Catt Center Perspectives

This article is the sixth and final in a series by Catt Center staff, interns and graduate assistants intended to provide an inside perspective on some of the work we do at the center and the people who do this work.

By Sue Cloud, communications specialist

I have been a communications specialist with the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics since Oct. 29, 2012 (yes, I had to look up the exact date), and over the past 13 years I have worked on a variety of projects for the center.

Among my first responsibilities was managing the Plaza of Heroines. Helping people publicly honor the women in their lives was gratifying, and reading the narratives of the women honored on the plaza was often inspiring. Several times a year, I would pull three or four of those narratives to include in a regular feature called “Stories from the Plaza” in the center’s newsletter. I no longer manage the plaza, but still enjoy reading the stories that Melissa now shares.

A project I have worked on since my earliest days at the center – and one of the closest to my heart – is the Archives of Women’s Political Communication. Over the past 13 years, I have written profiles on and collected speeches and campaign ads from women around the world, from across the political spectrum, and from the 1800’s to the present.

Like the stories of the women honored on the Plaza of Heroines, the stories of the women included in the Archives are fascinating and often inspiring. Their words have stirred me, made me look at issues from different perspectives, and given me a deeper appreciation for the sometimes overlooked roles of women in the world and the importance of including all voices in our written histories.

I have supervised a number of undergraduate student interns working on the Archives, and I love helping them find information on the women and speeches related to whatever topic, time period, area of the world, or group of women they want to focus on. It has also been interesting to hear what they have learned during their research and any insights or questions they have that would be interesting to follow up on.

In March 2020, my responsibilities shifted with changes in the staff, which coincidentally happened exactly one week before the COVID lockdown began. During those early weeks and then months of the lockdown, when most in-person interactions were suspended, I got up to speed on my new responsibilities – managing the Legacy of Heroines Scholarship Program, coordinating the annual Women Impacting ISU calendar, and overseeing the center’s publicity and communications efforts.

Coordinating the Legacy of Heroines program has given me an opportunity to interact with the amazing students who participate in that program. Talking with and listening to the Legacy of Heroines scholars has given me a better view into what knowledge, skills, and experiences students are seeking today and has guided me in planning activities for subsequent semesters.

The annual Woman Impacting ISU calendar is a labor of love. What started in 2006 as a project led by several students affiliated with the center has become an annual event that involves dozens of nominations; a selection committee composed of students, faculty, and staff from across campus; and a large January event that joyously celebrates the 12 current calendar honorees and past honorees. I am honored to be a caretaker, along with the rest of the Catt Center staff, of this campus tradition.

One other area that I work on at the Catt Center is our publicity and communications. From the beginning, I wrote the occasional newsletter article, social media post, or website content, but it was not until 2020 that I had primary responsibility for all three of these areas, as well as publicizing the center’s events and programming.

As with the Archives, I am lucky to work with some talented student interns who contribute their writing and graphic design skills. Their contributions include designing the Women Impacting ISU calendar, creating social media posts and promotional materials, writing articles for the Voices newsletter, and editing the center’s student newsletter.

I have always appreciated having variety in whatever job I held, and working at the Catt Center has certainly provided that for me! More importantly, it gives me work that I find fulfilling and a group of co-workers equally committed to recognizing the voices and contributions of women in the public sphere, and to encouraging students and the broader community to learn about the many ways that people can be civically engaged and have an impact in their communities.