Abstract
The Shelley Berkley Papers (1987-2012) consist primarily of correspondence and other documents pertaining to Shelley Berkley's tenure as United States Representative for Nevada 1st congressional district. Topics include nuclear waste storage at Yucca Mountain, education, women's rights, health care, foreign affairs, veterans, economics, and homeland security. The collection also includes photographs, interviews, and awards. Shelley Berkley served as a member of Congress between 1999 and 2013.
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Scope and Contents Note
The Shelley Berkley Papers (1987-2012) consist primarily of correspondence and other documents pertaining to Shelley Berkley's tenure as United States Representative for Nevada 1st congressional district. Topics include nuclear waste storage at Yucca Mountain, education, women's rights, health care, foreign affairs, veterans, economics, and homeland security. The collection also includes photographs, interviews, and awards. The digital files include recorded speeches and presentations by Berkley, award ceremonies, photographs, and news program appearances. Shelley Berkley served as a member of Congress between 1999 and 2013.
Access Note
Collection is open for research. Where use copies do not exist, production of use copies is required before access will be granted; this may delay research requests. Advanced notice is required.
Publication Rights
Materials in this collection may be protected by copyrights and other rights. See Reproductions and Use on the UNLV Special Collections and Archives website for more information about reproductions and permissions to publish.
Arrangement
These records are organized into five series:
Series I. Correspondence and newspaper clippings, 1999-2012;
Series II. Subject files, 1999-2012;
Series III. Yucca Mountain files, 1987-2008;
Series IV. Audiovisual materials, 1999-2006;
Series V. Awards, campaign materials, and photographs 1999-2012.
Biographical / Historical Note
Rochelle "Shelley" Levine was born in New York City, New York in 1951 and moved to Las Vegas, Nevada during junior high school. Berkley attended the University of Nevada, Las Vegas where she served as student body president and graduated with honors in 1972 with a Bachelor of Arts in political science. After earning her Juris Doctor in 1976 from the University of San Diego, she returned to Las Vegas, Nevada to practice law. From 1976 to 1979, Berkley served as Deputy Director of the Nevada State Department of Commerce. She provided legal counsel to several casinos at various points in her career, served as national director of the American Hotel-Motel Association, and founded the Southern Nevada Association of Women Attorneys and the Senior Law Project. In 1977, she married Fred Berkley and had two children, Max and Sam. The couple divorced in 1995. Berkley served in the Nevada State Assembly from 1982 to 1985 and on the Board of Regents for the Nevada System of Higher Education from 1990 to 1998. In 1999, she married Dr. Lawrence Lehrner.
Before being elected to Congress, Berkley served on the board of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. She continued her vocal support of Israel in Congress and was heavily involved in all matters related to the Middle East. She was a member of several committees, including: Foreign Affairs, Veterans Affairs, Ways and Means, Small Business, and Transportation. Building a new Veterans Administration medical complex in Southern Nevada and sponsoring many pieces of healthcare legislation are also among her accomplishments as a U.S. Representative.
In 1998, Berkley successfully ran for Representative for Nevada’s 1st Congressional District. She served seven terms as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and secured for her district millions of dollars of federal funding for education, transportation, and other projects. She also successfully fought against storing nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. Prior to her election to Congress, Berkley served on the board of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. She continued to advocate for Israel and the Middle East while in Congress. She served as a member on several committees, including Foreign Affairs, Veterans Affairs, Ways and Means, Small Business, and Transportation. In 2014, the year after her tenure in Congress ended, Shelley Berkley joined the Touro College and University System’s Western Division as CEO and Senior Provost.
Source:
"Berkley, Shelley." United States House of Representatives. Accessed April 17, 2019. https://history.house.gov/People/Detail/10363
- 1951
- Rochelle "Shelley" Levine born in New York City on January 20.
- 1982-1984
- Serves in Nevada State Assembly.
- 1990-1998
- Member of the Nevada University and Community College System Board of Regents
- 1999-2013
- Member of U.S. House of Representatives Nevada's 1st congressional district
- 2014
- Appointed CEO and Senior Provost of the Touro College and University System's Western Division
Preferred Citation
Shelley Berkley Papers, 1987-2012. MS-00599. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Acquisition Note
Materials were donated in 2013 and 2016 by Shelley Berkley; accession numbers 2013-005 and 2016-029.
Processing Note
Paper and analog materials were processed by Joyce Moore and Stephanie Molina in 2013. In 2015, as part of a legacy finding aid conversion project, Joyce Moore revised and enhanced the collection description. In June 2015, Meghan Gross digitized select materials from the collection. Karla Irwin minimally processed the born-digital materials on the hard drive and subsequently entered descriptive information into ArchivesSpace in 2015. In 2019, as part of an archival backlog elimination project, Christina Lamoureux rehoused the materials and revised the collection description to bring it into compliance with current professional standards. In 2019, Brooks Whittaker processed the digital files stored on optical discs and entered the descriptive information into ArchivesSpace.