Approximately 19 out of more than 50 Government of the Student Body members are female, a statistic the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women in Politics is working to change.

The center will be hosting Iowa State’s first Campaign College — ISU Women to Win on Saturday. The one-day seminar encourages and trains young women to run for student government on their college campuses.

Although geared primarily toward women, all current students are invited to attend the seminar. The event will feature speakers brought in by the Campaign College staff, including a keynote address by Becky Greenwald, a former female U.S. congressional candidate, as well as current and former leaders from Iowa State.

“Presentations will cover the nuts and bolts of running for Government of the Student Body, the responsibilities of GSB and what students can do to continue their leadership experiences after serving in GSB,” said Dianne Bystrom, director of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics.

In addition to information on running for and serving in campus government, Bystrom said the program will also cover how students can get involved with other campus leadership positions such as Veishea, Dance Marathon, Student Alumni Leadership Council and Collegiate Pan-Hellenic Council.

“We hope that these sessions provide students with the basics of leadership, serving in leadership positions, and running for elected office on campus,” Bystrom said.

The program originally began at American University in order to give more young women the experience of running for student government or applying for other student leadership positions, as it is their belief that there is a direct connection between service in student government and future leadership service.

“We are hoping that students will gain leadership skills and learn about getting involved in student organizations across campus and become involved in a leadership position within organizations,” said Chris Fowler, advancing citizenship together program coordinator for the Catt Center.

Although this is the first Campaign College hosted at Iowa State, Maggie Luttrell, GSB vice president and senior in history, hopes it won’t be the last.

“We’re hoping to get a good turnout and enough support to do it again,” she said.

Based on the interest in Campaign College, it is possible that it would become an event held every other year alternated with Ready to Run, a campaign school which is directed to a larger population that includes statewide centers interested in becoming more involved in politics, Bystrom said.

Campaign College is supported by a grant from the Women and Politics Institute at American University, the American Association of Women, and Running Start.