Initiated in 2007 by the Catt Associates student leadership organization and funded by Iowa State’s Office of the Senior Vice President and Provost, the Women Impacting ISU calendar was developed as a tribute to current students, faculty, and staff who are making a significant positive impact at Iowa State University through their actions, involvement and achievements.
About the calendar
Each year, 12 women from a variety of disciplines and diverse backgrounds are selected to appear on the calendar. A committee of representatives from Catt Center student programs, previous calendar honorees, and members of the ISU community review the nominations and select the honorees. The poster-sized calendar features pictures of the honorees along with a short description of their achievements. This recognition is focused on the important role women play at Iowa State University. Honorees have impacted Iowa State through service to their unit or a broader campus audience, in the classroom or through community relationships, and inspire women of all generations.
The idea for the calendar began in October 2005 when Iowa State students attending the Big 12 Student Government Conference at the University of Kansas—including Angela Groh Fogt, that year’s Government of the Student Body president—saw calendars recognizing women on that campus and thought that something similar should be implemented at Iowa State.
Fogt was affiliated with the Catt Center through its freshman learning community and had been enrolled in the “Research on Women and Leadership” class taught by then-Catt Center director Dianne Bystrom. Fogt pitched the idea to the Catt Associates—a student-led group associated with the Catt Center—and they decided to spearhead the project under the leadership of Catt Center interns Jenna Jones Reynolds and Marisa Stadlman Roseberry.
The Catt Associates successfully applied for a Women’s Enrichment Fund mini-grant in 2006 and the first calendar was produced in 2007. Since then, the Catt Center has produced the calendar with annual funding now provided by the Office of the Senior Vice President and Provost.
A reception and calendar unveiling is held each January to publicly honor the women featured on that year’s calendar. Free calendars are available at the end of reception.
