Submit a Nomination

Any woman who is currently employed by Iowa State University or who is a current student at Iowa State University is eligible to be nominated. Faculty and staff nominees must still be employed for the entire calendar year in which they would be honored. Students graduating in May of the calendar year in which they would be honored are eligible. We are looking for women who have impacted Iowa State through service to their unit or a broader campus audience, in the classroom or through community relationships, and who inspire women of all generations. The calendar is open to individuals who identify their gender as “woman,” inclusive of cisgender, transgender, and non-binary identities.

Before nominating someone, please check the list of previous honorees to make sure they have not previously been honored.

Self nominations will not be considered.

Nominations of organizations will not be considered.

Yes! One does not have to work at, be enrolled at, or be otherwise associated with Iowa State University to nominate a woman for the calendar.

We recommend telling your nominee about the nomination and sharing the information you are including in the nomination letters before submitting them. That way, the nominee can let you know if there is anything else about her impact at Iowa State that could be included.

A committee of representatives from the Catt Center’s student programs, previous calendar honorees and other members of the ISU community (a mix of faculty, staff, merit) review the nominations and select the honorees. A different selection committee is formed each year. If you are interested in serving on the selection committee, email the Catt Center at cattcntr@iastate.edu. At the beginning of the fall semester, potential committee members will be contacted about their availability to attend one or two review meetings in October. Nominators are not eligible to serve on the committee for that year.

The honorees are selected based on the quality of the nominations. Strong nominations emphasize the nominee’s contributions to campus life or her unit, and her impact on others. Emphasizing mentoring and representing student voices also helps. Also keep in mind that the selection committee will be a mix of people from different disciplines across campus — not everyone will be familiar with some terminology, abbreviations, etc.

Honorees will be notified within a few days after the review committee makes their decision, in mid- to late October.

If your nominee is not selected, we will email you to let you know, and if you had indicated that your nominee is aware of her nomination, we will also email her. We welcome you to nominate her again the next year – many past calendar honorees were nominated more than once before being selected. We also encourage you to consider nominating her for other university or college awards.

A reception to publicly honor the women selected to appear on the calendar and unveil that year’s calendar is held in the Memorial Union each January, typically on the first Wednesday of the semester. This reception is free and open to the public. Check the Catt Center’s Events page for more information.

Calendars will be available at the reception in January, immediately following the program. Calendars will be also available at various campus locations while supplies last, including the Catt Center, the Margaret Sloss Center, Beardshear Hall, and the Memorial Union.