Editing Hazel R. O'Leary

{{Short description|American government official and university administrator}}
{{good article}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name         = Hazel O'Leary
|image        = Hazel O'Leary 2.jpg
|office      = 7th [[United States Secretary of Energy]]
|president   = [[Bill Clinton]]
|deputy = [[Bill White (Texas politician)|Bill White]]<br>[[Charles B. Curtis]]
|term_start  = January 22, 1993
|term_end    = January 20, 1997
|predecessor = [[James D. Watkins]]
|successor   = [[Federico Peña]]
|office2       = 14th President of [[Fisk University]]
|term_start2   = July 13, 2004
|term_end2     = January 31, 2013
|predecessor2  = [[Carolynn Reid-Wallace]]
|successor2    = James Williams
|birth_name   = Hazel Reid
|birth_date   = {{birth date and age|1937|5|17}}
|birth_place  = [[Newport News, Virginia|Newport News]], [[Virginia]], U.S.
|death_date   = 
|death_place  = 
|party        = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
|spouse       = Carl Rollins (divorced)<br>[[Max Robinson]] (divorced)<br>{{marriage|[[John F. O'Leary|John O'Leary]]|1980|1987|reason=died}}
|children     = 1
|education    = [[Fisk University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])<br>[[Rutgers University–Newark|Rutgers University, Newark]] ([[Bachelor of Laws|LLB]])
}}

'''Hazel Reid O'Leary''' (born May 17, 1937) is an American lawyer, politician, and university administrator who served as the 7th [[United States Secretary of Energy|United States secretary of energy]] from 1993 to 1997. A member of the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]], O'Leary was the first woman and first African American to hold that post. She also served as the 14th president of [[Fisk University]] from 2004 to 2013, a [[historically black college]] and her [[alma mater]]. O'Leary's tenure at Fisk came amid financial difficulty for the school, during which time she increased enrollment and contentiously used the school's art collection to raise funds.

O'Leary received her bachelor's degree from Fisk before earning her Bachelor of Laws degree from [[Rutgers Law School|Rutgers School of Law]]. O'Leary worked as a prosecutor in New Jersey and then in a private consulting/accounting firm before joining the [[Carter administration]] in the newly created [[Department of Energy]]. O'Leary returned to the private sector in 1981 but rejoined the government as secretary of energy under President [[Bill Clinton]]. During her tenure, she declassified documents detailing how the United States had conducted secret testing on the effects of radiation on unsuspecting American citizens. She also received criticism for excessive spending on international trips while in office.

