Home Law School News Iowa Women’s Hall of Fame honorees include Drake Law alumnae

Iowa Women’s Hall of Fame honorees include Drake Law alumnae

Dr. Mary Chapman

Three of the four outstanding women inducted into the Iowa Women’s Hall of Fame today are graduates of Drake University, including two Drake Law School graduates.

Dr. Deborah Turner

Dr. Mary Louise Chapman, Dean of the DMAAC Urban Campus, earned her undergraduate degree from Drake in 1973. Dr. Deborah Turner, Director of Gynecological Oncology at the Mercy Cancer Center, is a Drake Law School graduate of 2007. The late Barbara Mack, a long-time journalism professor at Iowa State University and the first woman general counsel for the Des Moines Register, graduated from Drake Law School in 1978.

Barbara Mack
Sharon Malheiro

In addition, the Iowa Commission on the Status of Women honored Sharon Malheiro, LW’78, with the Cristine Wilson Medal for Equality and Justice. Sharon, a partner in the Davis Brown law firm, founded One Iowa and has been at the forefront of the campaign for marriage equality in Iowa.

“I am proud to announce that these four extraordinary women are going to be inducted into the Iowa Women’s Hall of Fame,” said Phyllis Peters, chair of the Iowa Commission on the Status of Women. “They symbolize the diversity of Iowa, demonstrating outstanding achievements in the fields of health care, higher education, agriculture, media and law. Generations of Iowans can look to these remarkable individuals as role models.”

Inductees were honored at a ceremony on Aug. 26 held in conjunction with Women’s Equality Day, which commemorates the day in 1920 when American women first obtained the right to vote.

The Iowa Women’s Hall of Fame is sponsored by the Iowa Commission on the Status of Women (ICSW). Awards will be presented to the recipients by San Wong, Director of the Iowa Department of Human Rights; Phyllis Peters, ICSW chair; and Elizabeth Coonan, chair of the Hall of Fame Selection Committee.