The Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics is pleased to recognize the accomplishments and activities of its faculty, staff, students, alumni and supporters:
Jaden Ahlrichs, a senior in global resource systems and horticulture and the Meylor Family Legacy of Heroines scholar, was inducted into the Cardinal Key Honor Society, Iowa State University’s highest honor society, on April 24.
Molly Blanco, a senior journalism and mass communication and Spanish and the James R. and Lauri K. Young Choral Music Legacy of Heroines scholar, was selected to participate in the Dotdash Meredith Apprentice Program for the 2022-2023 academic year.
Dianne Bystrom, director emerita, participated in the 2022 annual convention of the Central States Communication Association in Madison, Wisconsin, from March 30 to April 2. She gave a presentation on “Georgia on our Minds: Intersections of Gender and Race in the 2021 U.S. Senate Special Election” as part of a panel on “Gender Dynamics in Political Communication in 2020 and Beyond.” Bystrom was a panelist in discussions on “Political Communication and the 2020 Midterm Elections” and “Spotlight Panel: Celebrating the 4th Annual Judith S. Trent Award for Early Career Excellence in Political Communication.” She chaired a panel presentation on “The Future of Presidential Debates and Debate Research.”
Cameron Beatty, a Leadership Studies Program lecturer from 2013-2016, received the 2022 Dr. Susan R. Komives Research Award from the Student Leadership Programs Knowledge Community of the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators. The purpose of the award is to support the creation of new knowledge focusing on the area of student leadership programs in higher education. Beatty is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at Florida State University.
Raluca Cozma, a former associate professor with the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication who served on both the Archives of Women’s Political Communication advisory board and the Catt Prize selection committee while at Iowa State; Ann Gansemer-Topf, associate professor in the School of Education and a 2017 Women Impacting ISU calendar honoree; and the late Pat Miller, director of the ISU Lectures Program from 1981-2018, will all be recognized with a 2022 Faculty-Staff Inspiration Award on May 20 at the ISU Alumni Center. The award presents a way for former ISU students to recognize current or former ISU faculty or staff members who had a significant influence in their lives as students at ISU.
Morgan Fritz, a senior in political science and the Katherine Bruntlett Annin Legacy of Heroines scholar from 2019-2022, was selected as the LAS student marshal for the spring 2022 Iowa State University commencement. As student marshal, she will give the student address at the LAS Convocation ceremony on May 13 and be the first student in the college to walk across the stage at the undergraduate commencement ceremony on May 14. At the Department of Political Science awards luncheon on April 20, Fritz received the Ross Talbot Outstanding Graduating Senior Scholarship Award and support from the Kent and Kristen Lucken Fund to attend the Student Conference on U.S. Affairs at West Point. On April 22, Fritz received the Wallace E. Barron All-University Senior Award, established by the Iowa State University Alumni Association to recognize outstanding seniors.
Teagan Gara, a senior in journalism and mass communication and political science and the center’s Sharon and Alice Rodine Leadership and Advocacy intern from 2020-2022, was selected as an inaugural 2022 Next-Gen Leader by the White House Historical Association. The program brings together young professionals from a wide variety of fields for a year-long fellowship and to serve as ambassadors for the Association’s mission.
Mariana Gonzalez, a senior in political science and public relations and a 2022 Women Impacting ISU calendar honoree, received the Kent and Kristen Lucken Political Science Scholarship at the Department of Political Science awards luncheon on April 20. The scholarship is awarded to a student who demonstrates an interest in the fields of international relations, national security or diplomacy. On April 24, Gonzalez was inducted into the Cardinal Key Honor Society, Iowa State University’s highest honor society.
Demarquis Heard, a junior in political science and a member of the Vote Innovation Sprint team at the Student Innovation Center, received the Manatt-Phelps Scholarship in Political Science at the Department of Political Science awards luncheon on April 20. The scholarship is awarded to a student with professional interests in public service, law or foreign policy. As part of the award, Heard will be assisting with the fall 2022 Manatt-Phelps Lecture in Political Science. He will also be working on STEM student voter engagement with center director Karen Kedrowski in the fall.
Elizabeth Hoffman, professor of economics and former dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, was inducted as an honorary member of the Cardinal Key Honor Society on April 24. Hoffman was nominated by students based on her impact on students and Iowa State as a whole.
