Sharon Murphy Kissel ’70 (Arts & Sciences) was a highly accomplished librarian whose career included a position in the White House and service as a legislative librarian for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). In the latter role, she advocated for national security and played a critical role in advancing the Fair Sentencing Act, the Violence Against Women Act and other landmark legislation.

Kissel got her start in the Maxwell School. While pursuing a bachelor’s degree at the College of Arts and Sciences, she served as an assistant in Maxwell’s library, which was located on the second floor in what is now a graduate study area and conference room.Kissel—a devoted supporter of Maxwell—passed away on July 21, 2024, at her home in Washington, D.C. She was 76.

 

Kissel never forgot her Maxwell roots: The library position, which she held for four years, helped support her undergraduate education and sparked her love of library research and management. What’s more: She met her future husband, Peter Kissel ’69 B.A. (PSc), at a college mixer on Feb. 12, 1969. It was love at first sight and was not lost on the couple that it happened to be the 160th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth (and one year after the iconic 2,700-pound statue of Lincoln was added to Maxwell’s courtyard). 

After Syracuse, Kissel earned a master’s degree in library science from the University of Maryland in 1979 and was appointed head law librarian at the White House. She subsequently served in the same capacity at the Federal Reserve, and at the law firm Shea & Gardner when the firm represented Anita Hill during the Clarence Thomas hearings.

Kissel’s career culminated in her position as the legislative librarian of the ACLU’s Washington office. Congresswoman Eleanor Homes Norton memorialized her accomplishments in the Congressional Record on May 10, 2012. In addition to her critical role in advancing important civil and human rights campaigns, she participated in one of the organization’s leading coalitions against torture and indefinite detention as a researcher, writer and source of wise counsel to colleagues.

Sharon and Peter Kissel established two endowments at Syracuse University. The Peter and Sharon Murphy Kissel Fund for the Study of Civil Liberties supports faculty and student research at Maxwell, educational programming such as seminars, lectures and symposia, and curricula and course development. The Kissels also donated the naming gift for the Laurence H. Kissel Political Science Seminar Room in Eggers Hall. In addition, the Sharon and Peter Kissel Endowed Scholarship Fund provides scholarships and financial assistance to undergraduate students Universitywide.