Today, at the Iowa Women’s Archives commemorate one of our founders, Mary Louise Smith! Smith was born Mary Louise Epperson on October 6th, 1914 in Eddyville, Iowa. She became involved with the Republican Party in the 1950s and quickly rose through the ranks. In 1974, just after Watergate, she was appointed as the first womanContinue reading “25 for 25: Mary Louise Smith”
Author Archives: Anna Holland
25 for 25: Ruth Salzmann Becker
Ruth Salzmann Becker’s papers represent several common themes found in IWA’s collections, including Jewish women in Iowa, German immigration, and feminist activism. Elizabeth Heineman, professor and chair of the University of Iowa’s history department, has used Becker’s papers in her classes. She shared with us why she finds the Ruth Salzmann Becker papers so engaging:Continue reading “25 for 25: Ruth Salzmann Becker”
25 for 25: Catherine Snedeker Hill
The Iowa Women’s Archives is turning 25! As a part of our celebration, we’re presenting an exhibit, 25 Collections for 25 Years: Selections from the Iowa Women’s Archives, in the Main Library Gallery. Through December 29th, visitors to the library can see selections from a wide array of our collections accompanied by comments from researchersContinue reading “25 for 25: Catherine Snedeker Hill”
Iowa City Feminists: The Women’s Resource and Action Center
“We will meet all of us women of every land. We will meet at the center, make a circle. We will weave a world we to entangle the powers that bury our children.” — cover art for WRAC’s December 1978 newsletter Iowa City’s Women’s Resource and Action Center (WRAC) opened in 1971 as a place for womenContinue reading “Iowa City Feminists: The Women’s Resource and Action Center”
Celebrating Iowa City’s Feminists
Join us this weekend, July 14-15, for the Iowa City Feminists Reunion! Many of the women who created Ain’t I a Woman, the Iowa City Women’s Press, Nahuatzen, and other publications featured in the Main Library’s current exhibit, Power to the Printers, will be here to reflect on their experiences as activists in Iowa CityContinue reading “Celebrating Iowa City’s Feminists”
Do Not Miss Three Events from October 24th – 27th
From October 24th – 27th Trudy Huskamp Peterson, the former Acting Archivist of the United States, and Jane E. Schultz, Professor of English and Medical Humanities at Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis, will visit the University of Iowa. A longtime friend of the Iowa Women’s Archives, Trudy Huskamp Peterson has made an international career of archives andContinue reading “Do Not Miss Three Events from October 24th – 27th”
Meet Annessa Babic
Dr. Annessa Babic, coordinator of interdisciplinary studies at the New York Institute of Technology and Dr. Tanfer Tunç of Hacettepe University in Ankara, Turkey are the most recent recipients of a research grant from the Linda and Richard Kerber Fund for Research in the Iowa Women’s Archives, a grant that helps researchers travel to theContinue reading “Meet Annessa Babic”
Our 2016 Kerber Fund Recipient: Lauren Feldmen
Last week, the Iowa Women’s Archives welcomes Lauren Feldman, a doctoral candidate in history from Johns Hopkins University. Lauren is the latest recipient of the Linda and Richard Kerber Fund for Research in the Iowa Women’s Archives, a $1000 travel grant to bring researchers to the IWA. In her research, Lauren looks at the changingContinue reading “Our 2016 Kerber Fund Recipient: Lauren Feldmen”
Dottie and Jack: An Epistolary Friendship
“Schöner Bruder,” “Ma Chère Petite,” “Sonny Boy,” Honey Child,” these are just a few of the salutations used by Dorothy and Warren “Jack” Wirtz in their letters to each other. Although their greetings may have been somewhat tongue in cheek, Dorothy and Jack’s correspondence reveals a relationship full of common interests, good humor, and affection.Continue reading “Dottie and Jack: An Epistolary Friendship”
Dr. Dorothy Wirtz, PhD: A Woman “In the Profession”
“Gentlemen, As you had hoped, I have found your questionnaire interesting to answer. However, I cannot refrain from expressing my resentment at the phrasing of certain statements, which seem to me to reflect discrimination on the basis of sex.” So begins Dr. Dorothy Wirtz’s 1969 letter to The Carnegie Commission on Higher Education. She followedContinue reading “Dr. Dorothy Wirtz, PhD: A Woman “In the Profession””