With the recent selection of Iowa State University’s first woman president, Wendy Wintersteen, here is a list of past prominent women leaders at Iowa State:

1. Mattie Locke: She is one of the only two women in Iowa State’s first graduating class.

2. Margaret Sloss: The first woman to graduate from veterinary medicine at Iowa State, and the 27th woman in the nation to complete a veterinary medicine degree. She also established the Women’s Veterinary Medicine Association.

3. Ada Hayden: The first woman to get a doctor of philosophy degree from Iowa State.

4. Barbara Ellen Forker: The former head of the Department of Physical Education; she later led the initiative to make the program co-ed.

5. Winifred Tilden: The first professionally trained director of physical education for women at Iowa State.

6. Mary B. Welch: She was the organizer and head of the Department of Domestic Economy from 1975-1983. She also became the president of the Iowa Women Suffrage Association.
7. Catherine J. Mackay: First dean of the Home Economics Department. She was also a member of the Iowa Equal Suffrage Association, president of the American Home Economics Association and worked for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 
8. Julia Faltinson Anderson: Successfully co-chaired the development of the College for Seniors at ISU that offers noncredit classes for retirees.
9. Mary Ann Evans: She led the way in developing the ISU Child Care Resource Program. She also founded and directed the Program for Women in Science and Engineering (PWSE) and co-founded the International Women in Science and Engineering (IWISE).
10. Rowena Edson Stevens: Iowa State Alumna who organized the first woman suffrage parade in the U.S. for the annual convention of the Iowa Equal Suffrage Association. She also funded the Political Equality Club in Ames.
11. Carrie Chapman Catt: An ISU alumna who was a key leader in the women’s suffrage movement. She became president of the National American Women Suffrage Association and developed the League of Women Voters.
12. Etta Budd: She was the teacher who convinced George Washington Carver to study horticulture and to transfer to Iowa State University. The Budd house on Kellogg Avenue used to belong to her father.

Information obtained from the Iowa State University’s Plaza of Heroines website, the Iowa State University Public Webpage for People of Distinction, a timeline for the years 1858-1874 from the Iowa State University website, the Iowa Women’s Hall of Fame and the Iowa State University Archives.