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:
Dianne Bystrom, director emerita, gave two presentations for community groups in Iowa and Nebraska in September.
On Sept. 19, she was one of six keynote speakers at the 8th annual Mentoring for Women conference held at the West Des Moines Marriott. The event brings together hundreds of women from across Iowa to learn, connect and be inspired by women leaders at the local, state and national levels. The six keynote speakers gave TED Talk-style presentations at the conference luncheon. Bystrom presented “Navigating the Double Bind: Women and Authentic Leadership.”
On Sept. 27, Bystrom presented “105 Years of Women’s Suffrage: Celebrating the 19th Amendment” at the Hebron (Nebraska) Seacrest Library. The presentation, which was covered by the Hebron Journal-Register newspaper, was held in conjunction with a women’s suffrage exhibit at the library as well as the location of a new Women’s Suffrage Legacy of Courage Park next door. In the presentation, which was sponsored by Humanities Nebraska, Bystrom framed the 64-year women’s suffrage movement in Nebraska within the national 72-year campaign, including Hebron’s early role. The pro-suffrage newspaper, the Hebron Journal, was founded in 1871; its publisher, Erasmus Correll, introduced legislation to grant suffrage to Nebraska women as a state legislator in the 1880s; and national women’s suffrage leaders Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton spoke in Hebron in 1887 and 1879.
Carrie Ann Johnson, associate director for outreach and communication and assistant teaching professor in women’s and gender studies, published an article in The Conversation titled “‘Whisper networks’ don’t work as well online as off − here’s why women are better able to look out for each other in person” about implications when whisper networks go digital.
Karen M. Kedrowski, center director, was elected as co-chair of the Civic Engagement Section of the American Political Science Association on Sept. 12.
Kedrowski gave the following interviews and media appearances:
- Sept. 10 and Sept 17: Appeared on Iowa Public Radio’s “River to River”
- Oct. 1: Interview with JD Snover (Local 5 News) about the government shutdown and with Laura Esposito (Daily Beast) about her research on the intersection of fashion and politics
- Oct. 14: Interview with Jason Clayworth (Axios Des Moines) on the impact of the Des Moines school board scandal on the Democratic Senate primary
- Oct. 31: Interview with Marissa Payne (Des Moines Register) about the salience of the abortion issue in the 2026 midterm election and with Joanna Schroder (Iowa Capital Dispatch) on the need for civility in American politics
Kedrowski also gave these presentations:
- Oct 2: Presented about civic education and engagement at the Iowa Ideas 2025 virtual conference, was a guest lecturer in Robert Urbatsch’s class on research design (POLS 4010: Political Analysis and Research), and spoke with Michael Evans and Erum Kabani from the Georgia Institute of Technology about voter engagement
- Oct. 20: Promoted Catt Center and Cyclone Civics educational materials at the Iowa Council for the Social Studies
- Oct. 29: Spoke to the Social and Humanitarian Committee at the Model UN conference at the Iowa state Capitol about their resolution on compelling member states to include women in their delegations.
Emily Kucera, a senior forestry major and a Meylor Family Legacy of Heroines scholar, has been accepted into the information systems master’s degree program at Iowa State University for Fall 2026.
Kelly Shaw, co-director of the Center for Cyclone Civics and teaching professor of political science, appeared on Iowa Public Radio’s “River to River” on Sept. 17 and Oct. 8.