Mark your calendars for events that the Catt Center is sponsoring or co-sponsoring this fall. All events are free and open to the public. Additional information about each event will be posted on the Events page on our website as it becomes available.
The center is collaborating with University Lectures to plan Iowa State’s annual Constitution Day celebration, to be held on Sept. 13. This year’s event will focus on the 50th anniversary of the 26th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which lowered the voting age in the United States from 21 to 18. The keynote speaker will be Bobbi Gentry, associate professor of history and political science at Bridgewater College, and the event will include a voter registration drive.
On Oct. 4, the Catt Center will host the closing event of the Hard Won, Not Done 19th Amendment statewide centennial commemoration. The event, which will be held in the evening at Scheman Building on the Iowa State University campus, will focus on what’s “Not Done,” such as the Equal Rights Amendment and other civil rights issues. Marjorie Spruill, distinguished professor emerita of history from the University of South Carolina, will be the keynote speaker.
On Oct. 12 and 13, the center will host the Iowa State Conference on Civility and Deliberative Democracy. On the evening of Oct. 12, keynote speaker Jon Carson, founder and managing partner of Trajectory Energy Partners, will discuss issues in U.S. energy policy. On Oct. 13, conference attendees will participate in moderated, small-group discussions, with the goal of reaching an informed position on energy policy through respectful communication. The Oct. 12 lecture will be open to all, but registration will be required for participation in the Oct. 13 workshop. Both events will be held in the Memorial Union.
The Manatt-Phelps Lecture in Political Science will be held the evening of Oct. 28 in the Great Hall of the Memorial Union. Michael Steele, political commentator and former chairperson of the Republican National Committee, will present the lecture. The lecture will be held in the Great Hall of the Memorial Union.