In April 2025, members of the University of Iowa and local community gathered at the Old Capitol to celebrate the investiture, or official appointment, of Kate Orazem as the Jean Lloyd-Jones and Michal Eynon-Lynch Iowa Women’s Archives Women in Politics Archivist. This position, endowed by the philanthropic support of longtime Iowa legislator Jean Lloyd-Jones and her granddaughter Michal Eynon-Lynch, is charged with collecting, preserving, and sharing with a broad audience the history of Iowa women in politics.
In 2021, Lloyd-Jones and Eynon-Lynch made a generous gift to the Iowa Women’s Archives to establish the position as well as support other projects benefiting Iowa women’s political history.
“We are very grateful to Jean and Michal for their thoughtfulness,” says John Culshaw, Jack B. King University Librarian. “Given the changing nature of finances in higher education and indeed the library ecosystem today, gifts such as this make it possible to embark on exciting new projects to impact future Iowans, and in this case specifically, future women leaders in Iowa politics.”
Lloyd-Jones and Culshaw first started talking when she aimed to commemorate the centennial of the 19th Amendment in 2020 and pay tribute to Iowa women who served in statewide or national public office. That turned into the Hard Won, Not Done online project, which helped save and tell the stories of Iowa women in politics while creating a dynamic resource that could be updated over time.
Now the project has evolved to the Our Rightful Place: Iowa Women in Politics oral history collection and website managed by Orazem that uplifts the stories of women who have served in the Iowa state legislature and executive branch. Providing access to these interviews through an interactive digital portal creates opportunities to inspire women considering a run for office, educate students about local women’s history, and connect scholars with an invaluable research collection.
Orazem joined the Iowa Women’s Archives in October 2022 and now proudly serves as the steward of Iowa women’s political history at the university, made possible thanks to Lloyd-Jones and Enyon-Lynch.
“We couldn’t have a better person than Kate serving as the inaugural Jean Lloyd-Jones and Michal Eynon-Lynch Iowa Women’s Archives Women in Politics Archivist,” says Culshaw. “Her dedication to this expansive political collection is unmatched and she works tirelessly to bring new collections to the Iowa Women’s Archives, teach classes involving women in Iowa politics, work with UI student groups that support women interested in political careers, and interview politicians across Iowa.”
Orazem recognizes the unique opportunity and significance of this position. “My life has been shaped by philanthropic partnerships between universities and members of our community who are very passionate about something, like this endowment,” says Orazem.
“Dedicated philanthropic funding for research and programming in a university context can have so many long-term positive ripple effects throughout the life of an Iowan like me. And I think it just goes to show how powerful it can be when someone in our community invests their resources here to strengthen our institutions and build the kind of future that we want for everyone.”
LOOKING BACK | Investiture of Culshaw as Jack B. King University Librarian
Lloyd-Jones and Eynon-Lynch were the second donors to establish an endowed position at the UI Libraries. In 2018, Culshaw was invested as the first endowed position—the Jack B. King University Librarian Chair.
The position was established and endowed in 2017 through gifts from two generations of the King family, who were long-time advocates of libraries. Jack B. and Geraldine (Jerry) King combined their estate gift with funds from the Iva B. King trust, established by Jack’s parents, Fred (BA ’28) and Iva King. The UI Libraries supplemented the King family gift with funds from the Friends of the UI Libraries to establish the endowed chair.
“I am humbled to serve the University of Iowa Libraries as it establishes its first named chair in honor of Jack and Jerry, especially in light of their lifelong commitment to encouraging careers in academic librarianship,” Culshaw shared during his investiture ceremony. “This endowment will enhance the Libraries’ continuing efforts to support research and to teach students to think critically about information sources.”
Follow the impact of an endowment
Explore Orazem’s work by visiting the Our Rightful Place digital portal, which was created by the Iowa Women’s Archives in collaboration with the Digital Scholarship and Publishing Studio.