The Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics is pleased to recognize the accomplishments and activities of its faculty, students, alumni and supporters:
Crystal Brandenburgh, a May 2020 Iowa State University graduate in history and the center’s Archives of Women’s Political Communications research intern from 2018-2020, has been accepted to Carnegie Mellon University’s Ph.D. program in history and will start at the university this fall. Brandenburgh intends to continue her research on Gilded Age/Progressive Era women in politics during her graduate career, studying with ISU alumna Lisa Tetrault. She was a 2019-2020 Elizabeth Hoffman and Brian R. Binger Legacy of Heroines scholar, and was a national semi-finalist in the prestigious Fulbright student award. She is from Council Bluffs, Iowa.
Dianne Bystrom, director emerita, presented “What’s Important to You as a Woman Voter” via Zoom to a group of residents of Fremont, Nebr., on March 12. On April 17, she presented “The Long Road to Women’s Suffrage in Nebraska” on Facebook Live as part of “Humanities at Home” sponsored by Humanities Nebraska. Bystrom is a member of the Humanities Nebraska Speakers’ Bureau. On May 1, the Omaha Bar Association distributed her Zoom-taped presentation on “The Long Road to Women’s Suffrage in Nebraska” to its members in conjunction with the annual celebration of Law Day. The OBA selected the League of Women Voters of Nebraska, of which Bystrom serves as co-president, for its 2020 Public Service Award. On May 14, she will present a longer version of “The Long Road to Women’s Suffrage in Nebraska” as part the Baright Public Library (located in Ralston, Nebr.) online Lunch and Learn program via Zoom.
Madeline Farringer, a senior in biochemistry from Freeport, Illinois, and a Helen Jensen Howe Legacy of Heroines scholar since August of 2018, was named a 2020 Goldwater Scholar. The Goldwater Scholarship is the premier undergraduate scholarship in mathematics, natural sciences and engineering in the United States.
The Catt Center hosted Zarifa Ghafari, who was named as a 2020 International Woman of Courage by the U.S. State Department, on March 11. Ghafari is the first female mayor in Afghanistan. She is a critic of the Taliban and a fearless proponent of women’s rights. Ghafari shared her life story with students in Dr. Kelly Winfrey’s Leadership Studies 333: Women and Leadership course and toured the Catt Center with Karen Kedrowski, center director.
Carrie Ann Johnson, a Catt Center graduate assistant who is helping to administer a Vertically Integrated Projects program at the center, was elected vice president of the Graduate and Professional Student Senate at Iowa State on April 6. Johnson is a doctoral student in rhetoric and professional communication with a certificate in human-computer interaction.
Karen Kedrowski, center director, presented a three-part, online course to the Iowa State Osher Life Long Learning Institute in April. The subjects were women’s suffrage history, women’s political participation, and women’s pursuit of legal equality and economic opportunity. Kedrowski was also a guest on Iowa Public Radio’s “Talk of Iowa” on May 7 with fellow guests former state legislator Jean Lloyd-Jones and Eric Morse, founder of the Central Iowa Community Museum. They discussed women’s suffrage in Iowa, the Toward a Universal Suffrage exhibit, and the Equal Rights Amendment Debate. The program can be heard online on the IPR web site.
Kedrowski and director emerita Dianne Bystrom were both interviewed for the Iowa PBS documentary “Carrie Chapman Catt: Warrior for Women,” produced by Laurel Bower, which aired via Facebook live stream and YouTube on April 23 and was broadcast on May 5. The documentary, narrated by actress Kate Mulgrew of “Star Trek Voyager” and “Orange is the New Black” fame, is available on Iowa PBS’s YouTube channel.
Gary Mirka, John Ryder Professor of Engineering and member of the Leadership Studies Advisory Board since its inception during the program’s affiliation with the Catt Center, has been appointed as a University Professor. The University Professorship recognizes faculty members whose professional work has focused upon effecting positive, significant institutional change at Iowa State University.
Kaitlyn Sanchez, a May 2020 Iowa State University graduate in graphic design with a minor in leadership studies and the 2018-2020 Joanne and Charles Kuster Legacy of Heroines scholar, is a recipient of the university’s 2020 George Washington Carver Outstanding Achievement Award. The award recognizes graduating George Washington Carver Scholars for outstanding academic achievement, leadership and community service. Sanchez is from Belleville, Illinois.
Toni Sleugh, a senior in biology and environmental studies and a 2019-2020 Helen Jensen Howe Legacy of Heroines scholar, has been selected as a Udall Scholar. The Udall Foundation awards scholarships for leadership, public service and commitment to issues related to the environment or Native American nations. Sleugh is from Carmel, Indiana.
Lissandra Villa, a 2016 Iowa State University graduate in journalism & mass communication and political science, was named a 2020 Iowa STATEment Maker by the Iowa State University Alumni Association. Villa was a Legacy of Heroines scholar from 2013-2016, a research intern on the Archives of Women’s Political Communication in 2014-2015 and an honoree on the 2016 Women Impacting ISU calendar. She is currently a staff writer for TIME magazine, covering national politics. Previously, she wrote for BuzzFeed News.
Matthew Voss, a May 2020 Iowa State University graduate in statistics with minors in political science, economics, mathematics and computer science, has been accepted to the Master of Public Affairs degree program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s La Follette School of Public Affairs. He is also the recipient of a La Follette School Fellowship and Scholarship. Voss was a Rice-Neville Legacy of Heroines scholar in 2019-2020 and a research intern on the Women in Iowa Politics Database and Gender Balance Project in 2018-2019.
Doris Weatherford has published a new book, “Victory for the Vote: The Fight for Women’s Suffrage and the Century that Followed.” The book includes an introduction by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. More information about Weatherford and her publications on women’s history can be found at http://dweatherford.ag-sites.net/index.htm.