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Dianne Bystrom

Catt Center for Women and Politics


Dianne Bystrom

Dianne Bystrom
Director
dbystrom@iastate.edu

Dr. Dianne Bystrom, the director of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics at Iowa State University, has personal and professional experience in covering, working in, and studying political campaigns. She earned a B.A. in Journalism in 1975 from Kearney (NE) State College and an M.A. in Journalism and Mass Communication in 1982 and a Ph.D. in Communication in 1995 from the University of Oklahoma. Her current research interests focus on (1) the styles and strategies used by women and men political candidates in their television advertising, Web sites and speeches and (2) the coverage of women candidates and political leaders by the media. She is a frequent commentator about political and women's issues for state and national media.

Dr. Bystrom is a co-author, co-editor and contributor to 13 books-including Gender and Candidate Communication (2004), Legislative Women: Getting Elected, Getting Ahead (2008), Gender and Elections (2006), Communicating Politics (2005), The Handbook of Political Communication Research (2004), The Millennium Election (2003), Anticipating Madam President (2003), Women Transforming Congress (2002), The Electronic Election (1999), and The Lynching of Language: Gender, Politics, and Power in the Hill-Thomas Hearings (1996)-and has written journal articles on women and politics and youth voters.

In addition to directing the Center, Dr. Bystrom teaches courses in leadership, women and politics, and political campaigns for Women's Studies, Political Science and Speech Communication as an adjunct assistant professor of political science. Before joining Iowa State in July 1996, she worked for 17 years at the University of Oklahoma in public relations, higher education administration and political communication.