==Early life and education==
Hazel Reid was born in [[Newport News, Virginia]]. Her parents, Russel E. Reid and Hazel Reid, were both physicians.<ref name="Harrington, Linda M, No Pie in Sky">{{Cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1994/05/01/no-pie-in-the-sky/|title=No Pie In The Sky|last=Harringon|first=Linda M.|date=May 1, 1994|work=tribunedigital-chicagotribune|access-date=June 25, 2017|language=en|archive-date=September 15, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170915101732/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1994-05-01/features/9405010022_1_energy-secretary-pie-utility/2|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Encyclopedia of African American History Volume 4|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2009|editor-last=Finkelman|editor-first=Paul|location=Oxford|pages=11}}</ref><ref name="Henneberger, Melinda">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/11/24/us/ex-official-now-looks-to-church-for-solace.html|title=Ex-Official Now Looks To Church For Solace|last=Henneberger|first=Melinda|date=November 24, 1997|work=The New York Times|access-date=June 22, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=September 15, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170915114136/http://www.nytimes.com/1997/11/24/us/ex-official-now-looks-to-church-for-solace.html|url-status=live}}</ref> They divorced when she was 18 months old.<ref name="Haywood, Richette">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8_W-QMJlBHIC&q=Max+Robinson&pg=PA98|title=Ebony|last=L. Haywood|first=Richette|date=February 1995|publisher=Johnson Publishing Company |pages=98, 100|language=en}}</ref> Her father and stepmother, a teacher named Mattie Pullman Reid, raised Hazel and her older sister Edna Reid,<ref name="Harrington, Linda M, No Pie in Sky" /><ref name="Haywood, Richette" /> primarily in the [[East End (Newport News, Virginia)|East End neighborhood]].<ref name="=Di Vincenzo 1994">{{cite web |last=Di Vincenzo |first=Mark |title=High Profile: Hazel O'Leary |website=dailypress.com |date=1994-04-04 |url=https://www.dailypress.com/news/dp-xpm-19940404-1994-04-04-9404040039-story.html |access-date=2020-06-13 |archive-date=2020-06-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200613192858/https://www.dailypress.com/news/dp-xpm-19940404-1994-04-04-9404040039-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Hazel attended school in a segregated school system in Newport News for eight years.<ref name="Harrington, Linda M, No Pie in Sky" /><ref name="Smith, Jessie Carney">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ssMBzqrUpjwC&q=Hazel+O%27Leary+Edna+Reid&pg=PA506|title=Notable Black American Women|last=Smith|first=Jessie Carney|date=1996|publisher=VNR AG|isbn=9780810391772|language=en |pages=506&ndash;507 |access-date=2020-11-11|archive-date=2021-12-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211219222848/https://books.google.com/books?id=ssMBzqrUpjwC&q=Hazel+O%27Leary+Edna+Reid&pg=PA506|url-status=live}}</ref> She and her sister were then sent to live with an aunt in [[Essex County, New Jersey]], and attend Arts High School, an integrated school.<ref name="Harrington, Linda M, No Pie in Sky" /><ref name="Smith, Jessie Carney" /> She earned a bachelor's degree at [[Fisk University]] in [[Nashville]] in 1959.<ref name="Smith, Jessie Carney" /> She then married Carl Rollins and had a son before returning to school and earning her [[Bachelor of Laws]] degree from [[Rutgers Law School]] in Newark in 1966.<ref name="Smith, Jessie Carney" />

==Career==

=== Early career ===
O'Leary worked as a prosecutor in New Jersey on organized crime cases,<ref name="Henneberger, Melinda" /> later becoming an assistant attorney general for the state.<ref name="Smith, Jessie Carney" /> In 1969, after obtaining a divorce, O'Leary moved to Washington, D.C., where she joined the consulting/accounting firm [[Coopers & Lybrand]].<ref name="Harrington, Linda M, No Pie in Sky" /><ref name="Smith, Jessie Carney" /> During the [[Carter administration]], O'Leary was appointed assistant administrator of the [[Energy Information Administration|Federal Energy Administration]], [[general counsel]] of the Community Services Administration, and administrator of the Economic Regulatory Administration at the newly created [[United States Department of Energy|Department of Energy]], where she met [[United States Deputy Secretary of Energy|Deputy Secretary of Energy]] [[John F. O'Leary]].<ref name="Henneberger, Melinda" /> They married on April{{nbsp}}24, 1980.<ref name="Harrington, Linda M, No Pie in Sky" /><ref name="Feder, Barnaby J., New Energy Chief" />

