The Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics is pleased to recognize the accomplishments and activities of its faculty, staff, students and alumni:
Dianne Bystrom, director emerita, participated in a panel discussion on the Iowa Caucus, titled “History and the Horse Race,” on Jan. 5 at the State Historical Museum of Iowa in Des Moines. The seven-member panel was moderated by David Yepsen, host of Iowa Public Television’s “Iowa Press” and former political columnist at the Des Moines Register. Also serving as panelists were Iowa State’s Kelly Winfrey, assistant professor of journalism and communication and coordinator of research and outreach for the Catt Center, and Steffen Schmidt, Lucken endowed professor of political science. The panel discussion was broadcast on C-SPAN. A link is available here: https://www.c-span.org/video/?467771-1/history-iowa-caucuses.
Bystrom also presented “Winning the Vote: The Campaign for Woman’s Suffrage” on Jan. 12 as part of the Second Sunday series hosted by the Douglas County Historical Society in Omaha, Nebraska.
Karen Kedrowski, center director, spoke to the Ames Public Library assembly on Dec. 17 about the upcoming 19th Amendment Centennial Commemoration Statewide Kickoff, and she represented the Department of Political Science at the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences convocation on Dec. 20. Kedrowski attended the Vice News Brown & Black Forum in Des Moines on Jan. 20 where she was one of a few audience members selected to ask a question of a candidate. Kedrowski also led a discussion of the film “Iron Jawed Angels” at the Ames Public Library on Jan. 14. This was the first event in Ames/Story County’s commemoration of the ratification of the 19th Amendment.
Sarah Meisch, a senior in political science and international studies and the Jane Greimann Legacy of Heroines scholar, is working as the incoming leadership development intern for RippleMatch in Ames, Iowa. She started her position in November and is from Kansas City, Missouri.
Sophia Magill, director of federal relations in the Office of the President, received the 2019 Ripple Effect Award from the Association of American Universities’ council on federal relations. The award recognizes particularly memorable public service contributions to the AAU community. Magill served on the council’s steering committee the last two years. She also chaired the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities’ council on government affairs. Magill graduated in 2005 from Iowa State with a bachelor’s in political science, and she served as president of the Government of the Student Body in 2004-2005. Magill earned a master of public administration from the University of Illinois-Chicago in 2010.
Kim Reem was selected to participate in the 2019-2020 Leadership Iowa program. Reem is the executive director of Mission of Hope in Cedar Rapids and served on the 2017 and 2019 Ready to Run Advisory Board.
Kelly Winfrey, assistant professor in the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication and coordinator of research and outreach for the Catt Center, was a speaker on the “History and the Horse Race” panel discussion at the Iowa Historical Museum, broadcast by CSPAN, on Jan 5, 2020. She was a panelist at Leadership Iowa for a session about Iowa elections and politics in Des Moines on Jan. 16. Winfrey was recently appointed to the Story County Board of Adjustment for a five-year term. She is organizing and speaking at two workshops aimed at increasing women’s representation in the Iowa State University Student Government.
Samone Whitfield, assistant director of development for priority initiatives at the Iowa State University Foundation and chair of ISU’s Black Faculty and Staff Association, is the inaugural recipient of the Presidential Honor Coin for Diversity and Inclusion. She was honored Dec. 6 for “significant contributions in diversity and inclusion at Iowa State University.” Whitfield also served on the Women Impacting ISU calendar selection committee in 2017, 2018 and 2019.