ABC News Correspondent Carole Simpson will be on campus today to discuss women, politics and the family.

Simpson will be giving a presentation called “Women and Family Issues in Campaign 2000” at 8 p.m. in the South Ballroom of the Memorial Union. A reception for Simpson will begin at 7 p.m. and is open to the public.

Simpson is coming to Iowa State as part of the university’s yearlong celebration of the family, said Pat Miller, coordinator of lectures. She said the timing of Simpson’s visit is especially well-timed since it corresponds with the presidential debates, which Simpson has covered as a journalist.

Simpson is “a very respected political reporter known for her fairness,” said Dianne Bystrom, director of Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics. Bystrom said Simpson moderated the 1992 presidential debate between George Bush and Bill Clinton.

Simpson is being honored as the 2000 Mary Louise Smith Chair in Women and Politics.

“She is coming as the fourth Mary Louise Smith Chair in Government and Politics,” Bystrom said. “The chair basically consists of someone who is either active in the world of politics or in women’s issues.”

Bystrom said organizers had a specific focus when they chose Simpson as the chair.

“One of the primary purposes of the Mary Louise Smith Chair is to select people who can help provide an inspiration and serve as a role model, so we try to choose carefully and also try to get women from a variety of roles,” Bystrom said.

“What attracted us to Carole was not only her wide reception as a journalist, but she has also covered a lot of women and family issues,” Bystrom said. “She seemed to have a long career in covering politics but also a career in promoting the cause of women and minorities in the field of not only journalism, but in the workplace in general.”