2004-2005
Advancing Women's Leadership
Women's Leadership Series
October 7, 2004
Sarah Weddington: "Women and Leadership: Developing Skills, Creating Opportunities." Weddington, who is working on a book on leadership and self-renewal, presented the leadership seminar as part of her visit to Iowa State as the keynote speaker for Women's Week.
Weddington currently serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Texas at Austin, where she teaches classes on "Gender-Based Discrimination" and "Leadership in America," Weddington is well-known on her work on issues affecting women through her many roles, including attorney, state legislator, Presidential advisor, professor, and expert called upon by the national media and institutions of higher learning.
In 1973, she became the first woman from Austin to serve in the 150-member Texas House of Representatives, serving for three terms. In 1977, Weddington was the first woman ever to hold the title of General Counsel to the U.S. Department of Agriculture where she supervised more than 200 lawyers. From 1978 to 1981, she served as assistant to former President Jimmy Carter, directing the administration's work on women's issues and leadership outreach. From 1983 to 1985, she was the first female director of the Texas Office of State-Federal Relations. From 1981 through 1990, Weddington was a distinguished lecturer at Texas Woman's University.
November 15, 2004
Lt. Gen. Claudia Kennedy: "Women, Leadership and the Future." Kennedy, the first and only woman to achieve the rank of three-star general in the United States Army - was the second speaker in the "Advancing Women's Leadership" series as the fall 2004 Mary Louise Smith Chair in Women and Politics at Iowa State University.
Kennedy joined the Army in 1968. During her career, she commanded a company of soldiers, an intelligence battalion, a recruiting battalion and an intelligence brigade. She has served as the senior intelligence officer for the U.S. Forces Command, deputy commanding general for the Army Intelligence Center and School, and as the deputy chief of staff for Army Intelligence. She has overseen policies and operations affecting 45,000 people stationed worldwide and a budget of nearly $1 billion.
Now retired, Kennedy lives in Fairfax County, VA, and Hilton Head, S.C. She has appeared as a military consultant for NBC and CNN networks and as a guest on "Larry King Live" and ABC's "Good Morning America." Kennedy is the author of "Generally Speaking," published in 2001, which reveals how a leader makes decisions, handles crises, manages subordinates, and sticks to her guns - as it introduces readers to a woman who both witnessed groundbreaking changes in the role of military women and helped make them. She has received several awards, including being named to several national lists on important female role models, as well as for leadership and lifetime achievements.
January 22, 2005
Elizabeth Hoffman: "One Woman's Path to Leadership." Hoffman has been the President of the three campus, 52,000-student University of Colorado system since 2000.
Elizabeth Hoffman previously served as Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and as Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Iowa State University. President Hoffman earned a doctorate in history from the University of Pennsylvania and a second doctorate in economics from the California Institute of Technology. She holds an undergraduate degree in history from Smith College and a master's degree in history form the University of Pennsylvania.
March 29, 2005
Laura Liswood - Mary Louise Smith Chair in Women and Politics. Laura Liswood is co-founder and secretary general of the Council of Women World Leaders - which is composed of women presidents, prime ministers and heads of government - and a senior adviser at Goldman, Sachs & Co., a premier global investment bank, where she works on issues of globalization and workforce diversity.
A nationally recognized speaker, author and adviser, Liswood has contributed to leadership in the women's community for more than 20 years as a member of the International Women's Forum, Leadership America, and the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services. From 1992 to 1996, as director of the Women's Leadership Project, she interviewed 15 current and former women presidents and prime ministers, which is chronicled in her book and video documentary, Women World Leaders. In 1997, Liswood co-founded The White House Project, which is dedicated to electing a woman president of the United States. Her next book, Unveiling the Leadership Myth: Claiming a Women's Right to Lead, will be published this summer.
Liswood's professional experience includes CEO/president of the American Society for Training and Development; executive-level consulting to Fortune 500 and international companies; and executive and management positions in banking, cable and the airline industry. She holds a BA from California State University-San Diego, an MBA from the Harvard Business School and a law degree from the University of California-Davis.
