UCSC Ethos Award: Bettina Aptheker

The recipient of the 2023 UCSC Ethos Award is Bettina Aptheker (Ph.D. ’83), a Distinguished Professor Emerita of Feminist Studies at UC Santa Cruz where she taught for more than 40 years. An activist-scholar, she co-led the Free Speech Movement at UC Berkeley in 1964, and the National Student Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam.
She played a leading role in the international movement to Free Angela Davis. She has been part of the LGBT movement since the late 1970s. She has published several books including a memoir, Intimate Politics: How I Grew Up Red, Fought for Free Speech & Became A Feminist Rebel. Her most recent book is called Communists in Closets: Queering the History. She and her wife, Kate Miller, have been together since 1979. They live in Santa Cruz.

[@seanatha]

Professor Bettina Aptheker's Introduction to Feminism at UCSC ( Fall 1986) was a truly transformative experience. Her brilliant intellect and unique teaching approach opened my eyes, reshaping how I perceive the world and experience time itself. It was more than a class; it was a profound paradigm shift that equipped me with invaluable tools for navigating life's complexities. Heartfelt congratulations, Professor Aptheker, on your well-deserved recognition. Your impact is immeasurable, and your legacy endures in the minds you've enlightened. - Sean Atha (Stevenson 1990)