Power, Sadye Harwick, 1901-1991

Sadye Power was a philanthropist and activist on behalf of various social and political causes. Throughout the course of her life, she worked long and hard on such issues as family planning, abortion, child care, urban family life, education, cooperative living, and volunteerism. And like her husband Eugene Power, Sadye Power was a patron of the arts supporting it with contributions and with her time.

Born Sadye Harwick in 1901, Sadye graduated from the University of Michigan in the mid 1920s with a master's degree in psychology. While at the University she met Eugene B. Power, the soon-to-be founder of University Microfilms. They were married on June 27, 1929.

Sadye Power was very active in a variety of women's organizations and causes. In the 1930s, she became involved in the family planning movement probably as an outgrowth of her training in psychology and her interest in counseling and mental health issues. She was long involved in planned parenthood, serving in increasingly responsible positions, notably as member of the board of directors of both Planned Parenthood World Population and Planned Parenthood Federation of America (1969-1975). She also was a member of the Washtenaw County League for Planned Parenthood, serving from 1963 until the mid-1970s.

Sadye Power's energies were not directed to family planning alone. Beginning in 1940, she served on the board of governors of the Henderson Memorial House, which was established by the University of Michigan Alumnae Council as a cooperative residence for women. During the war years, she participated in volunteer training efforts through the Civilian War Services and helped to organize a Veterans' Counseling Center in Ann Arbor. She was also a founder and member of the board of the Ann Arbor Art Commission and of the Merrill-Palmer Institute in Detroit.

Sadye Power died November 26, 1991 at the age of 90.

From the guide to the Sadye Power Papers, 1940-1979, (Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan)