More than 150 diverse women educators will be in Ames this weekend to share ideas and experiences and enjoy themselves.

The conference, “Dialogues Across Differences: Personal and Professional Stories of Women in Education,” will take place Thursday, Nov. 13 through Saturday, Nov. 15.

“Dialogues Across Differences” is the 23rd annual conference of the Research on Women and Education division of the American Educational Research Association.

It is held in different locations each year depending on where that year’s chair lives.

“It’s a great opportunity for women from all over the world … to get together and talk about … the things that unify us and engage in discussions of things that are still barriers in our field,” Theresa McCormick, Iowa State educator, professor and this year’s conference chair, said. “Our goal is to become more and more diverse.”

Representatives from as far away as the West Indies, Canada and Hawaii will be at the convention, she said.

The conference will focus on research on professional and personal lives of women in education and will include panel discussions, keynote speakers, readers’ theater performances and exhibits.

The main conference events will be held at the Holiday Inn Gateway Center.

All keynote speaking events are free and open to the public.

• Maureen T. Reddy, from Rhode Island College, will be speaking Thursday at 7 p.m. on “Crossing Lines and Bumping into Barriers: Academe’s Racial and Sexual Obstacle Course.”

• Gwendolyn Etter-Lewis, from Western Michigan University, will be speaking Friday at 11 a.m. on “Unity and Diversity in Higher Education: Narratives of African-American Women Who Invaded the ‘Sacred Grove.'”

• Historian Rickie Solinger will speak Saturday at 8 a.m. on “Nine Ways of Looking at a Poor Woman.”

“Each one of these women is an author of a well-known book,” McCormick said.

McCormick said she thinks Etter-Lewis’ part will be particularly interesting because her topic is the focus of the conference and she has studied and written about stories of African-American women in academia.

“All through the three days we have academic research papers that professors are presenting,” McCormick said.

After a reception Thursday night at the Holiday Inn Gateway Center, ISU professors and students will perform a dance program entitled “Initiation of Womanhood.”

Laurie Sanda, assistant professor of health and human performance, will perform an opening solo at 9:15 p.m., followed by performances by about 15 students accompanied by African drum music by Malik Moore, a senior in liberal studies, Anthony Stevens, graduate assistant, and Jeffry Wibowo, senior in art and design.

McCormick said the dance performance promises to be good.

Friday night, the convention-goers will visit the Brunnier Gallery at 6 p.m. for a musical performance by The Bone People, followed by a brief talk about the art exhibits, “In a Man’s Brain” and “Narrative Garments” by Marilyn Annin.

“Do feel welcome to come,” McCormick said.

Brenda Daly, ISU professor of English, will be chairing a symposium Friday afternoon on “Personal Narratives in the Academy?” with three panel speakers.

Big Table Books will be hosting a book sale in the Inn’s lobby featuring books written by members of Research on Women and Education Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon.

The conference is sponsored in part by ISU. Sponsors include the College of Education, curriculum and instruction department, professional studies department, Sloss Women’s Center, human resources, University Committee on Women and the African-American Studies program.