Iowa State University
5-13-96

Contacts:
Elizabeth Hoffman, Liberal Arts and Sciences, (515) 294-3220
Steve Sullivan, News Service, (515) 294-3720

ISU APPOINTS NEW CATT CENTER DIRECTOR

AMES, Iowa -- Dianne G. Bystrom, a research associate with the University of Oklahoma Political Communication Center, has been appointed the new director of Iowa State University's Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics. Bystrom will begin her new duties July 1.

As director of the Catt Center, Bystrom will coordinate fund-raising activities, acquire and supervise research grants, work with graduate and undergraduate students and faculty doing research on issues related to women and politics, establish relationships between the center and women in politics, and oversee center conferences and workshops.

"Dianne has an excellent record of research and outreach in the areas of women and politics, political communication and issues related to gender and politics," said Elizabeth Hoffman, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. "The Catt Center and everyone involved with it will benefit greatly from the experience that Dianne will bring to the center."

Bystrom has done extensive writing on gender issues in political and mass communication, particularly political advertising and media coverage of women political candidates. She recently co- edited and contributed to The Lynching of Language: Gender, Politics and Power in the Hill-Thomas Hearings, a new book published by the University of Illinois Press. Bystrom also is a member of a communication research team studying the 1996 election.

Bystrom earned the B.A. in journalism in 1975 from the University of Nebraska, Kearney, (formerly Kearney State College), and the M.A. in journalism and mass communication in 1982 and the Ph.D. in communication in 1995 from the University of Oklahoma, Norman.

Bystrom was assistant provost at OU from 1988 to 1995, where she was involved in academic policy development and campus climate/diversity issues. At the OU Political Communication Center, Bystrom has been responsible for research and special projects related to political communication, including fund raising, conference planning and presentations. She is adjunct assistant professor of communication, teaching an upper division course in political campaign processes.

Bystrom succeeds Mary Ann Tetreault, former Catt Center director, who left the position to dedicate more time to teaching and research activities.

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