Antonia H. Chayes '49 was recently sworn in as the first woman undersecretary of the Air Force.

The assistant secretary of the Air Force for manpower, reserve affairs and installations since July 1977, she has administered a military construction budget of $700 million.

Chayes opened the missile and aircrew operations to women and helped pass the G.I. Bill Improvement Act which gave veteran status to women Air Force service pilots who performed military duty during World War Two but were never considered part of the military.

She has been spokesman for such proposals as SALT II, the Panama Canal, and lifting the Turkish arms embargo.

In order to analyze the environmental impact of the M-X missile system, she directed development of socio-economic models to predict what effect missile bases would have on nearby towns and cities.

Before moving to Washington, Chayes served as an executive assistant to Erwin N. Griswald, Langdell Professor of Law Emeritus; as Director of Education and Urban Development in the Action for Boston Community Development: and as a partner in the Boston law firm of Casplar and Bok.

Her husband, Abram Chayes, is Frankfurter Professor of Law at the Law School