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:
Molly Blanco, a senior in journalism and mass communication and Spanish and the James R. and Lauri K. Young Choral Music Legacy of Heroines scholar, and the other members of Greenlee Investigates, a group of students from the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication, received a first place award in the Coverage of Court and Crime category at the Iowa Newspaper Association Awards Ceremony on Feb. 2. The winning entry, “The Murder of Sheila Collins,” was a series of articles published in 2022 in the Iowa State Daily.
Dianne Bystrom, director emerita, participated in an online issues briefing on reproductive justice hosted by the League of Women Voters of Iowa on Feb. 21. Bystrom, who currently serves as director of communications for the LWV of Nebraska, served as moderator for the program. On March 13, she presented “Celebrating the 19th Amendment: Women’s Right to Vote in the United States” via Microsoft Teams to Nebraska Total Care as part of its celebration of Women’s History Month.
Theressa Cooper, assistant dean for diversity for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and a 2021 Women Impacting ISU calendar honoree, has been honored as a 2023 Woman of Achievement by the YWCA Ames-ISU. She was recognized in the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Leadership category.
Lisa Dazzell, a doctoral student in counseling psychology and a 2023 Women Impacting ISU calendar honoree, is a recipient of the 2023 Martin Luther King, Jr. Advancing One Community Award from the Vice President’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. The award recognizes efforts to enhance and cultivate an inclusive university community that embraces justice and equity.
Mariana Gonzalez, a senior in political science and public relations, has been honored as a 2023 Woman of Achievement by the YWCA Ames-ISU. Gonzalez, a Catt Center intern and 2022 Women Impacting ISU calendar honoree, was recognized in the Student Leadership category. Gonzalez is also a recipient of the 2023 Wallace E. Barron All-University Senior Award from the ISU Alumni Association. The award recognizes outstanding seniors who display high character, outstanding achievement in academics and university/community activities, and promise to continue these exemplary qualities as alumni.
Karen Kedrowski, center director, was interviewed on Jan. 16 by Emily Kestel, editor of the e-newsletter Fearless, about SSB 1037, a proposed bill in the Iowa Senate which, if passed, would repeal Iowa’s gender balance law for appointive boards and commissions. On Feb. 1, Kedrowski was a guest on Iowa Public Radio’s River to River. The interview covered many topics, including SSB 1037. On February 20, she participated in Experience Iowa State, an admissions event targeting prospective students interested in health care professions, where she discussed the new health policy course she helped to develop in the political science department. On March 3-4, Kedrowski participated in a series of “Picturing Democracy” events at Clemson University in Clemson, South Carolina.
Anthony Kerr, a 2021 graduate in political science, has been accepted into the University of Denver’s Master of Arts program in research methods and statistics. Kerr was a voting engagement intern with the Catt Center during the 2020 election cycle.
Tamara McConnell, a senior in geology and a Helen Jensen Howe Legacy of Heroines scholar, presented the results of her academic research in a poster titled “Biological and Geochemical Controls on Iron Deposition in an Intermittent Stream” at the 2023 Research in the Capitol event held in the Iowa State Capitol rotunda in Des Moines on March 6. The event featured 60 research projects from undergraduates at Iowa’s three Regents universities.
Anna Olson, a senior in journalism & mass communication and political science and a Kedrowski and Fitzgerald Family Legacy of Heroines scholar, has been awarded the 2023 Hugh S. Sidey Scholarship in Print Journalism. Olson will receive a $5,000 stipend to visit Washington, D.C., and attend the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. Olson is also a recipient of the 2023 Wallace E. Barron All-University Senior Award from the ISU Alumni Association. The award recognizes outstanding seniors who display high character, outstanding achievement in academics and university/community activities, and promise to continue these exemplary qualities as alumni.
Natalia Rios Martinez, a senior in political science, international studies and public relations, has been honored as a 2023 Woman of Achievement by the YWCA Ames-ISU. Rios Martinez, a Kedrowski and Fitzgerald Family Legacy of Heroines scholar and 2023 Women Impacting ISU calendar honoree, was recognized in the Equity category. Rios Martinez is also a recipient of the 2023 Martin Luther King, Jr. Advancing One Community Award from the Vice President’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. The award recognizes efforts to enhance and cultivate an inclusive university community that embraces justice and equity.
Kelly Winfrey, interim director of the Women’s and Gender Studies Program and associate professor in the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication, was interviewed by Sarah Muller of Forbes about the role gender plays when studying the actions of presidential candidates, following Nikki Haley’s presidential campaign announcement. An article she co-authored with Diana B. Carlin, professor emerita of communication at Saint Louis University, titled “Have You Come a Long Way, Baby, Since 2008?: One Major Step Forward with Missteps Along the Way” was recently published in the journal Communication Studies.