Carrie Ann Johnson, a doctoral candidate in rhetoric and professional communication and a Catt Center graduate assistant, received the 2022 Graduate Student Leadership Award from the Department of English at their spring awards ceremony on April 28. This award recognizes graduate students who have taken on leadership roles in the program, department, college, university and/or profession; taken an active role in encouraging others to take on leadership roles; and advised and mentored other students as they have entered leadership roles.
Karen Kedrowski, center director, authored “Performing Toxic Masculinity During the January 6th Insurrection,” which was published in the March 26 issue of eJournal of Public Affairs. She was the editor of a series of essays on civic engagement by members of the newly formed Civic Engagement Section of the American Political Science Association in the April 2022 issue of PS: Political Science & Politics. On April 7, she presented “Symbolic Politics of Fashion: Edelman Meets Pussy Hats (and More)” at the Midwest Political Science Association annual conference in Chicago, and on April 8 presented “Carrie Chapman Catt at the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Discourse Analysis of Newspaper Coverage” with Max Moreno, an Iowa State master’s student in anthropology and Catt Center graduate assistant. On April 18, Kedrowski presented a virtual guest lecture on breastfeeding policy and activism at East Carolina University. On April 30, she participated in a moderated discussion as part of “Democracy vs. January 6,” a day-long symposium held virtually and in person in Washington, D.C., on the causes and consequences of the January 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol insurrection.
Ann Lent, a senior in political science and international studies, received an undergraduate research award to research the impact of Title IX at Iowa State. She will be working under the supervision of center director Karen Kedrowski, with her findings distributed through the University Committee on Women and Gender Equity’s website as part of the university’s Title IX celebration.
Abigail Meehan, a senior in political science and Spanish and a student voter engagement intern with the center, received the Sonja Carlsen Egenes Scholarship and was inducted into the Pi Sigma Alpha national political science honor society at the Department of Political Science awards luncheon on April 20. This spring, she also accepted an invitation to join Phi Beta Kappa, the oldest and most prestigious academic honor society in the United States.
Alyssa Rodriguez, a junior in political science and a member of the Vote Innovation Sprint team at the Student Innovation Center, received the 3rd House Memorial Scholarship at the Department of Political Science awards luncheon on April 20.
Natalia Rios Martinez, a senior in political science and public relations and a Kedrowski and Fitzgerald Family Legacy of Heroines scholar since 2021, has been named a 2022 Truman Scholar by the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation. The Truman Scholarship, the premier graduate scholarship for aspiring public service leaders in the United States, is awarded to college juniors who demonstrate outstanding potential for and who plan to pursue a career in public service. At the Department of Political Science awards luncheon on April 20, Rios Martinez received the Young W. Kihl Scholarship for her demonstrated excellence in the field of international politics and was inducted into the Pi Sigma Alpha national political science honor society. She has also accepted an invitation to join Phi Beta Kappa, the oldest and most prestigious academic honor society in the United States. On April 27, she was awarded the Outstanding Student Leader of the Year Award from Iowa State’s Student Engagement.
Amy Smith, a master’s student in political science and a Haselhoff Family Legacy of Heroines scholar since 2020, received the Whitaker-Lindgren Graduate Scholars in Political Science Award at the Department of Political Science awards luncheon on April 20.
Vayda Wilkins, a senior in civil engineering and a 2022 Women Impacting ISU calendar honoree, received a Wallace E. Barron All-University Senior Award from the Iowa State University Alumni Association on April 22. The award recognizes outstanding seniors who display high character, outstanding achievement in academics and university/community activities, and promise for continuing these exemplary qualities as alumni.
Kelly Winfrey, coordinator of research and outreach for the Catt Center, was promoted to associate professor with tenure by the Iowa Board of Regents at their April 7 meeting. Winfrey presented two research papers – “The Role of Gender in Discussing Politics During the 2020 Presidential Election” and “Motivations for Discussing Politics In-Person and on Social Media”– on April 1 at the Central States Communication Association Conference in Madison, Wisconsin. She presented a lecture titled “Gender and Political Campaigns” at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas on April 14. On April 19, she participated in a panel discussion hosted by the Political Science Club student organization on careers in political science, and on April 28, she participated in a conversation of about women’s representation in leadership for a Fearless Focus virtual event sponsored by the Business Record. Winfrey is an associate professor in the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication and faculty member in the Leadership Studies Program.