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NEWS RELEASE

01-22-02

Contacts:
Dianne Bystrom, Catt Center, (515) 294-3181
Steve Sullivan, News Service, (515) 294-3720

WOODS TO SPEAK ON WOMEN AND POLITICS AT ISU

AMES, Iowa -- Harriett Woods, former lieutenant governor of Missouri and past president of the National Women's Political Caucus, will visit Iowa State University Jan. 29-31 as the spring 2002 Mary Louise Smith Chair in Women and Politics.

During her visit, Woods will give a public lecture, speak at two open forums and present guest lectures in three Iowa State classes. Her visit is hosted by the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics.

Woods will give a public lecture based on her recent book, "Stepping Up to Power: The Political Journey of American Women," at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 30, in the Sun Room, Memorial Union. She will describe how women excluded from public life were motivated by their determination to solve local problems and by their passion for social issues.

She will present guest lectures in three Iowa State classes, including "Women and Political Leadership" taught by Dianne Bystrom, director of the Catt Center; "State and Local Government" taught by Matthew Potoski, assistant professor of political science; and "Ethnicity, Gender and Media" taught by Tracey Owens Patton, assistant professor of journalism and communication.

Woods will hold two open forum discussions on Wednesday, Jan. 30, in 353 Catt Hall. An open forum for students, "Putting Women in Their Place(s)," will be held from 11 a.m. to noon. A roundtable discussion for faculty, staff and students, "The Truth About Women and Power," will be held from 2:15 to 3:15 p.m.

She also will be the guest on WOI Radio's "Talk of Iowa" program on Jan. 30.

Woods served eight years as a city council member in University City, Mo.; eight years as a Missouri state senator; and two years as the first woman State Transportation and Highway Commissioner. She was elected lieutenant governor in 1984, and was the first woman elected to statewide office in Missouri. In 1982 and 1986, Woods was the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate.

As president of the NWPC from 1991 to 1995, she lead the multi-partisan organization in recruiting, training and supporting hundreds of women in public office. She also headed the Coalition for Women's Appointments, which worked to place a record number of women in senior policy positions. Woods currently teaches a course on women and public life at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

Woods is the second nationally known woman leader to visit Iowa State as the Mary Louise Smith Chair this academic year. Marie Wilson, president of the Ms. Foundation for Women, visited campus in October as the fall 2001 chair.

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