After Carter lost the [[1980 United States presidential election|1980 election]], the O'Learys established the consulting firm O'Leary & Associates in [[Morristown, New Jersey]], where she served as vice president and general counsel.<ref name="Stych, Ed">{{Cite web|url=https://www.questia.com/read/1P2-5604407/energy-secretary-candidate-has-experience-as-regulator|title=Energy Secretary Candidate Has Experience as Regulator, Executive|last=Stych|first=Ed|date=December 22, 1992|website=|publisher=The Journal Record|access-date=August 29, 2017|archive-date=September 29, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170929183440/https://www.questia.com/read/1P2-5604407/energy-secretary-candidate-has-experience-as-regulator|url-status=dead}}</ref> After Jack died of cancer in 1987, she moved to [[Minnesota]].<ref name="Henneberger, Melinda" /> From 1989 to 1993, O'Leary worked as an executive vice president of the [[Northern States Power Company]], a Minnesota-based public utility.<ref name="Stych, Ed" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-13511407/the-new-powers-that-be-the-clinton-challenge|title=The New Powers That Be: The Clinton Challenge" Vol. 23, Issue 8|last=Scott|first=Matthew S.|date=March 1993|website=|publisher=Black Enterprise|access-date=2017-08-29|archive-date=2017-09-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170929231546/https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-13511407/the-new-powers-that-be-the-clinton-challenge|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Secretary of Energy ===
In a press conference on December 21, 1992, held in [[Little Rock, Arkansas]], then President-elect [[Bill Clinton]] announced his intention to nominate O'Leary as [[United States Secretary of Energy|secretary of energy]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/12/22/us/the-transition-clinton-chooses-2-and-deplores-idea-of-cabinet-quotas.html|title=The Transition; Clinton Chooses 2 and Delpores Idea of Cabinet Quotas|last=Ifill|first=Gwen|date=December 22, 1992|work=The New York Times|access-date=July 2, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=September 15, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170915114750/http://www.nytimes.com/1992/12/22/us/the-transition-clinton-chooses-2-and-deplores-idea-of-cabinet-quotas.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Clinton officially made the nomination on January{{nbsp}}20, 1993, and the [[United States Senate|Senate]] confirmed O'Leary by unanimous consent the next day.<ref name="Nelson, Michael, The Presidency">{{cite book |last1=Nelson |first1=Michael |title=The Presidency A to Z |date=October 23, 2012 |publisher=CQ Press |page=666 |isbn=9781452234304 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qMVJCgAAQBAJ&q=Hazel+O%27Leary+January+20%2C+1997&pg=PA666 |access-date=October 12, 2017 |archive-date=December 19, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211219222848/https://books.google.com/books?id=qMVJCgAAQBAJ&q=Hazel+O%27Leary+January+20%2C+1997&pg=PA666 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Henneberger, Melinda" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.congress.gov/nomination/103rd-congress/76/12?q=%7B%22search%22:%5B%22Hazel+Rollins+O'Leary%22%5D%7D&r=1|title=PN76-12 - Nomination of Hazel Rollins O'Leary for Department of Energy, 103rd Congress (1993-1994)|date=January 21, 1993|website=www.congress.gov|language=en|access-date=June 22, 2017}}</ref> O'Leary was the first woman and first African American to serve as energy secretary.<ref name="Bittner, Drew" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://energy.gov/eere/articles/women-energy-secretary-hazel-oleary|title=Women @ Energy – Secretary Hazel O'Leary|last=Bittner|first=Drew|date=March 17, 2016|website=Energy.gov|access-date=October 12, 2017|archive-date=October 12, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171012101209/https://energy.gov/eere/articles/women-energy-secretary-hazel-oleary|url-status=live}}</ref> She was also the first secretary of that department to have worked for an energy company.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/12/27/us/transition-clinton-s-cabinet-choices-put-him-center-balancing-competing-factions.html|title=THE TRANSITION; Clinton's Cabinet Choices Put Him at Center, Balancing Competing Factions|last=Friedman|first=Thomas L.|date=December 27, 1992|work=The New York Times|access-date=September 15, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> At the time she led the Department of Energy, it had an annual budget of $18{{nbsp}}billion<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-13698296/black-clout-in-the-clinton-administration|title=Black Clout in the Clinton Administration" Vol. 48, Issue 7|date=May 1993|website=|publisher=Ebony|access-date=2017-08-29|archive-date=2017-09-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170915070501/https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-13698296/black-clout-in-the-clinton-administration|url-status=dead}}</ref> and approximately 18,000 employees.<ref name="Feder, Barnaby J., New Energy Chief">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/12/22/us/new-energy-chief-has-seen-2-sides-of-regulatory-fence.html|title=New Energy Chief Has Seen 2 Sides of Regulatory Fence|last=Feder|first=Barnaby J.|date=December 22, 1992|work=The New York Times|access-date=2017-10-12|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
[[File:HD.3C.040 (10692119506).jpg|thumb|Left to right: Secretary of Energy Hazel R. O'Leary, John S. Foster, President Bill Clinton, and Mrs. John Foster]]
O'Leary challenged the way the department had traditionally been run, particularly its focus on developing and testing nuclear weapons.<!--<ref name="Warren, James, O'Leary's Legacy" />--> During her tenure, the size of the Department of Energy was reduced by a third.<!--<ref name="Warren, James, O'Leary's Legacy" />--> It was also a target for Republicans who wanted it eliminated.<ref name="Warren, James, O'Leary's Legacy" /><ref name="Feder, Barnaby J., New Energy Chief" /> While reducing the size of the department overall, O'Leary shifted resources toward efficient and renewable energy sources,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.joc.com/olearys-revamped-policy-stresses-efficiency-renewable-energy-sources_19930406.html|title=O'Leary's Revamped Policy Stresses Efficiency, Renewable Energy Sources|last=Reuter|date=April 6, 1993|website=www.joc.com|language=en|access-date=October 11, 2017}}</ref> a priority of the Clinton administration.<ref name="Feder, Barnaby J., New Energy Chief" />

