Dr. Deborah TurnerFundraising is underway for a new Legacy of Heroines scholarship to honor the late Dr. Deborah Turner—20th president of the League of Women Voters of the United States, 2024 Mary Louise Smith Chair in Women and Politics, and Iowa State University alumna. Turner was scheduled to present the 2024 Mary Louise Smith Chair lecture at Iowa State on Feb. 13, “Visionary Activism: How To Get From Here to There,” but passed away unexpectedly on Jan 28. “We were deeply saddened to learn of Dr. Turner’s untimely death. She is an inspiration to all who knew her,” said Karen M. Kedrowski ..read more

Five research projects received funding through the 2023 Carrie Chapman Catt Prize for Research on Women and Politics. The selection committee blind-reviewed the proposals and chose three projects as winners of the Catt Prize and two honorable mentions. Each of the prize-winning projects will receive $2,500. Projects that received honorable mention will receive $1,200 each. “Once again, the Catt Center is thrilled to support such exciting research on women and politics,” said Karen M. Kedrowski, director of Iowa State University’s Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics, which sponso ..read more

Article by Grace Parrott, Catt Center public relations/event planning intern Invent2Prevent, a campaign created by the U.S Department of Homeland Security to prevent targeted violence, held its sixth nationwide competition last semester that culminated in presentations by the finalists in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 24 – including a team of students from Iowa State University that included Catt Center intern Allie Crowson. The team of Iowa State students who presented on MIND SPACE, the first-place-winning project in the Invent2Prevent competition on Jan. 24, 2024, in Washington, D.C. Photo credi ..read more

Civil rights lawyer and scholar Sherrilyn Ifill discussed why she feels the country is facing a “glorious opportunity” to “get really serious about the project of America” during a conversation moderated by Catt Center director Karen M. Kedrowski for the 2024 Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Lecture. The event was held on Jan. 25 in the Great Hall of the Memorial Union at Iowa State University. “I think at this moment, it is an opportunity for us to imagine what we can be, to take seriously that project with all of its challenges and difficulties, and to commit ourselves to recognizing tha ..read more

Sally Roesch WagnerOn April 17, scholar and author Sally Roesch Wagner will present “A Stolen History: The REAL Story of the Suffrage Movement” at 5:30 p.m. in 2630 Memorial Union. A book signing will follow her presentation. The event is free and open to the public. In her presentation, Wagner will look how many of the issues of today, such equal pay for equal work and women’s reproductive rights, were also those of the early leaders in the women’s suffrage movement. “Dr. Roesch Wagner is a leader in the field of women’s history. It’s a privilege to have her on campus to share her wisdom,” sa ..read more

On March 27, John Kasich—two-term former Ohio governor, New York Times best-selling author, and contributor for MSNBC and NBC News—will visit Iowa State to present the 2024 Manatt-Phelps Lecture in Political Science. Kasich’s presentation, “Socially Responsible Innovation,” will be at 7 p.m. in the Durham Great Hall of the Memorial Union. The event is free and open to the public. “Gov. Kasich’s knowledge of public policy and emphasis on grassroots innovation as an alternative to partisan deadlock provides a needed perspective that helps broaden the scope of our thinking during the current camp ..read more

The Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics thanks our donors for their friendship, support and contributions to its programs, scholarships and activities in 2023. With their support, the center provided scholarships, internships, and leadership development opportunities to students; promoted student voter engagement; sponsored guest speakers on campus; expanded the collections of the Archives of Women’s Political Communication; supported academic research through the Carrie Chapman Catt Prize for Research on Women and Politics; gathered and analyzed data about Iowa women in elected ..read more

The Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics is pleased to recognize the accomplishments and activities of its faculty, staff, students, alumni and supporters: Dianne Bystrom, director emerita, was interviewed by two newspapers prior to the 2024 Iowa Caucus about Nikki Haley, a contender for the Republican Party nomination for president. She was interviewed for a story published in the Des Moines Register on Dec. 18, 2023, on “Few Republican women make it to Caucus Day. As Nikki Haley closes in, gendered attacks rise.” Bystrom was interviewed for a story published in the Los Angeles T ..read more

Dr. Deborah Turner, president of the League of Women Voters of the United States and a passionate advocate for voting rights and women’s rights her entire life, was to present “Visionary Activism: How To Get From Here to There” on Feb. 13, 2024, as the 2024 Mary Louise Smith Chair in Women and Politics, but passed away on Jan. 28, 2024. The Catt Center was honored when she accepted the invitation to be the 2024 Mary Louise Smith Chair, and she will continue to hold that title posthumously. Turner, who also served as chair of the Board of Trustees of the League of Women Voters Education Fund, w ..read more

The 2024 Women Impacting ISU calendar was officially unveiled during a reception recognizing the honorees on Wednesday, Jan. 17 in the Sun Room of the Memorial Union. The program was livestreamed at https://go.iastate.edu/NU0PEI for those unable to attend in person. After the program, copies of the calendar were distributed for free. The event was free and open to the public. Honorees on the 2024 calendar are: Erica Beirman, teaching professor and culinary food science coordinator in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition Mia Kawamitsu, senior in journalism and mass communication ..read more