Born in New York City 1945, Ruth Yannatta Goldway is the daughter of David Goldway and Rosalyn Hersh. Her father once served as chairman of the editorial board of Science and Society, a quarterly journal of Marxist scholarship. She attended the Bronx High School of Science before going to the University of Michigan. After earning her Bachelor of Arts, she received her Masters in English literature from Wayne State University. Having moved to California, Goldway served as assistant to the director of the state Department of Consumer Affairs. During the 1970s she lectured on the role of women in government, Finnish culture and society, urban planning, and consumerism at universities and professional associations throughout the United States, Europe, Australia and Japan. She eventually became friends with liberal activist and politician Tom Hayden, who supported her candidacy for Santa Monica city council. In 1978 she led the Santa Monicans for Renters' Rights (SMRR). Ruth Yannatta Goldway was elected council member and mayor of the city of Santa Monica from 1979 to 1983. In addition, she helped to found California's system of statewide farmers markets and expanded citizen representation on state regulatory boards. She served as Founder and Chairperson of the Santa Monica Pier Restoration Corporation from 1983-1994.Her career shifted into the world of higher education when she became director of public affairs at California State University, Los Angeles. From 1991-1994 Goldway served as manager of public affairs for the Getty Trust, the largest arts and education foundation in the United States. During this time she received a small part in the 1993 movie Dave, playing the Secretary of Education in the cabinet of fictional President Bill Mitchell. Goldway and her husband, Derek Shearer, were friends of Bill and Hillary Clinton, and Shearer was appointed the United States Ambassador to Finland in 1993. The couple remained in Finland until 1997, during which time Goldway authored several articles for the Finnish magazine Gloria, organized seminars on womens issues and assisted in the promotion of American products and services. Her memoir of her overseas experience,
Derek Shearer was born in Los Angeles, California on December 5, 1946. He was married to Ruth Goldway and had three children, Julie, Anthony, and Casey. Shearer received his B.A. in 1968 from Yale University and his Ph.D. in Public Policy from the Union Graduate School. His father, Lloyd Shearer has been one of the leading journalists in the United States. Derek Shearer currently resides in Pacific Palisades, CA. with his wife Sue Toigo and two dogs, and two cats. Shearer founded the International and Public Affairs Center (IPAC) at Occidental College in Los Angeles and served as its first Director. In addition, he has taught courses on domestic and international economics and politics, public policymaking, and public and private sector management. He was appointed Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs in February, 1993. In 1994 President Bill Clinton nominated him to be United States. Ambassador to Finland. Among his many accomplishments were the creation of the administration's coordinated strategy to the Nordic-Baltic region and the hosting of the Clinton-Yeltsin summit in Helsinki. After diplomatic service, Ambassador Shearer was a fellow at the Economic Strategy Institute and then at the Woodrow Wilson Scholars Center in Washington, D.C. He was also a visiting Woodrow Wilson fellow and ambassador-in-residence at a number of colleges. He served as a foreign policy adviser to Vice President Gore during the 2000 Presidential campaign and to Senator Hillary Clinton in the 2007-2008 Presidential primary. He endorsed and supported Senator Obama in the general election. Ambassador Shearer's articles on foreign affairs and public policy have appeared in the New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, the Wall Street Journal, and many weekly and monthly publications. He has authored numerous scholarly and policy articles in books and journals and has lectured at leading universities in Europe, Asia, and Australia, including speaking tours for the United States government in China, Japan, Greece, Australia, and the Baltic States, Chile, New Zealand, Kazakhstan, Syria, Peru and Bolivia. n addition, he also taught at the University of Maryland, Tufts, and UCLA, as well as at Occidental. He has been the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, an United States and Japan Leadership Fellowship, and a Swedish Bicentennial Fellowship, among other honors he is listed in Whos Who in the World, Whos Who in America, and other such publications. Shearer is also a senior fellow at the Center for Public Diplomacy located at the University of Southern Californias Annenberg School. He also served a political advisor to the United States military, and was the moderator of the Chiefs of Defense meetings for United States Pacific Command in Honolulu in 2005, and for Central Command in Tampa, Florida in 2008. Earlier in his career, he was an official in state and local government in California. His public policy books include Economic Democracy (co-author Martin Carnoy), A New Social Contract (with Carnoy and Rumsberger), Putting People First, 1992 Program of the Clinton-Gore campaign (with Magaziner, Reich, et al), and the Public Policy Reader (edited with Lee Webb). President Clinton followed Ambassador Shearer's recommendation to create a National Economic Council in the White House to coordinate overall economic policy.
The media subseries comprises numerous audio and video recordings of Shearer and to a lesser extent Goldway. The subseries includes 34 videotapes (VHS), 2 audiocassettes, 2 boxes color slides labeled "Parade", and 1 3.5 inch floppy disc. Much of the material is unlabeled and undated.
Contains personal and financial information that is restricted until after the deaths of both Ruth Goldway and Derek Shearer.
The Derek Shearer series contains information about his work with the Clinton Presidential transition team in Santa Monica, California (box 7), and his term as the United States Ambassador to Finland during the 1990's (boxes 1-6). Contained within boxes 1-5 are numerous articles, clippings, and letters. Box 6 contains miscellaneous materials which encompass calendars, writings by Shearer, resumes, biographical information, photographs, and materials from Yale University. Box 7 contains correspondences between Shearer and President Bill Clinton and non-bugetary policy proposals. Also, included are regular and oversized photographs (box 16), and media which include VHS tapes including President Clinton's acceptance speech 1992, and various interviews with Shearer. There are also numerous unlabeled VHS tapes, audio cassettes (interviews with Shearer), and color slides (labelled parade).
The Ruth Goldway series contains materials about her mayoral campaign and and time leading up to and as Mayor of Santa Monica, California. There is a wealth of material by and about Goldway's role as wife to Derek Shearer while he was Ambassador to Finland. The Goldway series includes articles, clippings, correspondence (some to and from Hillary Clinton, box 9), and Evening Outlook newspapers from 1979-1981 (boxes 14-15). Box 13 contains media, which includes reel to reel tapes and cassettes. Some of the media is labelled Chavez endorsement and Santa Monica election.
Researchers are advised that express written permission to reproduce, quote, or otherwise publish any portion or extract from this collection must be obtained from the Brown University Library. Although Brown University has physical ownership of the collection and the materials contained therein, it does not claim literary rights. It is up to the researcher to determine the owners of the literary rights and to obtain any necessary permissions from them.
Derek Shearer and Ruth Goldway Papers, Ms.2011.042, Brown University Library.
The collection is arranged in two series: 1. Derek Shearer, 2. Ruth Goldway
There are no restrictions on access for non-digital materials, except that the collection can only be seen by prior appointment. Some materials may be stored off-site and cannot be produced on the same day on which they are requested. Advance notice is required to view born-digital records. Born-digital materials in this collection have not been reformatted yet. Researchers may request access to copies by contacting the John Hay Library with the collection name, collection number, and a description of the item(s) requested. Access to original physical digital media is restricted.
Paperback book,