The nomination of Solicitor General Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court by President Obama is a breakthrough in social values and jurisprudence. When she ascends to the Court, the event will mark the first time in history that there will be 3 women seated on the bench.
A brilliant student at Princeton - graduating Summa Cum Laude - she continued her academic pursuits with a 2-year fellowship at Oxford before graduating from Harvard Law School, where she made the Law Review.
Young Elena went on to serve as clerk for Judge Abner J. Mikva of the Federal Appeals Court in Washington and then - at 27 - Justice Thurgood Marshall at the United States Supreme Court.
Arriving at the University of Chicago in 1991, she met another new member of the Faculty - State Senator Barack Obama, who was lecturing on Constitutional Law.
Granted tenure at Chicago in 1995, she reached a turning point - politics over academia - the following year, when she accepted a position as Deputy in the White House Office of Domestic Policy under President Clinton.
President Clinton nominated her to a seat on the Federal Appeals Court in 1999, but Republicans refused to schedule a hearing to consider her appointment to the bench. Ironically, the seat eventually went to John G. Roberts, Jr. - now Chief Justice of the Supreme Court that Kagan will soon join.
Harvard Law School - demoralised and factionalised - was a great challenge when she was appointed Dean there in 2003. She immediately instituted a top to bottom transformation, resulting in a major restoration in Harvard Law's ratings and reputation.
In March, 2009, she returned to Washington as Solicitor General - President Obama's choice to be the nation's top lawyer, arguing before the Supreme Court on behalf of the government.
As the 4th woman to reach the Supreme Court - following Justices Sandra Day O'Connor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the very recently appointed Justice Sonia Sotomayor - Elena Kagan will make history by establishing a new level of equality and influence for women. She will serve as a shining example to girls and women of all ages that skill, dedication and determination can give rise to great success.