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:
Cameron Beatty, who taught in the ISU Leadership Studies Program from 2013-2016, has been selected by the University of California National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement as one of 11 members of its 2024-2025 class of fellows. Over the course of the next academic year, fellows will conduct research related to dialogue, civic engagement, free expression and diversity. Beatty is an associate professor of educational leadership and policy studies at Florida State University.
Dianne Bystrom, director emerita, gave presentations to students at three universities in March and participated in an academic conference in April. On March 13, she presented “Gender and Political Communication” via Zoom in a Gender and Communication course taught by Julie Snyder-Yuly at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. Snyder-Yuly was a longtime staff member of the Catt Center as well as a lecturer in ISU’s Leadership Studies Program.
On March 21, Bystrom discussed the history, curriculum and effects of political candidate campaign training programs for women via Zoom with a graduate social work class, “Leadership Practice II: Policy Advocacy,” offered by the University of Iowa. On March 25, Bystrom gave a presentation on the national and Nebraska women’s suffrage movements to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Husker Vote Coalition as part of its Women History Month programming.
At the annual meeting of the Central States Communication Association in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Bystrom gave a presentation on April 4 as part of the panel “Analyzing the 2024 Presidential Election: Reflections on the Primaries and Predictions for the General Election.” On April 5, she chaired the panel “Considering the Future of Presidential Debates.” On April 6, Bystrom and Mary Christine Banwart of the University of Kansas presented their study, “Television Advertising in the 2022 Election: An Analysis of Candidate Gender and Partisanship” as part of the panel “Exploring the Incoherence of Gendered Politics: The Influence of Gender, Race and Partisanship.”
Alexandra Crowson, a senior in public relations and the center’s Sharon and Alice Rodine Leadership and Advocacy undergraduate intern, presented her honors research project, “Trust in the Courts and Political Attitudes in College Aged Americans,” on May 1 at the Spring 2024 Honors Program poster presentation in the Great Hall of the Memorial Union.
Stacia Drey, a senior majoring in political science and journalism & mass communication and a Political Science Alumni Legacy of Heroines scholar, received the Barbara Mack Award for Excellence in the Humanities and Social Sciences at the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society initiation ceremony on April 14.
Iowa State University was awarded the 2024 Highly Established Action Plan Seal from ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge. This recognition is awarded to campuses with strong action plans exploring innovative strategies to increase nonpartisan democratic engagement on campus. Iowa State’s plan was also identified by the ALL IN team as one of the strongest submitted in the 2024 action plan review process and has been shared on their Action Plan example page as a sample plan for other four-year institutions.
Carrie Ann Johnson, research and outreach coordinator for the center, was co-author of “External Review Letters in Promotion and Tenure: Recommendations for Department Chairs,” published in the Spring 2024 issue of The Department Chair and the January 18 issue of ADVANCE Journal. On April 6, Johnson chaired the panel “Exploring the Incoherence of Gendered Politics: The Influence of Gender, Race and Partisanship” at the Central States Communication Association annual meeting. As part of the panel, Johnson also presented Kelly Winfrey’s research on “Battling Gendered Racial Stereotypes in 2018 Political Advertising.” A former Catt Center staff member, Winfrey is interim director of the ISU Women’s and Gender Studies Program and an associate professor of journalism and communication. On April 9, Johnson presented “Whisper Networks: Sexual Harassment Protection Through Informal Networks” at the monthly meeting of the AAUW Ames Branch.
Mia Kawamitsu, a senior in journalism & mass communication and international studies and a Sharon and Alice Rodine Leadership and Advocacy Legacy of Heroines scholar, presented her honors research project, “Diversity Dialogues: Success & Struggles at Iowa State University,” on May 1 at the Spring 2024 Honors Program poster presentation in the Great Hall of the Memorial Union.