In this position, O'Leary won praise for declassifying old Department of Energy documents,<ref name="Warren, James, O'Leary's Legacy" /><ref name="Wald, Matthew, Power is underpriced">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/01/20/us/power-is-underpriced-energy-secretary-says.html|title=Power Is Underpriced, Energy Secretary Says|last=Wald|first=Matthew L.|date=January 20, 1997|work=The New York Times|access-date=October 12, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> including Cold War-era records that showed the U.S. government had used American citizens as guinea pigs in [[human radiation experiments]], as had long been rumored.<ref name="Warren, James, O'Leary's Legacy">{{Cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1996/11/24/hazel-olearys-legacy-ruffled-feathers-a-good-record/|title=Hazel O'Leary's Legacy: Ruffled Feathers, A Good Record|last=Warren|first=James|date=November 24, 1996|work=tribunedigital-chicagotribune|access-date=October 11, 2017|language=en}}</ref> Clinton issued [[Executive order (United States)|Executive Order]] 12891, which created the [[Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments]] (ACHRE) to prevent such abuses of power.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/WCPD-1994-01-24/html/WCPD-1994-01-24-Pg118-2.htm|title=Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 30 Issue 3 (Monday, January 24, 1994)|website=www.gpo.gov|access-date=June 22, 2017}}</ref> O'Leary also announced a $4.6{{nbsp}}million settlement payment to the families of victims of past radiation experiments.<ref name="Warren, James, O'Leary's Legacy" /> Other declassified documents included facts about [[plutonium]] the United States had left in [[South Vietnam]].<ref name="Wald, Matthew, Power is underpriced" />

O'Leary also pushed to end [[Nuclear weapons testing|nuclear testing]] in the United States.<ref name="Bittner, Drew">{{Cite news|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/energy-secretaries-before-rick-perry-2016-12/#1993-1997-hazel-oleary-7|title=Here are the qualifications of all 13 people who served as Secretary of Energy before Rick Perry|last=Letzter|first=Rafi|date=December 22, 2016|work=Business Insider|access-date=June 22, 2017|language=en}}</ref> Her efforts resulted in Clinton signing a test ban on nuclear testing, a ban that other nations joined.<ref name="Warren, James, O'Leary's Legacy" /> Early in her tenure as secretary, O'Leary met with whistle-blowers who said they faced harassment for raising legitimate health and safety issues within the DOE.<ref name="Haywood, Richette" /> She announced a "zero tolerance" policy, prohibiting retaliation against whistle-blowers at [[Nuclear power plant|nuclear plants]].<ref name="Henneberger, Melinda" />

