California Atherton ( ) is an incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, United States. Its population was 6,823 as of July 2023 estimates. The town's zoning regulations permit only one single-family home per acre in new subdivisions, though smal ...

and had three children. Edward Heller died in 1961. Her daughter was arts patron Elizabeth Heller Mandell, married to Alan Mandell.

References

* ''Who's Who in America 1976'': Elinor Raas Heller, p. 1400.
"Elinor Raas Heller"
(obituary), ''New York Times'', August 19, 1987. 1904 births 1987 deaths Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Mills College alumni Academics from San Francisco University of California regents Women in California politics People from Atherton, California 20th-century American women 20th-century American people 20th-century American academics {{US-poli-bio-stub