The Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics is pleased to recognize the accomplishments and activities of its staff, students and supporters:
Dianne Bystrom, Catt Center director, gave a presentation on “Iowa Women in Business Leadership” with Amy Colbert, associate professor of business at the University of Iowa, on June 28 at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. They presented the results of a survey – conducted as phase II of a collaborative study – to representatives of businesses taking part in the EPIC (Economic Potential for Iowa Companies) Corporate Challenge. Phase II of the study includes feedback from human resource executives in Iowa companies on the topics of gender-focused development practices, general development practices and valued leader characteristics that are associated with having higher percentages of women in managerial and executive roles. The “Iowa Women in Business Leadership” study is a collaborative effort between Iowa Women Lead Change, the Nexus Executive Women’s Alliance, ISU’s Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics, and the UI Tippie College of Business.
Maria Hopson-Fernandes, an eighth grade student at Farnell Middle School in Tampa, Florida, advanced to the semifinal round at the Florida History Fair in Tallahassee on May 2 and 3. Her project, “United We Stand: Carrie Chapman Catt and the Battle for Women’s Suffrage,” was a performance in which she portrayed Catt, Lucy Stone, Susan B. Anthony and Alice Paul. Hopson-Fernandes had interviewed Dianne Bystrom, Catt Center director, about Catt’s role in the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution granting women the right to vote as part of her research. The Florida History Fair is an affiliate of National History Day.
Meg Oliver, the 2015-2016 Archives of Women’s Political Communication intern and a 2016 summer orientation intern for the Leadership Studies Program, will begin graduate school toward a master’s degree in communication studies at Saint Louis University in the fall. Oliver, who is from Elm Grove, Wisconsin, will graduate from Iowa State University in August with a bachelor’s degree in communication studies with a minor in women’s studies and a certificate in leadership studies.