EPA official will help celebrate Catt anniversary

Meagan Harms

The Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics is celebrating its 10th anniversary this fall.

“The center has educated more than 150,000 women and men of all ages through its programs, events and activities.” said Dianne Bystrom, director of the center.

To help celebrate the anniversary, Christine Todd Whitman, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, will be on hand. She is serving as the fall 2002 Mary Louise Smith Chair in Women and Politics.

Whitman will be giving a lecture at 2 p.m. on Thursday in the Great Hall of the Memorial Union. The topic will be “The Political Environment for Women in 2002.”

“We were looking for a prominent woman who has made an impact on women’s political leadership at the local, state and national level,” Bystrom said.

She said Whitman started her political career as a member of her county board of supervisors. In 1993, she became the first and only female governor of New Jersey. In 1995, Whitman became the first governor chosen by the Republican Party to respond to a president’s State of the Union address.

The Carrie Chapman Catt Center has several supporters that will help celebrate the anniversary, Bystrom said.

As part of the anniversary, the center launched a fund-raising campaign to establish a $250,000 endowment to support programs in the areas of student leadership development, research and outreach. Bystrom said it has already received a large donation that will be announced on Thursday.

Penny Rice, Women’s Center coordinator, said it is important for her office and the Carrie Chapman Catt Center to stay in touch and support each other’s endeavors.

“We have similar goals of helping women succeed academically and personally,” she said. “The Women’s Center is supplying volunteers for some of the Catt Center’s [anniversary] events.”

The Carrie Chapman Catt Center offers many programs besides hosting Mary Louise Smith Chairs, Bystrom said. It also supports research on women and politics through the Carrie Chapman Catt Prize, grants and scholarships for ISU students, and hosts the Advancing Citizenship Together learning community.

“More than 50 students in a variety of academic majors participate annually in the center’s scholarship, leadership and mentoring programs,” she said.

Katie Drake, junior in journalism and mass communication, said she is involved in two different programs through the Carrie Chapman Catt Center. She has been a Legacy of Heroine Scholar for three years and is participating as a Catt Associate this year.

“I have made great friends and learned a lot about politics through the Catt Center,” Drake said. “The programs I am involved in also offer community service projects that I really enjoy.”

She said she is also taking advantage of the mentoring program offered to Catt Associates. Drake said she hopes to gain insight into her mentor’s career experience to learn what she can do now to prepare for the future.

She said she got to choose which career field she would like her mentor to work in as well.

Other Catt Activities

Silent Auction – Bidding is taking place through the center’s Web site. Items include works by Iowa artists, women’s political memorabilia and dinner for six prepared by Kathy Geoffroy, ISU President Gregory Geoffroy’s wife. The winners will be announced at the benefit dinner.

Reception for Whitman and Iowa women political leaders – Thursday at 4 p.m. at the Embassy Club at Capital Square in Des Moines.

Open house reception – Monday from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Carrie Chapman Catt Center.

Benefit Dinner and Theater Performance – A reception is at 6 p.m. with dinner to follow at 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 25 at the Scheman Building. “The Yellow Rose of Suffrage,” performed by ISU associate professor Jane Cox, will be at 8 p.m. For information or tickets, contact the Catt Center at 294-3181.