Center announces 12 honorees for 2014 calendar

CATEGORIES: November 2013, Voices

Women whose leadership has made a difference at Iowa State University will be honored by the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics on the eighth annual Women Impacting ISU calendar.

The 2014 calendar will be officially unveiled during a reception recognizing the 12 honorees on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2014, from 3:30 to 5 p.m. in the Sun Room of the Memorial Union. The reception is free and open to the public. During and after the reception, 1,000 copies of the calendar will be distributed for free.

The Women Impacting ISU calendar includes photographs of the four students and eight faculty and staff members who were chosen by a selection committee based on their achievements in service, teaching, research, administration and various other campus activities.

Students selected for the 2014 calendar are: Alexandra Gustafson, senior in environmental science and political science; Anna Prisacari, doctoral student in human computer interaction and psychology; Afifah Abdul Rahim, senior in animal science; and Erika Vaassen, senior in chemical engineering.

Faculty and staff selected are: Alicia Carriquiry, distinguished professor of statistics; Beth Hartmann, a lecturer in civil, construction and environmental engineering; Gloria Jones-Johnson, director of the Women’s and Gender Studies program and professor of sociology; Amy Kaleita, associate professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering; Merry Rankin, director of sustainability for Live Green!; Stephanie Salasek, senior associate director of admissions; Theresa Windus, professor of chemistry; and Gloria Cain, academic adviser in computer science and software engineering.

“It was so wonderful to read how 64 women are impacting Iowa State. It was difficult to choose only 12,” said Sarah Synovec, a senior in marketing from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and one of five students to serve on the selection committee. “Across campus, women are making a difference every day in the lives of others, and I am glad to be a part of the process to honor them.”

The Catt Center sponsors the calendar with funding provided by the Office of the Senior Vice President and Provost. The selection committee for the 2014 calendar was comprised of 16 representatives from the Catt Center and its student programs, previous calendar honorees and additional members of the ISU community.

According to Kristine Keil, public relations and student program coordinator for the Catt Center who oversees the project, 64 women were nominated for the 2014 Women Impacting ISU calendar. “Choosing the 12 women honored on the calendar is an incredibly difficult task, and we thank the selection committee for their time and consideration,” she said. “We encourage those who nominated a woman who was not selected for the 2014 calendar to consider submitting a nomination next year.”