Karen M. Kedrowski, center director, gave the following interviews and media appearances:
- March 28: Along with Kelly Winfrey, associate professor of journalism and communication and interim director of the Women’s and Gender Studies Program, appearance on Iowa Press to discuss politics and policy for Women’s History Month
- April 3: Interview with Amber Mohmand (Storm Lake Times) on Storm Lake’s new female majority city council
- April 3: Interview with Skylar Tallal (KGAN) on Gov. Reynolds signing the law to repeal Iowa’s gender balance legislation
- April 4: Interview with Amanda Krenz (WHO TV) on the repeal of the gender balance law
Kedrowski also gave these presentations and workshops:
- March 16: Panel discussion following a showing of the Iowa PBS documentary “Carrie Chapman Catt: Warrior for Women” at the State Historical Museum of Iowa
- April 3: “Fashion and Politics: (Ad)Dressing Threats” for a Department of Political Science research presentation
- April 5: Roundtable participant in “So You’ve Got an Offer. Now What?” at the Midwest Political Science Association’s annual conference in Chicago, Illinois
- April 7: Co-presenter of “No Longer Fly Over Country: The Politics of Rural America” at the MPSA conference
- April 10: Guest lecturer with Melissa Haussman, professor of political science at Carleton University, in Dr. Lynne Ford’s “Women and Leadership” class at the College of Charleston (via Zoom)
- April 18: Presentation on digital literacy and student voter engagement with Catt Center voter engagement interns Delaney Graef and Paola Martinez for the LAS Dean’s Advisory Council
- April 27: Speaker on the gender wage gap at the Minnesota AAUW State Convention in Hastings, Minnesota
- May 4: Spoke with Erick Nganyange about Carrie Chapman Catt for his podcast, “Iowa Civil Rights History”
Jess Kowalski, a junior in global resource systems and animal ecology and a Legacy of Heroines scholar, presented her research, “Pollinator-Friendly Lawns and Landscaping: Bringing Nature to the City,” at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research in Long Beach, California on April 10. Her research studied pollinator decline, especially related to urban expansion. She is developing a handbook on how to incorporate pollinator-friendly lawns in Iowa to be published by ISU Extension. Kowalski also presented her research at the Iowa State Symposium on Undergraduate Research and Creative Expression at the Student Innovation Center on April 16.
Julia Litecky, a senior in political science and journalism & mass communication and a Haselhoff Family Legacy of Heroines scholar, presented her honors research project, “The Extent to Which the United Nation’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights Applies to American Constitutionalism,” on May 1 at the Spring 2024 Honors Program poster presentation in the Great Hall of the Memorial Union.
Paola Martinez, a senior in political science and a voting engagement intern with the Catt Center, has been selected for the 2024 ALL IN Student Voting Honor Roll, which recognizes college students who have gone above and beyond to advance nonpartisan student voter registration, education and turnout efforts in their communities.
Two professors in the Department of Political Science are receiving one of the university’s awards for 2024. David Peterson, professor of political science and Lucken Professorship in Political Science, is receiving the Regents Award for Faculty Excellence. This award is presented by the state Board of Regents to recognize tenured faculty members who are outstanding university citizens and have rendered significant service to the university or the state of Iowa. Amy Erica Smith, associate professor of political science and Dean’s Professor in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, is receiving the university’s Award for Mid-Career Achievement in Research. This award recognizes a tenured or tenure-track faculty member who has demonstrated exemplary performance or scholarship in research and/or creative activity as documented by peers or experts in the field. Peterson and Smith will be honored at a community celebration on September 25 in the Durham Great Hall of the Memorial Union.
Julie Snyder-Yuly – who served in various staff positions at the Catt Center from 1998-2012, including assistant director, and as a lecturer for ISU’s Leadership Studies Program from 2016-2018 – has been promoted to associate professor of communication studies with tenure at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. She was also recently honored by Marshall’s College of Liberal Arts with the Pickens-Queen Teacher Award, which is presented annually to recognize the importance of teaching and provide encouragement and incentive for teaching achievement by newer faculty members. In addition, Snyder-Yuly’s co-authored essay, “Unapologetically Blackfishing: Being Black without the Consequences of Blackness,” with Tracey Owens Patton has been accepted for publication in the upcoming special issue of Communication Studies titled “Expanding Upon Critical Methodologies and Perspectives in Communication Studies.” Patton taught at Iowa State from 2000-2003 and is currently a professor at the University of Wyoming.