O'Leary repeatedly faced criticism during her tenure.<!--<ref name="Warren, James, O'Leary's Legacy" />--> The DOE allocated $43,500 to a Washington firm to identify unfriendly media outlets, which White House Press Secretary [[Mike McCurry (press secretary)|Michael D. McCurry]] called "unacceptable."<ref name="Warren, James, O'Leary's Legacy" /> O'Leary claimed the allocation was made without her direct knowledge and defended the research as an attempt to study the efficacy of the department's messaging.<ref name="Lewis, Neil, monitor reporters">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/11/10/us/energy-secretary-used-fund-to-monitor-reporters.html|title=Energy Secretary Used Fund to Monitor Reporters|last=Lewis|first=Neil a|date=November 10, 1995|work=The New York Times|access-date=October 12, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> A [[Government Accountability Office]] audit of travel criticized her for traveling too frequently and spending excessively on accommodations.<ref>{{cite news|first=Pierre|last=Thomas|title=Energy Dept. Travel Examined; GAO Audit Cites Lax Accounting for O'Leary Trips to India, S. Africa|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-769364.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019204725/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-769364.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 19, 2012|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=January 4, 1996|access-date=2008-02-03}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Gary|last=Lee|title=GAO Report Blasts O'Leary On Sloppy Travel Records|url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1P2-4324017.html|work=Chicago Sun-Times|date=January 5, 1996|access-date=2008-02-03}}</ref> She apologized to Congressional committees in 1996 for spending that exceeded limits on the funds appropriated to the agency for travel.<ref name="Ford, Lynne E.">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cVtFJ5tvINsC&q=hazel+o%27leary+apology+spending+1996&pg=PA349|title=Encyclopedia of Women and American Politics|last=Ford|first=Lynne E.|date=May 12, 2010|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=9781438110325|pages=349–350|language=en}}</ref>

O'Leary resigned from her position effective January{{nbsp}}20, 1997,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/show/36258|title=Hazel O'Leary - Collection Finding Aid · Clinton Digital Library|website=clinton.presidentiallibraries.us|language=en-US|access-date=October 12, 2017}}</ref> explaining she did not wish to stay in the job more than four years.<ref name="Wald, Matthew, Power is underpriced" /> In 1997, [[Johnny Chung]], a Democratic political donor, claimed that O'Leary had met with Chinese oil officials after he gave $25,000 to O'Leary's favorite charity, ''[[Africare]]'', in 1995.<ref name=":0" /> In August of that year, Attorney General [[Janet Reno]] reviewed Chung's allegations to decide whether to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate O'Leary.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1997/09/22/time/reno.clinton.html|title=AllPolitics - Reno Focuses On The President - Sep. 29, 1997|last=Lacayo|first=Richard|date=September 29, 1997|website=www.cnn.com|access-date=December 22, 2017}}</ref> Reno determined there was "no evidence" of wrongdoing by O'Leary and no basis for a further investigation.<ref name=":0">{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C03EEDE143DF930A35751C1A961958260|title=The Attorney General's Decision: The O'Leary Case; Reno Backs Former Energy Secretary's Denials of Wrongdoing|last=Stout|first=David|date=December 3, 1997|work=New York Times|access-date=February 3, 2008}}</ref> Some observers, including a lawyer for the Government Accountability Project, saw some fault in O'Leary's conduct but also saw racism and sexism in the way she was treated.<ref name="Henneberger, Melinda" />

=== Post-government ===
After leaving the [[Presidency of Bill Clinton|Clinton administration]], O'Leary once again served as president of O'Leary & Associates, her consulting firm.<ref name="Bloomberg">{{cite web|title=Executive Profile: Hazel O'Leary|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=546245&privcapId=4463979|publisher=Bloomberg|access-date=June 25, 2017|archive-date=September 14, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170914125145/https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=546245&privcapId=4463979|url-status=live}}</ref> She also sat on the board of the environmental engineering firm ICF Kaiser International.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1997/09/22/time/hazel.oleary.html|title=Former Energy Secretary Under Scrutiny|date=September 29, 1997|website=www.cnn.com|access-date=September 14, 2017|archive-date=December 22, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181222170105/http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1997/09/22/time/hazel.oleary.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2000, she became president and chief operating officer of an investment banking firm, Blaylock & Partners.<ref name="Bloomberg" /> She left that firm in 2002.<ref name="Ford, Lynne E." />

