The Minot State University Women’s Suffrage Centennial Committee is sponsoring a panel discussion titled “Women’s Political Engagement in North Dakota Today,” according to MSU Communications.

The event is scheduled for Friday, March 13, from 5-7 p.m. at the Northwest Arts Center in MSU’s Gordon B. Olson Library.

“To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment and women’s suffrage, we’re excited to be bringing a distinguished group of women leaders to Minot State’s campus,” said John McCollum, Minot State assistant professor, sociology and political science, and Women’s Suffrage Centennial Committee member. “As much as this is a celebration of a historical event, we’re also looking to celebrate today’s women leaders in North Dakota and to encourage more women in our state to take up leadership roles.”

Scheduled for the panel are: Dina Butcher of North Dakotans for Public Integrity; Twyla Baker-Demaray, president of Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College; Barbara Handy-Marcello, historian with the State Historical Society of North Dakota and a professor emerita at the University of North Dakota; Nicole Donaghy, executive director at North Dakota Native Vote; and Kathleen Tweeten, president of Joint Council of Extension Professionals, extension specialist emeritus in North Dakota State University’s Department of Department of Agriculture and Applied Economics and treasurer of North Dakotans for Public Integrity.

The panel discussion is a part of an ongoing, multi-year celebration of 100 years of women’s suffrage and sponsored by the North Dakota Women’s Network as a part of their First Fridays series.

“We’re very grateful to the North Dakota Women’s Network for their sponsorship,” McCollum said. “Their involvement is really helping us to bridge the gap between our campus and the wider community.