Before everyone took off to enjoy a three-day weekend, 12 ISU women were honored for their achievements, impact and leadership on campus. Six students and three each of faculty and staff members adorned this year’s calendar at the 2008 Women Impacting ISU calendar reception Friday in the Campanile Room of the Memorial Union. More than 2,000 copies of this year’s calendar were distributed after the ceremony.

“I think it helps to highlight the achievements of students, faculty and staff on campus and gives an opportunity to recognize people who have made a difference to them,” said Chris Fowler, program coordinator at the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics. “It’s great to walk through offices and see last year’s calendar.”

Fowler said there were at least twice as many nominations this year as compared to last year, but the final number of nominations is not yet known. People who wished to nominate a woman had to write a letter explaining why they thought their nominee should be included. Letters included criteria such as involvement on campus and how the nominees had successfully incorporated that involvement with impacting the university’s community.

“The quality of the nominations made the selections very difficult,” said Greta Johnson, sophomore in political science, who coordinated this year’s project. “It’s amazing to learn about all the things that the women of ISU are involved with to improve the campus environment for everyone.”

Recipient Kelli Huser, senior in environmental science and political science, had no idea she had been nominated by Maggie Luttrell, senior in history and Government of the Student Body ex-officio city council liaison.

“I was on my way to U.S. Foreign Policy class when I got the call telling me I had been chosen,” Huser said. “I was shocked. I had no idea that Maggie had nominated me.”

Huser said she had a hard time keeping her mind on class that day.

“I am incredibly honored to know that my peers at Iowa State believe that I have helped the women at Iowa State University,” she said.

Friends and family members of the recipients gathered for a light snack after the presentations of the awards. Another recipient this year was Megan Todd, senior in marketing, who was there with her parents, who had nothing but praise for Iowa State.

“Graduating and coming from the University of Iowa, we are just so happy and amazed that Iowa State has been able to offer such a small community feel while still being a large school,” said Cindy Todd, Megan’s mother. “We are so proud of her. Iowa State has been an excellent fit for Megan.”

Funding for the calendar was provided by a mini-grant from the Women’s Enrichment Fund administered by the Women’s Leadership Consortium and made available through the Office of the Provost. The Catt Associates, a student leadership organization associated with the Carrie Chapman Catt Center, sponsored the calendar. Members of the Catt Associates publicized, collected and reviewed nominations, selected the honorees, organized the recognition reception and helped design, order and distribute the calendars.

David Gieseke, director of communication for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, served as the photographer and Sheena Lara, graphic designer for the L.A.S. College, helped with the design and format of the 2008 calendar.

The names of the nominees and their respective majors or departments, with other facts included in their nominations follow:

1. Swarupa Bakre; graduate student in business administration and service learning chairwoman of Master of Business Administration student association

2. Whitney Bynum; senior in mechanical engineering and treasurer of the Black Student Alliance

3. Catherine Compton; senior in music education and community adviser for Martin Hall

4. Rachael Cox; senior in agronomy and president of the International Association of Students in Agriculture

5. Kelli Huser; senior in environmental science and political science and chief of staff for GSB

6. Megan Todd; senior in marketing and Veishea 2008 general co-chairwoman

7. Sally Deters; residence life coordinator and responsible for the “Sally’s Sex Talk” program

8. J. Elaine Hieber; retired senior associate athletic director and member of the board of directors for the Iowa Special Olympics

9. Sally Gleason; secretary for the chemistry department and voted secretary of the year by the 2007 Veishea committee

10. Bryony Bonning; professor of entomology and member of the Biotech Council and co-director of Plant Sciences Institutional Corporation

11. Brenda Daly; director of English and editor of the National Women’s Studies Association Journal

12. Wendy Wintersteen; dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and board member of the Iowa Soybean Association