====Fisk University president====
On July 13, 2004, O'Leary was selected and began work as president of her undergraduate ''alma mater'', [[Fisk University]], a [[historically black college]] in [[Nashville, Tennessee]].<ref name="2003 Office of Fisk President">{{cite web |title=Office of the President |url=http://www.fisk.edu:80/index.asp?cat=20 |website=Fisk.edu |access-date=October 14, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030802213721/http://www.fisk.edu/index.asp?cat=20 |archive-date=August 2, 2003 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="O'Leary 14th President">{{cite news|title=Hazel O'Leary, 14th President of Fisk University|url=http://www.fisk.edu:80/index.asp?cat=20|access-date=December 8, 2017|publisher=fisk.edu|date=July 13, 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050306034115/http://www.fisk.edu/index.asp?cat=20|archive-date=March 6, 2005|url-status=dead}}</ref> She was officially installed as the university's 14th president on October{{nbsp}}6, 2005.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.tennessean.com/picture-gallery/news/education/2016/02/15/fisk-university-at-150-a-look-back-at-the-past-50-years/80416024/|title=Fisk University at 150: A look back at the past 50 years|date=February 15, 2016|work=The Tennessean|access-date=October 13, 2017|language=en}}</ref> Before O'Leary's tenure, the university had tried unsuccessfully to increase its enrollment and experienced financial problems.<ref name="Schelzig, Erik">{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/27/AR2007122702213.html|title=Historically Black College Struggles Financially|last=Schelzig|first=Erik|date=December 28, 2007|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=June 22, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286|archive-date=February 12, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170212093126/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/27/AR2007122702213.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2008, Fisk had an enrollment of 770 students and 264 faculty and staff members.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nashville.gov/Portals/0/SiteContent/Planning/docs/urban/Institutional%20Overlays/fisk.pdf|title=Fisk University Master Plan|last=Tusk Hinton Architects|date=October 2008|website=www.nashville.gov|access-date=2017-12-08|archive-date=2017-02-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170201000522/https://www.nashville.gov/Portals/0/SiteContent/Planning/docs/urban/Institutional%20Overlays/fisk.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Greenberg, Pierce, Financially challenged Fisk">{{cite news|last1=Greenberg|first1=Pierce|title=Financially challenged Fisk will turn to fundraising, students to raise $8.4M by July|url=http://nashvillecitypaper.com/content/city-news/financially-challenged-fisk-will-turn-fundraising-students-raise-84m-july|access-date=December 8, 2017|publisher=nashvillecitypaper.com|date=December 11, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171208231422/http://nashvillecitypaper.com/content/city-news/financially-challenged-fisk-will-turn-fundraising-students-raise-84m-july|archive-date=2017-12-08|url-status=dead}}</ref> 
[[File:Panel- Increasing Minority Participation in the Energy Sector (10671079193).jpg|left|thumb|O'Leary speaks on September 24, 2013, at the Minorities in Energy Initiative Launch.]] By 2011, Fisk's enrollment numbers improved,<ref name="Greenberg, Pierce, Financially challenged Fisk" /> but the school was still operating with a loss in six of the previous nine years.<ref name="Greenberg, Pierce, Financially challenged Fisk" /> These ongoing financial problems caused the [[Southern Association of Colleges and Schools]] Commission on Colleges to place Fisk on probation in 2010 over concerns for the university's finances and prospects.<ref name="Stuart, Reginald">{{cite news|last1=Stuart|first1=Reginald|title=Fisk, Florida A&M Get Clean Bills of Health from Accreditation Group|url=http://diverseeducation.com/article/58053/|access-date=December 8, 2017|publisher=diverseeducation.com|date=December 10, 2013}}</ref><ref name="jbhe, O'Leary to Retire">{{cite news|url=https://www.jbhe.com/2012/02/hazel-oleary-to-retire-from-presidency-of-fisk-university/|title=Hazel O'Leary to Retire From Presidency of Fisk University|date=February 20, 2012|access-date=December 8, 2017|publisher=jbhe.com|archive-date=December 8, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171208122618/https://www.jbhe.com/2012/02/hazel-oleary-to-retire-from-presidency-of-fisk-university/|url-status=live}}</ref> The probation ended in December 2013.<ref name="Stuart, Reginald" />

