Dr. Deborah Turner, president of the League of Women Voters of the United States and a passionate advocate for voting rights and women’s rights her entire life, was to present “Visionary Activism: How To Get From Here to There” on Feb. 13, 2024, as the 2024 Mary Louise Smith Chair in Women and Politics, but … Continue reading Spring 2024 – Deborah Turner
Sherry Boschert, the award-winning journalist and author of “37 Words: Title IX and Fifty Years of Fighting Sex Discrimination,” visited Iowa State University on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023, as the 2023 Mary Louise Smith Chair in Women and Politics. As part of her visit to Iowa State, Boschert presented “37 Words: Title IX and 50 … Continue reading Spring 2023 – Sherry Boschert
Former New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez presented “It’s a Different World Out There: Leadership in the States” on Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2022, as the 34th recipient of the Mary Louise Smith Chair in Women and Politics. While states are often referred to as “laboratories of democracy,” Martinez believes that they are increasingly becoming battlefields for … Continue reading Spring 2022 – Susana Martinez
U.S. Rep. Katie Porter – an Iowa native who represents California’s 45th Congressional District and has earned a reputation for her tough questioning and use of visual aids during congressional hearings – gave a virtual presentation on Feb. 26 as the Spring 2021 Mary Louise Smith Chair in Women and Politics. Rep. Porter presented “Truth … Continue reading Spring 2021 – Katie Porter
Award-winning journalist and writer, Elaine Weiss, visited Iowa State University on Friday, Feb. 14, 2020, as the 32nd recipient of the Mary Louise Smith Chair in Women and Politics. Weiss’ latest book, “The Woman’s Hour: The Great Fight to Win the Vote,” chronicles one of the greatest political battles in American history: the ratification of … Continue reading Spring 2020 – Elaine Weiss
Florence George Graves, award-winning investigative journalist and founding director of the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism at Brandeis University, visited Iowa State University on Monday, April 1, as the 31st recipient of the Mary Louise Smith Chair in Women and Politics. As part of her visit to Iowa State, Graves presented “#MeToo—Why Has it Taken … Continue reading Spring 2019 – Florence George Graves
U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar – who became the first woman elected to represent Minnesota in the U.S. Senate in 2006 – visited Iowa State University on Thursday, Aug. 31, as the 30th recipient of the Mary Louise Smith Chair in Women and Politics. The Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics has sponsored this … Continue reading Fall 2017 – Amy Klobuchar
Award-winning journalist Lynn Povich—the author of the book “The Good Girls Revolt: How the Women of Newsweek Sued Their Bosses and Changed the Workplace”—visited Iowa State University on Thursday, Dec. 1, as the fall 2016 Mary Louise Smith Chair in Women and Politics. Povich, the first female senior editor at Newsweek magazine and the former … Continue reading Fall 2016 – Lynn Povich
Kathleen Parker, a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for The Washington Post, was the fall 2015 Mary Louise Smith Chair in Women and Politics. On Nov. 12, 2015, she presented the lecture “The Global Tide of Women Rising.” Parker joined The Washington Post in 2006 and writes her nationally syndicated column twice weekly on politics and culture. … Continue reading Fall 2015 – Kathleen Parker
Attorney, author and political analyst Michelle D. Bernard – the founder, president and CEO of the Bernard Center for Women, Politics and Public Policy – was the spring 2015 Mary Louise Smith Chair in Women and Politics. On March 31, 2015, Bernard presented the lecture “How American Women are Changing Politics.” “Bernard, who describes herself … Continue reading Spring 2015 – Michelle Bernard