Under O'Leary's leadership, Fisk went to court in December 2005 seeking a ruling that it could sell a portion of the university's [[Alfred Stieglitz]] Collection.<ref name="Brooks, Jennifer, Can Selling O'Keefe">{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129598553|title=The Root: Can Selling O'Keefe's Art Save A University?|last=Brooks|first=Jennifer|date=September 2, 2010|work=NPR.org|access-date=June 25, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120115124858/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129598553|archive-date=2012-01-15|url-status=dead|language=en}}</ref><ref name="Schelzig, Erik" /> Stieglitz's widow [[Georgia O'Keeffe]] had bequeathed the collection to Fisk with restrictions on its sale.<!--<ref name="Hassell, Bravetta, College Argues" />--> O'Leary intended to use the proceeds of the sale to fund a new academic building, endow professorships, and rebuild the school's endowment, which had been drawn down several times before her arrival.<ref name="Hassell, Bravetta, College Argues">{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/15/AR2006081501344.html|title=College Argues For the Right To Sell Art Gifts To Raise Capital|last=Hassell|first=Bravetta|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=August 16, 2006|access-date=October 14, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286|archive-date=March 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170302054822/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/15/AR2006081501344.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The Georgia O'Keeffe Foundation opposed the sale, and later the Tennessee [[State Attorney General]] opposed any sale of the artwork out of state.<ref name="Brooks, Jennifer, Can Selling O'Keefe" /> Ultimately, after seven years of legal battles, the school was able to reach a deal with [[Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art]] in [[Arkansas]] to share the collection.<!--<ref name="Tamburin, Adam, leader justifies 2010 sale" />--> At the time the deal was finalized, O'Leary said the arrangement was essential to keeping the university open.<ref name="Tamburin, Adam, leader justifies 2010 sale">{{Cite news|url=http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/education/2016/07/27/fisk-university-leaders-justify-2010-sale-paintings/87632786/|title=Fisk University leaders justify 2010 sale of paintings|last=Tamburin|first=Adam|date=July 27, 2016|work=The Tennessean|access-date=August 23, 2017|language=en}}</ref>

Amidst the public battle over attempts to sell the Alfred Stieglitz Collection, O'Leary quietly arranged to sell two other works of art, including a work by [[Florine Stettheimer]].<!--<ref name="Tamburin, Adam, leader justifies 2010 sale" />--> Fisk's board of trustees approved the sale in 2010 although it was not publicly disclosed until ''[[The New York Times]]'' reported it in 2016. O'Leary defended the decision to sell the artwork, saying it was done out of necessity amid financial difficulties.<ref name="Tamburin, Adam, leader justifies 2010 sale" />

In 2012, O'Leary announced that she would retire at the end of the calendar year.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2012/feb/21/oleary-continue-helping-fisk-after-retirement/?print|title=O'Leary to continue helping Fisk after retirement|date=February 21, 2012|work=Arkansas Online|access-date=June 25, 2017|archive-date=October 14, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014233948/http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2012/feb/21/oleary-continue-helping-fisk-after-retirement/?print|url-status=live}}</ref> Her retirement was effective January{{nbsp}}31, 2013.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://pridepublishinggroup.com/pride/2013/03/15/remembering-oleary-and-her-legacy-at-fisk-university/|title=Remembering O'Leary and her legacy at Fisk University Nashville PRIDE, Inc.|last=Teague|first=Cass|date=March 15, 2013|website=pridepublishinggroup.com|language=en-US|access-date=2017-10-14|archive-date=2017-10-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014234536/http://pridepublishinggroup.com/pride/2013/03/15/remembering-oleary-and-her-legacy-at-fisk-university/|url-status=live}}</ref> She was succeeded by [[H. James Williams]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://nashvillecitypaper.com/content/city-news/report-fisk-university-selects-next-president|title=Report: Fisk University selects next president|website=nashvillecitypaper.com|language=en|access-date=June 25, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014234341/http://nashvillecitypaper.com/content/city-news/report-fisk-university-selects-next-president|archive-date=2017-10-14|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Other affiliations ===
O'Leary has served as a director for Alchemix Corp. and [[CAMAC Energy]].<!--<ref name="Bloomberg" />
--> She also served on the board of directors for nonprofit organizations such as the Nashville Alliance for Public Education, the Nashville Business Community for the Arts, and the [[Arms Control Association]], and as a trustee on boards of the [[World Wildlife Fund]], [[Morehouse College]], and The Andrew Young Center of International Development.<ref name="Bloomberg" />

==Personal life==
O'Leary has been married three times.<ref name="Haywood, Richette" /> Her first marriage to Carl G. Rollins, Jr., ended in divorce.<!--<ref name="Harrington, Linda M, No Pie in Sky" />--> The couple had a son, also named Carl, who became an attorney.<ref name="Haywood, Richette" /><!--<ref name="Harrington, Linda M, No Pie in Sky" />--> O'Leary was briefly married to [[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] anchorman [[Max Robinson]].<!--<ref name="Harrington, Linda M, No Pie in Sky" />--> In 1977, she met [[John F. O'Leary]], then [[United States Deputy Secretary of Energy|Deputy Secretary of Energy]].<ref name="Harrington, Linda M, No Pie in Sky" /> They married on April{{nbsp}}24, 1980, and remained married until his death from cancer in 1987.<ref name="Feder, Barnaby J., New Energy Chief" /><ref name="Harrington, Linda M, No Pie in Sky" />

In 1997, O'Leary joined a [[Presbyterianism|Presbyterian Church]].<ref name="Henneberger, Melinda" /> She is a member of [[The Links]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Graham|first=Lawrence Otis|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/877899803|title=Our kind of people|date=2014|publisher=HarperCollins e-Books |page=105 |isbn=978-0-06-187081-1|location=[Place of publication not identified]|oclc=877899803}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of African-American United States Cabinet members]]
* [[List of female United States Cabinet members]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}
*

==External links==
*{{C-SPAN|26913}}

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{{s-ttl|title=[[United States Secretary of Energy]]|years=1993–1997}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Federico Peña]]}}
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{{s-bef|before=[[Henry Cisneros]]|as=Former US Cabinet Member}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[United States order of precedence|Order of precedence of the United States]]<br>''{{small|as Former US Cabinet Member}}''|years=}}
{{s-aft|after=[[William J. Perry]]|as=Former US Cabinet Member}}
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{{USSecEnergy}}
{{Clinton cabinet}}
{{Fisk University presidents}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Oleary, Hazel R.}}
[[Category:1937 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:20th-century American lawyers]]
[[Category:20th-century American politicians]]
[[Category:20th-century American women lawyers]]
[[Category:20th-century American women politicians]]
[[Category:21st-century American lawyers]]
[[Category:21st-century American women lawyers]]
[[Category:African-American members of the Cabinet of the United States]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American women politicians]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American politicians]]
[[Category:Clinton administration cabinet members]]
[[Category:Fisk University alumni]]
[[Category:Fisk University faculty]]
[[Category:Politicians from Newport News, Virginia]]
[[Category:Presidents of Fisk University]]
[[Category:Rutgers School of Law–Newark alumni]]
[[Category:United States secretaries of energy]]
[[Category:Women heads of universities and colleges]]
[[Category:Women members of the Cabinet of the United States]]